In 2017 – only five years ago – Stien den Hollander entered the Hoorn pop stage Manifesto for a rap workshop. This is given by Steven Engel. Little do the duo know that this is the start of a shiny career, which will reach an absolute peak next Tuesday. Then S10 will represent the Netherlands in the first semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest.
Back to the time when S10 was just Stien. Stien den Hollander, to be precise. Raised in rural Abbekerk, later moved to Hoorn. At that time, the Hoorn rapper Steven Engel gave rap workshops to students of Oscar Romero secondary school and during that time recorded a song with Stien: Chimi.
He soon realized that Stien was different from many other students. He looks back on the workshop in the NH Culture Club program. “I was immediately like, ‘Hey, she likes it’† She played a part of a song on her phone, which she had recorded with guitar. I thought, ‘Ah, that’s fun!’.”
Didn’t disappoint
“When I last heard it back, I was not disappointed. You still hear a piece in it that belongs to me, I think that’s cool. Even after it has been released,” says the rapper from Hoorn. “I might not do that right away, but it indicates that she was still super raw.”
Engel continues: “I recognized that she had an artist’s heart and that she wanted to follow it. She had ideas for ten. In terms of music, it is in her honesty and it is nice to see her on such a large stage as the Eurovision Song Contest.”
S10 will be in the semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest in Turin on Tuesday 10 May, with the song De Diepte. The final is on Saturday 14 May.