Germans run away with Jori from Cuijk after TV show Let’s Dance: ‘Bizarre!’

Jori van Gemert (26) from Cuijk hardly realizes what happened to her over the weekend. Some time ago she released an acoustic version of her song Alice under her stage name Cloud Cukkoo. And it was used on Friday evening in the final of the German TV program Let’s Dance by the winning dance couple. “I didn’t know anything about it. Suddenly my phone was flooding with messages. It’s really bizarre!”

The year started well for Jori because Cloud Cukkoo was tipped by radio DJ Eric Corton as an artist to keep an eye on for 2023. After that great compliment, a breakthrough in Germany now follows thanks to Let’s Dance. This TV program, once presented by Sylvie Meis, has attracted millions of viewers for sixteen years.

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In the final of the show, the couple Anna Ermakova and Valentin Lusin danced to the acoustic version of the song Alice. “Normally I can hear it when I’m played on the radio, not now”, Jori looks back.

“I thought all those messages were spam or a joke.”

She does not know exactly how the TV program ended up with her number. But her phone has been overflowing with messages ever since. “I woke up on Saturday morning, was still a bit sleepy and thought it was all spam or a joke,” says Jori.

It took her a while to realize what was going on. “Once I had read some messages and looked back at the program, it started to fall into place.” Jori thinks it’s ‘mega cool’ that her song has been selected and is so popular with the German public. “Alice is now one of the most searched songs in Germany on music app Shazam.”

“Very special that the number also helps people.”

She gets very personal reactions from German viewers. “People write that they have never heard such a beautiful song and are moved by it. Or that they are not feeling well and this song helps them through the day. Yes, I think that is very special.”

Jori understands that this acoustic version of the song was chosen in particular. “It really just served as a basis for the released version.” But the singer-songwriter thought this first acoustic version was so successful that she later put it online. “It’s a bit more intimate.”

“I put my heart and soul into this song.”

She is taken aback by the sudden popularity. It hits her. “Millions of people have heard the song I put my heart and soul into.” Jori wrote the song Alice for her best friend. “It’s about a queer boy who grows up in a society that is anything but a ‘wonderland’.”

Jori is now in contact with the winning dance couple from Germany. “They also shared Alice on their social media. That creates even more attention,” says the singer-songwriter. She hopes that she can now carefully work on her musical career in Germany and that great things will happen.

“It’s a dream come true.”

“I understand that the participants of Let’s Dance will tour Germany and perform in other TV programs. How nice would it be if I could accompany the winning dance live a few times”, Jori dreams aloud. “Anyway, this is a dream come true for a budding and self-employed artist.”

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