Duncan Laurence

Duncan de Moor (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdʏŋkən də moːr]; born 11 April 1994),[1] known professionally as Duncan Laurence, is a Dutch singer-songwriter. He began his music career in 2014 and became a semi-finalist in the fifth season of The Voice of Holland. Laurence represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Arcade" and went on to win the competition, giving the Netherlands its first Eurovision win since 1975.[2][3]

In this Dutch name, the surname is De Moor, not Moor.
Duncan Laurence
Laurence with the Eurovision 2019 trophy
Background information
Birth nameDuncan de Moor
Born (1994-04-11) 11 April 1994
Spijkenisse, South Holland, Netherlands
GenresPop
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • piano
Years active2014–
Labels
Websiteduncanlaurence.nl

Career

Early career

Born in Spijkenisse, Laurence grew up in Hellevoetsluis. He has been writing his own songs since he was 13 years old, as an escape from being bullied.[4] He started his musical career at the Rock Academy in Tilburg, playing in a number of school bands,[1] including his own, The Slick and Suited. Formed in 2013, the band went on to perform at Eurosonic Noorderslag.[5][6] In an Instagram post in February 2020, he revealed he had oxygen deprivation at birth, and thus has had a motor disorder affect his right hand.[7]

2014–2018: The Voice of Holland and independent work

Laurence participated in the fifth season of The Voice of Holland, choosing Ilse DeLange as his coach. He advanced to the Cross Battles/Semi Finals before being eliminated.[8] In March 2016, he decided to stop as lead singer of The Slick.[9] Laurence graduated from the Rock Academy in 2017.[10] He, with Jihad Rahmouni, wrote the song "Closer" on K-pop duo TVXQ's 2018 album New Chapter #1: The Chance of Love.[11]

2019–2020: Eurovision Song Contest, Worlds on Fire and Small Town Boy
See also: Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019

In January 2019, Laurence was internally selected to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019. He was nominated by Ilse DeLange, with whom Laurence still had contact after The Voice. His song "Arcade" was first revealed in March 2019. Laurence won the event, held in Tel Aviv, Israel on 18 May 2019, with 498 points from 41 international juries and the public vote. The juries gave him 237 points, while the public vote gave him 261 points. He finished 26 points ahead of Italy and 128 points ahead of Russia, the two runners-up. He is the fifth Dutch entrant to ever win the competition, and the first since Teach-In won the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 with the song "Ding-a-dong".[12]

After his Eurovision victory, Laurence toured the Netherlands and Europe in late 2019 and early 2020 with support act Benedict Cork for his Dutch and UK shows.[13] On 10 June 2019, he performed at the 50th anniversary Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf, the first Dutch Eurovision winner to perform at the event. He replaced Swedish duo First Aid Kit on the bill, who dropped out due to health reasons.[14] On 23 October 2019, Laurence released his second single "Love Don't Hate It". It was also announced that he signed a deal with Capitol Records.[15][16] In 2020, the artists' entrance at Rotterdam Ahoy was re-named "Door Duncan" in his honor.[17] On 29 April 2020, Laurence announced the release of his first EP, Worlds on Fire, it was released on 13 May 2020 and includes the singles "Arcade", "Love Don't Hate It" and "Someone Else", along with two new songs. On 23 September 2020, Laurence announced his first studio album Small Town Boy, which was released on 13 November 2020. It was certified platinum in the Netherlands 3 days after its release.[18]

A Ziggo Dome concert, which was to be held on 17 November 2020, would have served to promote Laurence's album; however, the event was cancelled amid new restrictions enacted by the Dutch government to curb a new surge in COVID-19 infections.[19][20]

Personal life

As stated on his personal Instagram in October 2018, Laurence came out as bisexual "a couple of years ago".[21] In a press conference shortly before the Eurovision final, Laurence affirmed his sexuality: "I am more than just an artist, I am a person, I am a living being, I'm bisexual, I'm a musician, I stand for things. And I'm proud that I get the chance to show what I am, who I am."[22] In June 2019, he confirmed that he was in a relationship with a man.[23] In September 2019, he announced that he and his boyfriend were no longer dating.[24]

On 5 October 2020, Laurence announced that he was engaged to American songwriter Jordan Garfield.[25]

Discography

Studio albums
Title Details Peak chart positions Certifications
NL
[26]		 BEL
(FL)
[27]
Small Town Boy
  • Released: 13 November 2020
  • Label: Spark
  • Format: CD, Vinyl, Digital download, streaming
 694

Extended plays
Title Details Peak chart positions
NL
[26]
Worlds on Fire
  • Released: 13 May 2020
  • Label: Spark
  • Format: Digital download, streaming
 60

As lead artist
Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album
NL
[26]		 AUT
[29]		 BEL
(FL)
[27]		 BEL
(WL)
[30]		 DEN
[31]		 GER
[32]		 IRE
[33]		 NOR
[34]		 SWE
[35]		 SWI
[36]		 UK
[37]
"Arcade" 2019 122231232637106667 Small Town Boy
"Love Don't Hate It"[41] 41—53————————
  • NVPI: Gold
"Someone Else" 2020 72—8693———————
"Last Night" ———————————
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Title Year Peak chart positions Album
NL
[26]		 BEL
(FL)
[27]
"Feel Something"[42][43]
(Armin van Buuren featuring Duncan Laurence)		 2020 8578 Small Town Boy and Euthymia

Guest appearances
Title Year Other performer(s) Album
"Laat Gaan"[44] 2017 Sjors van der Panne Met Elkaar

Awards and nominations
Year Award Category Result
2019 Marcel Bezençon Awards Press Award[45] Won
2020 Edison Awards Best Newcomer Nominated
Best Single ("Arcade") Won
Best Video ("Arcade") Nominated

Notes

    References
    1. "Who is The Netherlands 2019 Eurovision entrant Duncan Laurence?". Metro. 16 May 2019. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
    2. Groot, Evert (21 January 2019). "Duncan Laurence will represent The Netherlands this year". eurovision.tv.
    3. McCaig, Ewan (6 March 2019). "The Netherlands: Duncan Laurence To Sing 'Arcade' In Tel Aviv". Eurovoix. Retrieved 9 June 2019.
    4. "Duncan Laurence". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 30 October 2019.
    5. "VestingPop | Duncan Laurence". VestingPop. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
    6. Duncan de Moor (15 June 2014). "The Slick and Suited". Archived from the original on 21 January 2019. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
    7. https://www.instagram.com/p/B8t1vQ3gB5a/
    8. Popescu, David (21 January 2019). "Netherlands: Duncan Laurence on his way to Tel-Aviv!". escunited.com.
    9. "The Slick on Facebook". Facebook (in Dutch). 24 March 2016.
    10. "Duncan Laurence Information - meet the Dutch star". Radio Times. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
    11. Koeleman, Danja (21 January 2019). "Duncan Laurence naar Songfestival: Wie is de 24-jarige zanger?". nu.nl (in Dutch).
    12. "Eurovision 2019: Netherlands wins song contest". BBC News. 19 May 2019.
    13. "Duncan Laurence | Official website". Duncan Laurence. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
    14. https://www.pinkpop.nl/2019/en/eurovision-song-contest-winner-duncan-laurence-at-pinkpop-2019/
    15. https://escbubble.com/2019/10/duncan-laurence-releases-follow-up-single-love-dont-hate-it
    16. https://twitter.com/CapitolRecords/status/1187088736841945088
    17. "🇳🇱 Rotterdam Ahoy renames a part of the arena in honour of Duncan Laurence". 28 January 2020.
    18. https://twitter.com/BeauRTL/status/1328472882654089216
    19. "DUNCAN LAURENCE - 17 NOVEMBER 2020 | Ziggo Dome". duncanziggodome.nl. Retrieved 27 September 2020.
    20. "𝕯𝖚𝖓𝖈𝖆𝖓 𝕷𝖆𝖚𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊 on Instagram: "Hey guys... I was so excited to perform in one of the most beautiful venues The Netherlands has: @ziggodome. But unfortunately, this…"". Instagram. Retrieved 21 October 2020.
    21. "𝕯𝖚𝖓𝖈𝖆𝖓 𝕷𝖆𝖚𝖗𝖊𝖓𝖈𝖊 on Instagram: "'Some say love...' A phrase of a great song by Bette Midler. To me love has no limits and especially not in gender. A couple of years ago I..."". Instagram.
    22. Moore, Matt (18 May 2019). "Dutch Eurovision contestant Duncan Laurence comes out as bisexual". Gay Times. Retrieved 19 May 2019.
    23. Sergiusz Królak (2 June 2019). "Duncan Laurence, zwycięzca Eurowizji 2019, o biseksualnym coming oucie i niesamowitym geście rodziców: to piękne uczucie". Plejada.pl (in Polish). Retrieved 3 June 2019.
    24. Heathitor (20 September 2019). "Exclusief: Duncan Laurence onthult reden van relatiebreuk". Grazia (in Dutch). Retrieved 14 October 2019.
    25. "A winning game! Duncan Laurence gets engaged to American songwriter boyfriend". Wiwibloggs. 5 October 2020. Retrieved 5 October 2020.
    26. "Discografie Duncan Laurence". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 16 March 2019.
    27. "Discografie Duncan Laurence". Ultratop. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
    28. "Dutch album certifications – Duncan Laurence – Small Town Boy" (in Dutch). NVPI. Retrieved 16 November 2020.
    29. "Discographie Duncan Laurence". austriancharts.at. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
    30. "Discografie Duncan Laurence". Ultratop. Retrieved 13 June 2020.
    31. "Discography Duncan Laurence". danishcharts.dk. Retrieved 30 May 2019.
    32. "Duncan Laurence – German Charts". GfK. Retrieved 24 May 2016.
    33. "Discography Duncan Laurence". irish-charts.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
    34. "Discography Duncan Laurence". norwegiancharts.com. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
    35. "Discography Duncan Laurence". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
    36. "Discographie Duncan Laurence". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
    37. "Duncan Laurence | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
    38. "Dutch single certifications – Duncan Laurence – Arcade" (in Dutch). NVPI. Retrieved 18 May 2019.
    39. "Ultratop − Goud en Platina – singles 2019". Ultratop. Hung Medien.
    40. "Norwegian certifications – Duncan Laurence". IFPI Norway.
    41. "'Dit wordt nieuwe single Duncan Laurence'". De Telegraaf (in Dutch). 14 October 2019. Retrieved 15 October 2019.
    42. "Feel Something - Single by Armin van Buuren & Duncan Laurence". Apple Music. Retrieved 8 November 2020.
    43. "OUT NOW: Armin van Buuren feat. Duncan Laurence – Feel Something – Armin van Buuren". arminvanbuuren.com. Retrieved 6 November 2020.
    44. "Met Elkaar by Sjors Van Der Panne". iTunes. Retrieved 19 March 2019.
    45. "Here are the winners of the 2019 Marcel Bezençon Awards". eurovision.tv. Retrieved 20 May 2019.
    Awards and achievements
    Preceded by
    Waylon
    with "Outlaw in 'Em"    		 Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest
    2019    		 Succeeded by
    Jeangu Macrooy
    with "Grow"
    Preceded by
    Netta Barzilai
    with "Toy"    		 Winner of the Eurovision Song Contest
    2019    		 Incumbent
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