She’s a Dutch singer known for appearances on TV shows including Wie is de Mol? and De beste singer-songwriter van Nederland. And now Dutch media are speculating that Lakshmi may soon land her biggest gig yet: an appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022 in Torino.

Last Friday Rick Romijn, a sidekick on the popular show Veronica Inside, said that an insider had told him that 28-year-old Lakshmi will follow in the footsteps of Jeangu Macrooy. 

It’s not a crazy suggestion. Lakshmi was part of the Dutch Eurovision jury last year and she’s a regular on AVROTROS, the country’s Eurovision broadcaster.

RTL Boulevard reached to her management and they tread carefully. They said: “If Lakshmi is asked, she is open to it, but at the moment we have nothing to say.”

The show also reached out to Dutch Eurovision maestro and selection committee member Cornald Maas, who said that he would not make any statements about the song or the artist. However, he did tell RTL Boulevard that the selection process was “exemplary and harmonious.” 

Lakshmi over Armin van Buuren for Eurovision 2022?

Rick also claimed that Armin van Buuren was rejected by AVROTROS after submitting a duet with Jaap Reesema. And later on Friday Jaap confirmed to Dutch newspaper AD that their collab was indeed rejected.

Jaap said: “Armin and I were in the studio together to record some songs, but not with the idea of ​​doing that for the Eurovision Song Contest.”

“But suddenly we had a song that we thought was very suitable, then we got the idea to send it in.”

Unfortunately the song wasn’t chosen from what Jaap describes as a pool of around 400 submissions.

Even juicier? He heard whispers about Lakshmi. 

“I also heard that it is Lakshmi. I think she is in the camp of Ilse DeLange who – rightly so – has a lot of influence in the choice. It could be her, I really don’t know.”

 

Who is Lakshmi?

Lakshmi — full name Lakshmi Swami Persaud — hails from Wijchen, a town of around 36,000 people. She studied music at the Herman Brood Academy in Utrecht, where Martin Garrix also cut his teeth.

She released her self-titled debut album in March 2017, and followed it up with Sire a year later. The collections showcase her “pop noir” style, which mixes synths with dark violins.

Writing on her official web site, Lakshmi’s people say her music is “a surprising combination of whisper-soft listening songs and gritty electronics, supplemented with scratchy guitars and vulnerable strings.”

What do you think about Lakshmi’s music? Do you like the vibe? And do you prefer it to the stylings of Armin van Burren? Let us know in the comments box below.

 

45 Comments
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Ethan1994
Ethan1994
2 years ago

It’s S10. Just got announced.

https://eurovision.tv/story/s10-for-netherlands

HarpyDarper
HarpyDarper
2 years ago

Off topic here, but I was wondering- did Paul de Leeuw attend the contest this year? I know he has long been associated with it as a commontator

sTommie
sTommie
2 years ago
Reply to  HarpyDarper

He co-hosted the after show,
https://www.npostart.nl/op1/23-05-2021/POW_05054273

(Don’t know if it is geo-blocked.)

musica
musica
2 years ago

The guy who broke the Lakshmi news has now retracted it and said it’s going to be S10. And also that we’ll have confirmation very soon (like today or tomorrow). So we’ll know soon enough if he’s right.

S10 is pronounced es-teen, a play on her real name Stien as ‘tien’ is Dutch for ’10’. She’s a rapper/singer who only performs in Dutch, so if it’s her it’s pretty much certain that we’ll have a Dutch language entry.

Aeria
Aeria
2 years ago
Reply to  musica

Assuming our most recent Dutch song was the one we still have nightmares of, that’s not a good sign at all lmao

Leendert Jan
Leendert Jan
2 years ago
Reply to  Aeria

Well, S10 and Sieneke are something quite ehm… different

Leendert Jan
Leendert Jan
2 years ago
Reply to  musica

S10 has a great song now in the Dutch charts together with Belgian band Bazart, where she doesn’t rap but sing. She has a great voice, a promising young talent.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7y_oSNrSxo

Last edited 2 years ago by Leendert Jan
Luc
Luc
2 years ago

Just heard from her and she’d be a nice choice, I’m not much into her kind of music but I recognize she has both a great voice and artistic concept.

Alex
Alex
2 years ago

Lakshmi is a very special artist. She could either go the Duncan route (not winner but good result) or the PAENDA one/…really depends on the song they choose. The committee made a good choice with Duncan in 2019 and Grow in 2020 so i trust they will choose a good song. Having Ilse involved makes it more serious and reliable. I wonder why they didn’t involve her more in Eurovision 2021…

Robbert
Robbert
2 years ago

Actually the rumours about Lakhsmi are old news. Since then we have heard singer S10 will represent the Netherlands, which has been confirmed even by S10’s mother. If those rumours have been created to protect the real artist, who knows, but I suppose the final announcement won’t be too far away.

Alex
Alex
2 years ago
Reply to  Robbert

who is S10?

Barry
Barry
2 years ago
Reply to  Alex
Last edited 2 years ago by Barry
Luc
Luc
2 years ago
Reply to  Alex

According to what I was able to find, S10 (pronounced “Es Teen”) is the artistic name of Stien den Hollander, an upcoming artist from Hoorn, the Netherlands.

Frisian esc
Frisian esc
2 years ago
Reply to  Robbert

Where did you hear that? Even when i search it on google i can’t find anything about it.

Last edited 2 years ago by Frisian esc
Leendert Jan
Leendert Jan
2 years ago
Reply to  Frisian esc

If you look at songfestivalweblog.nl, they link to an Instagram Channel who says that S10’s mother has confirmed this and that there has already been a photoshoot for the broadcaster. We’ll have to wait and see I guess…

Michel
Michel
2 years ago

I don’t know if I’m enthousiast is she will be chosen, it depends on the song. It’s like Victoria last year, I liked ‘Tears getting Sober’ but ‘Growing up is getting old’ was not my fav. I see the same with Laksmi she has songs that are too sleepy

Leendert Jan
Leendert Jan
2 years ago

She has a great voice and her music is very interesting and “not standard”. I do not know her very well (I had never heard of her before she took part in Wie is de Mol), but could be quite an exciting choice actually for the Netherlands.

Last edited 2 years ago by Leendert Jan
Sabrina
Sabrina
2 years ago

She has a deligthful voice. If it’s true, I hope Ilse is helping her picking the right song. Her Eurovision track has been flawless after all.

Iván el Conquistador
Iván el Conquistador
2 years ago

Imagine rejecting a DJ who’s been in the Top 5 of DJ Magazine for almost twenty years. That’s what ARVOTROS has done. This is as dumb as Nickelodeon rejecting Adventure Time twice.

Barry
Barry
2 years ago

Well, Darude hadn’t really the success what he had hoped for in 2019. So a well-known DJ is no guarantee.

musica
musica
2 years ago
Reply to  Barry

Darude is no Armin van Buuren, to be fair.

Frisian esc
Frisian esc
2 years ago

They might be salty because he has been wanted by avrotros for a loooooong time no doubt. They might be giving him the cold shoulder now that eurovision is gaining popularity with dutch duncan and måneskin and he suddenly wants to do it.

Then again maybe lakshmi just had an amazing song.

musica
musica
2 years ago

It is not, if Lakshmi simply had a better song (or whomever else they picked). Also, Armin submitted a song together with Jaap Reesema, who is a decent singer but has no podium presence whatsoever.

Barry
Barry
2 years ago
Reply to  musica

I already thought it was a weird duo.

Zisk
Zisk
2 years ago

He could have just submitted a terrible song, Iván.

Alex
Alex
2 years ago

I am also surprised they rejected him, i bet they were begging him a decade ago lol

but his song must have been mediocre or perhaps they have a gem this time

Luc
Luc
2 years ago

Man, we already got Gromee and Darude and both had dreadful results. Also – on a personal note, I like some of Armin’s songs but he’s not among my favorite DJ’s.
My guess is that the song he submitted didn’t convince the team in charge of selecting the entry.
Edit: However, I get your point that the choices of AVROTROS can be questionable sometimes (see last season with Birth of a New Age, which wasn’t a bad song but could’ve been way better)

Last edited 2 years ago by Luc
sTommie
sTommie
2 years ago
Reply to  Luc

BOANA wasn’t chosen by the selection commitee. Jeangu got carte blanche after he was invited to perform in 2021.

Kohen
Kohen
2 years ago

on Twitter, some people say that Turkish-Dutch singer Karsu might represent the Netherlands?

Leendert Jan
Leendert Jan
2 years ago
Reply to  Kohen

There’s quite a bit of buzz surrounding Karsu since she took part in a tv show called “The best singers” this autumn, which has really raised her profile. And yeah, suddenly people are talking about her being “perfect for Eurovision”.

Kohen
Kohen
2 years ago
Reply to  Leendert Jan

just watched some performances of her, I think she might do well unexpectedly If AVROTROS choose her and give a song which suits her voice.

Last edited 2 years ago by Kohen
Jack Popfield
Jack Popfield
2 years ago

She reminds me of Jinx from Arcane, if rumors are true this is perfect timing!

sam
sam
2 years ago

i like her a lot i hope she’ll be selected this year if not sometime in the future. i bet she’d be showstopping live at esc

Last edited 2 years ago by sam
BadWoolfGirl
BadWoolfGirl
2 years ago

How to deny that you’re the participant without saying you are the participant

Hans P.
Hans P.
2 years ago

In The Netherlands we’ve already moved up 3 rumours, this is old news.

Barry
Barry
2 years ago
Reply to  Hans P.

Who are the others?

Luc
Luc
2 years ago
Reply to  Barry

I heard they’re talking about some Turkish-Dutch girl called Karsu recently

Frisian esc
Frisian esc
2 years ago
Reply to  Luc

There are no rumors about Karsu at the moment or any other artists. Only thing valid media outlets are talking about is Lakshmi.

Last edited 2 years ago by Frisian esc
Luc
Luc
2 years ago
Reply to  Frisian esc

I made my comment according to what I had heard but I trust you know better, you’re the one living in the Netherlands 😀

Last edited 2 years ago by Luc
Frisian esc
Frisian esc
2 years ago
Reply to  Luc

I was alsl curious which rumours he meant 😀

Lollipopmonster
Lollipopmonster
2 years ago

UPDATE: Eskimo Callboy just official announced on Youtube that they want to go to Turin next May and represent Germany there. I hope (but I doubt it) that they picked “We Got The Moves” as their song …..because that song is way better for the ESC than “Pump It”.

Barry
Barry
2 years ago

Wrong topic…

Ellie
Ellie
2 years ago

Will they be changing their name beforehand or are they going the Alabama Watchdog route?

Ellie
Ellie
2 years ago

Ah, never mind, they were called out for having a racial slur in their name all of last year and clearly do not care.

Alex
Alex
2 years ago

I think Pump it will be their proposed song.

They are very special but i am not a fan of the comedy aspect of their music videos. I hope they are better than that on stage.,