She never dared to dream it, but on Monday evening 20-year-old Femke Leupen suddenly stood out on the stage of 013 in Tilburg. During the concert of singer Role Model, aka Tucker Harrington Pillsbury, she was chosen from the audience to dance as ‘Sally’ to his hit song ‘Sally, When The Wine Runs Out’. Previous Sallys? No small names: Charli XCX, Hilary Duff, Kate Hudson, and now Femke can proudly add herself to that list.
The song is a big hype online. That’s because the singer surprises the audience with a different one every show ‘Sally’ who then dances with him on stage. This is usually a well-known artist from the area, so fans spend weeks before a concert guessing who it will be this time. For example, the week before the concert in Tilburg, Lewis Capaldi and Naill Horan appeared on stage in London to loud cheers.
No one expected that the surprise in Tilburg would come from the audience, and what a surprise. Femke may have made many jealous, because on TikTok fans do entire audition dances, or respond in the comments that they want to be the new ‘Sally.’
“We went upstairs so we could dance.”
Femke still can hardly believe it herself. “We went upstairs so we could dance, because it was way too busy downstairs. Then suddenly a photographer came up to us and asked: ‘Do you want to be Sally?’ I don’t remember exactly what I was thinking, but I was so excited. I wanted to do it anyway.”
On the way to the concert, from Leeuwarden, Femke and her friend joked about it. “We laughed about it, but I really never expected this to happen,” she says with enthusiasm and disbelief.
When the time finally came, Femke did not hold back and made a real spectacle of it. She jumped onto the stage in splits and gave it everything she had. “Of course I hadn’t prepared anything, but I listen to this song so often that the energy came naturally.” You would think that this diva must be a dancer, but nothing could be further from the truth. “I used to dance in primary school, but now I actually just play tennis,” she says, laughing.
Her performance received plenty of love online afterwards. “Everyone was really nice. I often saw myself on TikTok and people responded very enthusiastically. Only positive reactions,” says Femke proudly.
“A friend once let me hear a song of his.”
Femke has only known Role Model for a year and that is not surprising. The artist once started rapping under other names, but later changed them to Role Model. He has become better known in recent years, especially due to his new album and his performances during Gracie Abrams’ world tour.
“A friend once showed me one of his songs and asked if I wanted to go to a concert,” says Femke. She has been a big fan ever since. His album was on constant rotation last year repeat. “It has become a regular part of my daily cycling routine.”
And that will remain the case for some time to come, especially now that the routine is constantly being cheered up by the memory of that unforgettable evening in Tilburg, when she jumped on stage as Sally and completely captivated the audience.