There are only a few hours left to find out the next Eurovision winner. This Saturday, May 11, the grand final of the musical contest will be held at the Malmö Arena in Malmö (Sweden), in which 26 countries were expected to compete. However, this Saturday it was learned that Joost Klein, representative of Countries Bajos, will not compete in the final of the contest after being involved in “an incident” with a member of the production team. After this incident, many are wondering who the artist is.
In a statement issued this Saturday morning, the organizers point out that a “legal process” is open regarding this complaint and that, therefore, “it would not be appropriate” for the singer to act. “We maintain a zero-tolerance policy toward inappropriate behavior at our event and are committed to providing a safe work environment for all pageant staff. By virtue of this, Joost Klein’s behavior towards a team member is considered a violation of the contest rules,” they explain.
Joost, who qualified for the grand final last Thursday during the second semi-final celebration, came out on stage this Friday during the traditional flag parade of the first rehearsal. However, when it was his turn to perform, the organization moved directly to the next artist. Finally, it has been learned that he has been disqualified.
And who is Joost Klein? The candidate, chosen for the Song Festival internally by Dutch television, is a young 26-year-old rapper, writer and YouTuber. Multifaceted, he has already left his mark in the world of entertainment, since in 2008 he started as a content creator on the video platform at just 10 years old. He is a recognized face in his country of origin, and his unique song, Europapa, had become the most viewed music video of all the candidates for this edition, in addition to being one of the favorite songs to win this year.
It was in 2016 when he made the leap into the world of music. As for his style, Klein is characterized by his great energy on stage, and he mixes conventional pop with punk and the most joyful hardcore. In fact, in less than a decade he has already released eight studio albums. In terms of recognition, he won the prestigious Popprijs 2023 award, which is awarded each year in Holland to the group or artist who has had the greatest impact on pop music in the country during that year.
Joost has managed to cross the borders of his country. It was last 2023 when he achieved success in countries such as Austria, Germany and Switzerland with the song Friesenjung, in collaboration with the German rapper Ski Aggu. The song by the artist from the Netherlands reached number 1 in the aforementioned territories, and won the ‘Best Song’ award at the 1LIVE Krone radio awards in Germany.
As we said, Klein is a most versatile artist. This has led him in the past to be an established writer. It was in 2018 when he published a book of poems, Albino, in honor of his father. Despite the great artistic career that he has, he now faces one of the biggest setbacks in his professional career: his expulsion from Eurovision 2024.