When it became known that Stien den Hollander (stage name S10) could perform for the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest, from 10 May in Turin, some of her followers had quite a few questions. Did S10 have to risk its soul and salvation for such an exuberant festival with an audience of millions?
The answer to that question could be answered immediately and unambiguously on Thursday just before 12 noon: yes. In one way or another, S10 has succeeded in transporting the elements that make her music so captivating, because intimate, and substantively strong, into a Eurovision song that can be widely disseminated. You hear it once, and see The depth be at least in the top-5 of the final result.
That bodes well: The depth immediately hooks into the head, thanks to a deceptively simple melody, which nevertheless carries the listener along and for a while soaks away from everyday worries. The depth will soon emerge bravely in Turin in such a profuse song pandemonium, where the choruses sometimes go in one ear and fly out the other just as hard. One problem, of course, is the language of instruction: The depth is the first Dutch festival song since 2010.
Fragile Mental Wellbeing
S10 became one of the most beloved singer-songwriters in the Netherlands with poetic songs that float somewhere between hip-hop, cabaret and sometimes very catchy pop. The content always comes first: S10 closes and sings about fragile mental well-being, and offers comfort to many young people who struggle with fear, loneliness or other mental distress.
In her Eurovision song, S10 sings about universal loss and farewell, through love, death or fill it in yourself. ‘You and I together, right? It always would be.’ Her text is softly accompanied by a modest but crystal clear plucking guitar, followed by a few veiled piano chords. Den Hollander’s full, expansive voice waves coolly over it, with a lot of reverberation and a volume that cannot be easily put aside.
heart cry
After a short, tension-increasing bridge, the already great chorus immediately surprises, with which the song suddenly becomes a bit more extroverted. The voice shoots up, and sounds like a cry from the heart: ‘Here in the depths I hear your name over and over again.’ The integrity of the basically very sad song is not affected by it, on the contrary: you can imagine that we will soon be sitting in front of the TV with goosebumps when S10 is allowed to blow the tragedy of this song about despair and memories off the stage.
The depth does not end with a bang, but may quietly to the finish line, again with that soft piano and the wordless parenthesis that S10 has cleverly woven throughout the song: ‘Oohoe, ahaa.’ A beautiful and charged song, which also fits perfectly with the mood of the world. As sad as that is.
The depth
doll
By S10.