Duncan Laurence

Laurence during his time at the Rock Academy in Tilburg in 2014.

Born in Spijkenisse, Laurence grew up in Hellevoetsluis. He began writing his own songs as a teenager, 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 February 2020, he revealed that he had oxygen deprivation at birth, and thus has had a motor disorder affect his right hand.[7]

Laurence participated in the fifth season of The Voice of Holland, choosing Ilse DeLange as his coach. He advanced to the semi-finals before being eliminated.[8] In March 2016, he left The Slick.[9] Laurence graduated from the Rock Academy in 2017.[10] He, with Jihad Rahmouni, wrote the music to K-pop duo TVXQ's song "Closer" for their 2018 album New Chapter #1: The Chance of Love.[11]

Laurence performing "Arcade" during the second semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.

In January 2019, Laurence was internally selected to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, held in Tel Aviv, Israel. He was nominated by DeLange, with whom he remained in contact after The Voice. His song, "Arcade", was released in March 2019. Arriving as the main favourite to win, Laurence eventually went on to win the contest, having received a total of 498 points. He is the fifth Dutch entrant to win the competition, and the first since Teach-In won the Eurovision Song Contest 1975 with the song "Ding-a-dong".[12] As a result of the following year's contest being cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Laurence is the longest reigning Eurovision winner, having held the title for two consecutive years.

After his Eurovision victory, Laurence embarked on a concert tour across the Netherlands and Europe.[13] On 10 June 2019, he performed at the 50th anniversary of Pinkpop Festival in Landgraaf, the first Dutch Eurovision winner to perform at the event. He replaced the Swedish duo First Aid Kit 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 recording contract with Capitol Records.[15][16] In 2020, the artists' entrance at Rotterdam Ahoy was renamed "Door Duncan" in his honour.[17] On 13 May 2020, Laurence released his first extended play (EP), Worlds on Fire, which included the singles "Arcade", "Love Don't Hate It", and "Someone Else", along with two new tracks. His first studio album, Small Town Boy, followed on 13 November 2020. It was certified platinum in the Netherlands three days after its release.[18] The album's release was preceded by "Feel Something", a collaboration with fellow Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren.[19]

In the second half of 2020, "Arcade" went viral on video sharing service TikTok, resulting in the song's new chart success and rise in streams on various platforms.[20][21] In January 2021, "Arcade" became the most-streamed Eurovision song on Spotify, surpassing a record previously held by Eurovision 2019 runner-up Mahmood and his entry "Soldi".[22] On 12 February 2021, "Arcade" reached the UK Singles Chart's top 40,[23] and two weeks later it peaked at number 29.[24] In March, Laurence made his US television debut performing "Arcade" on Today,[25] and later also performed the song's duet version alongside Fletcher on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.[26] Following these promotional appearances, the song broke into the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the first Eurovision song in 25 years and the first Eurovision winning song in 45 years to do so; it eventually peaked at number 30.[27][28][29]

At the Eurovision Song Contest 2021 held in Rotterdam, Laurence opened the first semi-final with "Feel Something". In the same event, he was awarded a Global Platinum record for one billion streams of "Arcade".[30] However, he later tested positive for COVID-19, which prevented him from performing live in the grand final.[31] Pre-recorded footage of his performance, consisting of "Arcade" and a new single from Small Town Boy's deluxe edition, "Stars", was broadcast instead during the final.[32]

On 11 June 2021, the soundtrack album for the second season of the Hulu series Love, Victor was released. Among the artists featured on the soundtrack was Laurence with "Heaven Is a Hand to Hold", which he co-wrote with Leland, Jordan Garfield and Peter Thomas.[33] Laurence also features on American singer Wrabel's single "Back to Back", which was released on 30 July off of the latter's debut album These Words Are All for You.[34] "Wishes Come True", a standalone Christmas single, followed on 26 November.[35]

Laurence and guitarist Carlota Lopez van de Logt

In early 2022, Laurence served as a coach on the sixth season of The Voice Kids Belgium, where a member of his team, Karista, won.[36]

On 3 August 2022, Laurence released "Electric Life", which serves as the lead single of his forthcoming second studio album Skyboy.[37][38][39] A collaborative single with Rosa Linn, "WDIA (Would Do It Again)", followed on 21 October.[40] Further singles include "I Want It All" in November 2022, "Skyboy" in March 2023, and "Anything" and "Rest in Peace" in August 2023.[41] He co-wrote the Dutch entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2023, "Burning Daylight", performed by Mia Nicolai and Dion Cooper.[42] Also in the final of that year's Eurovision, he performed a cover of "You'll Never Walk Alone" as an interval act.[43]

Skyboy was released on 22 September 2023.[44] De Volkskrant gave the album a four-star rating, saying: "'Skyboy' by Duncan Laurence, recorded in Los Angeles, is bursting with variety. The power ballad clichés are now counterbalanced by gems of melody and (vocal) harmony."[45]