Earlier this week Dutch media sent Eurofans on an alphabetic goose chase when they revealed that the name of its Eurovision 2020 singer begins with the letter J. And today it’s been officially confirmed: Jeangu Macrooy will represent the Netherlands at Eurovision 2020.
Speaking to the official Eurovision web site, selection committee member Eric van Stade revealed that Jeangu had been on their shortlist for a while.
“The song he delivered touched us right away,” he said. “We are very happy that Jeangu wants to go on this journey with us!”
Jeangu said: “I am indescribably honoured! It’s a dream come true and the most beautiful thing that has come my way so far. My team and I are excited to make the Netherlands proud! Let’s go!”
The Dutch newspaper AD previously reported the news — citing unnamed sources — on Thursday. Their article seems to have prompted AVROTROS to confirm the news today.
A NOS reporter did some digging after that initial report and noticed that Jeangu has a two-week gap in his upcoming tour, making him available during the two weeks of Eurovision rehearsals and performances. He also has a free day on 4 April — the night of Eurovision In Concert.
Jeangu’s song for Eurovision 2020 will be released at a later date.
Jeangu Macrooy: The Netherlands’ Eurovision 2020 singer
Jeangu Macrooy is a Surinamese singer-songwriter. He was born in the former Dutch colony of Suriname in South America. He moved to the Netherlands in 2014 to study songwriting at the ArtEZ Popacademy.
Since then, he’s built up a career in the Netherlands. Jeangu has released two studio albums, one live album, an EP and many singles. He regularly tours in the Netherlands, as well as Belgium, Germany and France.
Jeangu is a regular guest performer on the popular Dutch TV show De Wereld Draait Door (“The world keeps on turning”). He performs his own music on the show, as well as tributes to artists such as Stevie Wonder, George Michael and Bob Dylan.
In 2018, he played Judas in the annual Dutch performance of The Passion. The show was directed by Eric van Tijn, who is also the musical director of Eurovision 2020. While Jeangu mostly sings in English, his The Passion performance was all in Dutch.
The singer has a twin brother, Xillan. His brother is also a singer and performs in Jeangu’s band. The two have also duetted together.
Jeangu has spoken about the importance of being an openly gay role model for young Surinamese people — a country where gay culture is often considered a taboo subject. Jeangu explained, “I’ve got a stage to trigger change. I hope I can be meaningful for all those young people in Suriname who discover their sexuality and discover that they’re different.”
Jeangu isn’t the first Dutch Eurovision act with Surinamese origins. Singers Humphrey Campbell (Eurovision 1992) and Ruth Jacott (Eurovision 1993) were both born in Suriname before moving to the Netherlands.
What do you think? Are you living for this? Tell us your thoughts below!
And that it has been described as emotional, touching, a song that goes under your skin.
And apparently a love-hate song (according to his producer), so no middle of the road entry.
Humphrey Campbell and Ruth Jacott are legends so I hope Jeangu can keep up the Surinamese tradition. He seems very nice so good luck to him.
All we really know about his entry is his voice and I’d say…it’s good enough. It’s not a “wow” voice but with the right song, yeah, they could definitely work with it.
The most important thing pre-song is that he seems, personality-wise, a really good representative of the country. I think he’s going to make the Netherlands proud.
I have three words for this: great, great, great.
YEAHHHH
I hope so much he is going to sing his original music at Eurovision.
something like this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YHwxejJ7rDM
or this
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xwx6IrHi1j0
Some people think that being gay is personality trait. Heck, even some gays think so. I find it bit insulting tbh
You sicken me.
Not a fan of this kind of music, but gl to him
You don’t mind people being gay? How nice of you. By “neutral” you mean…what?
Hey guys it seems that the name of the trench representative has also leaked !!! French news papers claimed that Tom Leeb is going to represent the country however broadcaster France Télévisions has not confirmed yet.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&source=web&rct=j&url=https://m.20minutes.fr/amp/a/2692083&ved=0ahUKEwjw_NGp3fnmAhVFQhoKHXTbBMoQyM8BCCcwAg&usg=AOvVaw3VzXwCJlBWCkSNaV44ku_M&cf=1
Claudia Pascoal, anyone? Portugal 2018…..The Netherlands 2020!
And the connection is?
Gay, black whatever!!What counts is he is an Great artist!! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=szHuyie4Ucc
wow suriname ! loving this concept
Yes, cause it’s never been tried before..
I predict one of the following for The Netherlands:
2014 – Austria winner / 2015 – last place (0 points)
2017 – Portugal winner / 2018 last place (0 points)
Or…
2016 – Ukraine wins / 2017 – 24th place in the final
2018 – Israel wins / 2019 -23th place in the final
After a ballad in 2019 (which I loved and voted for) I’ve expected something else this year, a bop act with some dynamic, uptempo song. But judging after this singer’s musical style I expect a failure. We shall see…
What a stupid prediction without knowing the song …….
I predict
2011 Azerbaijan winner. /. 2012 number 4
2015 Sweden winner. /. 2016 number 5
It’s Azerbaijan and Sweden though xd
Your prediction doesn’t seem to be based on wisdom but on pure guesswork. I think at least the juries will recognize his musicality. On top of that I think the song will definitely be a ballad, seeing the adjectives I heard about it from broadcaster staff, like ‘very touchy’, ‘immediately went under our skin’. A few descriptions that usually applies more to ballads than to uptempos. For uptempos you expect other descriptions like ‘super catchy’, ‘inviting to dance’, ‘dynamic’.
Portugal 2018 got last place but didn’t get 0 points!
Portugal did “quite well” for a country that came last in the grand final- with 39 points. She would’ve placed 22nd with that amount in 2019, a higher place than the Makemakes, O.Torvald and Kobi.
Jeangu has said it’s the most beautiful song he’s ever written, his producer added it’s very emotional and a ‘love it or hate it’ type song. The committee also said it’s an outspoken song, and very touching.
So it won’t be a safe entry, as some have suggested. Nor do I believe it’s up tempo, mainly because I don’t associate that with ‘touching and emotional’.
I’m looking forward to his interview with Deban. 😛
MusicIstheKey, I’ve heard on Dutch television that The Netherlands will send an up-tempo song and not something with soul vibes!
I’ve heard on Dutch television that The Netherlands will send an up-tempo song and not something like soul vibes!
Which program? Uptempo would be nice, but soul too
Uptempo and Soul makes me think Too Late for Love, which I’d call good news.
groter, It was the program RTL Boulevard!
No they said ”probably not uptempo”. And Jeangu himself said ”it’s the most beautiful song I ever made”… sounds like a balad
RoboESC, Yeh it also could be a ballad but ‘probably not an up-tempo song’ is something else then ‘totally not an up-tempo song’. So there’s still a chance that one of these two different style songs also could be the up-tempo song, he’s gonna perform.
According to RTL Boulevard they said: ‘ The (up-tempo) song will be the best song he has ever written. And i’m very excited to see what my host country will give. And i’m also happy because i’m there during the Grand-Final Family-rehearsal. Greetings from ROTTERDAM!??? See you in May!
Again, that’s not what they said. They hoped for uptempo but came to the conclusion… “probably not”. And jeangu said ‘most beautiful’ not ‘best’.
Im sorry dude, I still hope for uptempo too, but the odds are against it
Seems like a typical host country choice: Not to risky, pleasant enough to not offend anybody and safe genre. Hopefully he does better than host entries usually does..
That’s funny because when I think of host countries putting forward weak entries, Ukraine are usually the first that come to mind!
His song is described as a love-hate song by his producer. For me that implies at least some courage and risk, not a safe bland song.
He seems like a cool dude and he’s got an amazing voice. What bothers me a bit is that most of his songs lack the extra oomph you need to stand out at Eurovision. Still, I think there’s a good chance he’ll be the one to break the host act curse, and either way I’m just happy that a genre which is usually absent from the contest will be present at this year’s edition. Veel succes, Jeangu!
Just watched his first tv interview about esc very nice guy I’m happy about this choice and I’m confident it will be a song we can be proud of
Without sounding weird, in that main picture, Jeangu looks like Deban’s and William’s love child. 😛 😛 😛
I hope Jeangu Macrooy was selected because of his artistic and musical talent, and not because he’s a gay Surinamese.
He was selected for his song what he wrote himself. The same way they selected Duncan.
As almost always, I shall wait for the song.
Wait, did someone already say that? 😀
I’m feeling Aloe Blacc/Michael Kiwanuka vibes and I’m not complaining
“Gay music” er… I would stop right there
Black and gay, well this should be fun….
Just wait for all the reactionaries to crawl out of the woodwork – some are already appearing on this thread I see.
I don’t know him, but I would guess that being gay is as much about who he is as being black. It is a fundamental part of his being. ESC is not a radio contest, it is a contest which is about the overall package – song, visual, emotional connection. His sexuality is absolutely relevant to who he is. It shouldn’t make you like the song or not like the song, but it is absolutely relevant in the context of the competition. Otherwise make it is radio contest with the songs released on the night.
Personally, based on the number of judgmental posts on this thread, I would suggest that announcing you are gay probably results in a net losing of votes rather than gaining of them. Sexuality, colour, whether he picks his nose or not, it is all irrelevant, I think we are agreed?
So why are you commenting on it?
Hear hear, Kosey. This “I’m not homophobic but here’s the thing…” argument pops up all the freaking time (Duncan, Mahmood, Conchita, the allegations against Vincent Bueno, now this) and I’m sick of it. If being gay is a relevant part of someone’s life and story, they have as much a right to use a song to talk about it as anyone else. It’s not preachy if it’s their truth, and selecting an act who talks about it isn’t a marketing move.
Joe, thank you, sometimes I think I am losing my mind when I see some posts on here. You make a great point. For those people who go on about “it should be all about the music”, do they mean the notes or are they including the lyrics? Now, I haven’t done any scientific research, but my guess is that at least 50% of songs have some romantic connotation in them. So if he is gay and loves another man, why can’t he sing about that? Surely it would be worse if he was gay and sang about loving a… Read more »
Exactly! If you wouldn’t get on Mahmood for singing about his deadbeat dad when he, in fact, has a deadbeat dad, why should singing about your truth be frowned upon? And yeah, we’ve moved far away from the days of closeted romantic songs (both of Denmark’s entries between 04 and 05 were by gay men singing about girls). Has there ever even been a Eurovision song about being gay? Like, directly addressing it? I think only Marry Me, maybe.
Funnily enough, even “Marry Me” lyrics don’t mention it directly, in fact Krista gets married to a guy in the music video. At Eurovision she just wanted to show her support for gay marriage, which at the time was yet to be legalized in Finland.
You could borderline call that pandering, but seeing as it was to genuinely advocate for a cause as opposed to shock value for conservatives, I think it’s legit. Same for Ryan O’Shaughnessy including a dancing gay couple in his act.
I need to start reading other people’s replies before I respond myself…sorry to be repeating points already made!
I don’t recall Marry Me directly addressing it? There was some very hetero-typical lyrics like “I’ll change my last name, I’ll give you babies, you’re my master” so I’m not sure how it directly addresses being gay…I know they were all in good fun, but the only thing that’s “gay” about that entry is the staging on the night. You could say the same about Ireland 2018. The 1961 winner is about being gay, though of course nobody realized it at the time.
Because straight people don’t need more of a platform for people who are less compassionate to learn more about empathy. Straight people haven’t been persecuted for their sexuality. This argument is stupid. It’s not an agenda if it’s something worth bringing up and advocating for that is an actual biological trait that is nevertheless treated as “unnatural” or “a choice,” including in plenty of countries that broadcast Eurovision.
@Musicisthekey – I am not sure i get your argument, there are loads of straight love songs in the competition already and I am positive about loads of them. A man singing, “I love her, she’s cute” A woman singing, “He’s amazing and so strong” etc, etc. Why can’t a man sing, “I love him, he’s got great eyes” or a woman sing “She’s amazing and such a rock”. What does it matter to you if the person is singing what they truly believe? Now, if you are advocating a “straight” song which says “Straight is best and being gay… Read more »
No, it’s a stupid argument. Eurovision is neither a gay nor straight thing. It is friendly to both, and it happens to have a large LGBT+ fanbase (probably the largest subset of fans, let’s be real), so they cater to them a lot. Eurovision represents a space where people of all nationalities, races, and sexualities can come together in celebration, and the EBU should always be commended for celebrating that demographic and promoting that kind of acceptance around Europe. There’s probably an unfair stereotype associated with that about how gay fans are the ones responsible for the more flamboyant and… Read more »
And advocating for LGBT+ rights isn’t so-called “gay chauvinism.” Assi Azar donating his salary to an LGBT+ rights charity isn’t the same as the Belarusian commentator telling viewers to look away when the kiss cam in the first semi showed gay couples kissing.
I guess we’re not going for a sixth victory…. Dont get me wrong I like his music just not eurovision competitive enough.
I mean if its any simular to his other music it will end up like austria 2015
Well, as much as I love countries aiming for a victory, I’d prefer a great song over a victory with a so-so song
Austria 2015 got the 26th place with 0 points but it wasn’t a bad entry at all in my opinion, so they can be still proud of it 🙂
Don’t get me wrong i think Austria was done wrong in 2015 I’m just saying just because he makes enjoyable music doesn’t mwan he’ll do well.
Can’t wait to hear his song seems so likeable!
As it usually is, I am not familiar with him. He has a nice face, though. Welcome to ESC, Jeangu!
The Netherlands had a very strong song most of the time (2015 being the exception), so I think they will continue in that direction.
2015 had a strong song and horrible staging
Same for 2018 , but they escaped that
2015 and 2018 songs both were underwhelming. They had better songs to choose from, but they chose wrong.
Why does this website keep underlining the artists’ sexuality I don’t get it.
He seems to be an interesting choice. I expect another strong act from the Netherlands. Good luck!
I know, it’s super cool that he’s gay; I am too, and I agree it’s nice to have a pink touch in this contest – there’s so many places where we are still put behind. But honestly why does the header say he’s a “gay role model”? I don’t need any role models
For you not important, for people in countries where gays are more or less forced to stay in the closet, it can be very important to see that some lgbt people are widely appreciated. You shouldn’t forget that in those countries it’s often a fight against a low self-esteem, imposed by the world around them.
According to Jeangu, his sexuality is a huge part of why he decided to move from Suriname to The Netherlands in the first place. It’s relevant information if you want to know how he ended up being the Dutch representative.
I don’t really mind they’re mentioning it, because the singer himself did reference to his sexuality in a television interview today.
Now, had Wiwibloggs published a whole article about him being gay, I would be annoyed.
Jeangu is a young man who struggled with his sexuality in his homecountry. For him being openly gay was the reason he moved to the Netherlands. That was just a couple of years ago and obviously is still very important to him. If he wants to tell his story let him. If Wiwi name the story in this article, let them…
I hope his song comes from his heart and what it is about…I really don’t care. Recent winners (and last years runner up) were all songs with a deeper and personal meaning (Jamala, Salvatore, Netta, Duncan, Mahmood)
On WB being gay is more important music. Look France 2019
I think it’s because in 2020 the audience seem to be hungry for all personal information about the artists. Times that we only knew the songs are over. People want to see interviews and get a dive into personal lives and artists tell about themselves, who they are and what moves them. That’s the consequence of modern media. And is not necessarily bad.
Also someone tell me , how come Suriname has a huge hindu population if it was a former Dutch colony ?
Guest workers from India started working in Suriname in the 19th century. The Netherlands has large Turkish and Moroccan populations because of guest workers too.
NLs sure loves it’s LGBT singers , 3/5 now !
Hope it’s a great song
But it will sure get you extra coverage on this website.
What extra coverage did Jeangu get? You think they weren’t going to post about the host country revealing its entrant?
Exactly what I meant , its just that sometimes in fields where not everyone has an idea of what gay is and in conservative countries it makes sense for people to be open and be able to bring change in attitude in the society.
No, a homophobic comment on a eurovision blogg… THAT’s a bad choice!
Idc about your opinion. Just don’t use the word gay in that context. It’s unnecessarily offensive and homophobic. And what even is a gay song? Should NL send a ”straight song” instead??
If they’re hiring at MTVA I will let you know!
lol
Checking out his back catalogue now and so far I feel like he will be a great stand out act. Strong singer and distinct style. Great choice!
Seems like he’ll be an unusually strong host act. Well done!
Excellent choice!
The very first Dutch participant with Surinam roots was Milly Scott in 1966.
She was also the first black participant of the contest.
I dont know him but maybe im living under a rock.
#dutch
Beautiful soulful voice and cool personality. I’m optimistic, can’t wait for the song!
Great choice! Such a beautiful voice and hopefully a killer song!
Awesome!
After so many male acts I had high hopes for a female uptempo dance-pop… When is the last time NL did something danceable?! Esther Hart 2003?? A selection committee member already said the song is ”Intriguing and it goes under your skin”. So I expect a balad again. But who knows.. maybe it’s a damn good one.
I’m always intrigued by people who want a certain genre rather than a song… who cares what the genre or the BPM is, if it’s a good song it’s a good song.
It’s not like Eurovision is lacking in female danceable pop songs…
It’s just a personal opinion. I would love to have a Dutch entry that could be played at eurovision parties for many years to come. Right now we don’t have (a recent) one. Ofcourse there are a lot from other countries, but that’s not the point.
Really glad with this joice. I’m really curious now what the song will be!
Choice* I knew something was off with that spelling but couldn’t figure out what xD
Netherlands coming for blood again!
I’m LIVING ?
As a half- Dutch half- Surinamese person I am through the roof that he will represent us on home soil. I can’t wait for the song.
Wow well I was proven wrong as I was for sure his schedule would be too hectic! An interesting choice Netherlands, can’t wait for the song!
Watch out, because The Netherlands is coming really strong this year! I’m really excited from i what I’ve heard – and I love how the country gave an opportunity to a Surimense person to shine. I strongly believe that the juries will love him.
I’m impressed! Expect this to be a stand out at the night. It’s of course all depending on the song, but I have a good feeling about Netherlands this year.
Not in love of genre of his songs, but could still be good, anyway I think it will score the best of any hosting country since Sweden in 2016. It will be quality for sure and also not generic.
hoping to see Davina soon though or Naaz