At the entrance of the Amsterdam pop temple Paradiso there is a box on the floor with colored, self-cut paper hearts. The hearts have a simple instruction: hold them up at ‘Until The End Of Me’. That Tuesday in March, fans of pop star Antoon know enough. The song, which is also the title of his new album, is about a sensitive subject: the death of his mother in 2020, exactly at a time when the now 24-year-old singer and producer was breaking through.
A little later, during a show that until then has been filled with danceable pop songs, the hearts go into the air, together with lights from the phones of the mostly young women in the audience. Antoon, Valentijn Verkerk in daily life, sings the song this evening largely as a ballad, calmer than the album version with house and UK garage influences. Eventually the energy of the studio version of the song kicks in and the audience sings along even louder: “I won’t let you go, I won’t let you go.”
An emotional moment for an artist who scored a series of hits in a short time, including ‘Hyperventilation’, ‘Hallo’, ‘Hotelschool’ and ‘Beetje Van Mij’. An artist who is also great bangers made with Roxy Dekker, Maan, Kris Kross Amsterdam, Froukje and S10, among others. In 2022 he was the most streamed artist in the Netherlands and visited the Ziggo Dome for the first time. Last year he didn’t do any shows and worked on new songs. In January he was back on stage during Noorderslag. This was followed by a club tour through the country, including two evenings at Paradiso. From now on, a series of festivals will follow, with Paaspop as the kick-off and ending in the Alpha, the largest tent at Lowlands.
A week after the Paradiso shows, Antoon is on the phone with NRC while he is on the road in his car. “There are of course many Antoon songs that are about the light things in life. About parties, about girls,” he says. But with his third album he also wanted something more to do with the feelings surrounding the loss of his mother Heleen. The year without shows gave him time to think, often with Twan van Steenhoven (Big2 of The Opposites) and songwriter Kevin Bosch. “I spent a week making music with Twan and Kevin in a log cabin in a forest, that’s where it came about. Kevin also lost his mother, Twan has lost a lot of family. And then this just came out.”
Antoon comforts his audience
In the song he speaks to his mother: “I’m doing well. I live in the city now, around the corner from my sister.” Clear and recognizable for many people. Antoon: “Of course you recognize pleasant things. This is a different approach. I notice that I make a slightly deeper connection with my audience, also because I play it live in a more subdued manner. People say that it can comfort them.”
The response was also reason to release a ballad version. The song provides a moment of rest in his shows that quickly continue: an Antoon performance is above all a hit festival. “I also came to have a party,” he emphasizes. “There is no question of a new Antoon. I am still very proud of a song like that ‘Hotel school’.”
Antoon during Paaspop 2023.
Photo Andreas Terlaak
After the pop venues follow the festivals, places where not everyone comes specifically for them. Is there still a part of the audience he has to convince? “At a festival you have to work a little harder for it. But I like that. I also want to play with expectations. You also shave off a set like that, it has to be a bit shorter. I think we are going to make a statement.
“I’ve always had this feeling: I got this. I go into everything with the feeling that I can do it. Well, I can’t do a lot of things, but as an artist you have to have that mindset. I get excited about people who convey the feeling that they are already there.
“If you don’t believe in it one hundred percent yourself, then you are not going to convince the audience or listeners. So when you want to do something, you have to do it right. I am a mega perfectionist. There is sometimes some tension, because you are not so easily satisfied.”
“Hey, nice job, dick!”
“And there have been moments when I could have said to myself: hey, nice job, dick! But I always have in my head that we have to move on. It has to be bigger. It has to be better. I am actually always working on a goal chasen which is a year away. And then you’re never looking at that point that you’ve reached.”
Lowlands is something to think about. “Lowlands is just something I’ve had in my head for six, seven years. And look, in the end it’s just an hour of performance on a main stage. It’s not that my whole life revolves around Lowlands now. But it is a very nice milestone for me.”
Furthermore, it is time to make a lot of music with others. With a focus on fun, because you can’t force a hit. “The moment you make something because it has to be a hit and it doesn’t become a hit, then you have nothing left,” he says. “That’s shit. When I make something that I think is really cool, it doesn’t matter whether you have eight million or eighty million streams. I hope that I at least think it’s cool. And everyone who thinks it’s cool too: let’s go. And then it’s again on to the next one.”
