Duncan Laurence is now better known for his panic attacks and his emotional things than for his music. Now he has written another very emo epistle. “He’s having such a hard time!”
It really cannot be filmed: almost every Dutch artist dreams of success beyond the country’s borders, and Duncan Laurence achieved that with his Eurovision Song Contest song Arcade. What followed? Panic attacks, depression, all difficult, all difficult, complaining, complaining, heavy, heavy. In other words: not made for showbiz at all.
Zwáááár
Duncan has now posted a whole epistle on Instagram about how tough the past few years have been. “Five years ago my career exploded out of nowhere, and honestly I don’t think I was ready for it. Everything I had dreamed of happened so quickly that I barely had time to breathe.”
That breathing only started when he was put on a face mask. “Coming to terms with everything only came later, during the lockdown, when life suddenly came to a standstill. Then everything came in: the changes, the pressure, the constant adjustment. All those shifts took their toll on me, mentally and physically.”
Lost
It was intense, according to Duncan. “There were tough days, days when I didn’t recognize myself. But music always brought me back. Even when I felt lost or stuck in bad decisions — like those horrible contracts you hear about but never think you’ll sign yourself — it was the music that kept me going.”
“I trusted the wrong people. I signed contracts that kept me in a kind of limbo, waiting for things that never happened. Release dates were pushed back, budgets disappeared — it was frustrating and heartbreaking. It felt like every time I built something solid, the foundation collapsed. It was like trying to build a house out of sand castles.”
Pointing
Ehh, can Duncan also take a little bit of his own approach? It is also really difficult to work with an artist who runs away everywhere at the last minute because he is having a panic attack. “I have learned to stop pointing fingers at others.”
“Over the past few months, I’ve promised myself to look inward, take responsibility for my choices and put my own needs first. So I started all over again, took what was left, and started building a new path.”
What does Evert think?
Private boss Evert Santegoeds cannot listen to it all. “He has also returned to his gloomy cloud. Trusted the wrong people, and that’s why it all didn’t get off the ground. I don’t think it got off the ground because he was exhausted for a year, right?” he says in the podcast Strictly Private.
Colleague Jordi Versteegden: “Yes, he is just very insecure, actually since the beginning of his career in the spotlight after the Eurovision Song Contest. I wonder if he actually wants it.”
Fantastic
Evert thinks it’s a shame to have such a boy. “He can of course sing fantastically, but if it all takes so much effort with panic attacks and I know a lot and then point to other people that it doesn’t work out… I would say: you have had a stage, you have won the Eurovision Song Contest, there a world is open to you.”
“He had over a billion streams and was very successful. People know who Duncan Laurence is and you should be able to exploit that further than he has done so far. He is also so difficult, so difficult, so heavy-handed. Boy! Enjoy your success! It will only take a moment!”
Dark month
Jordi thinks Duncan is a melancholy guy. “It’s the dark month of December and well, he doesn’t really brighten it up with this message.”
Evert: “No, when I see Duncan Laurence, the moon automatically moves in front of the sun.”