Duncan Laurence is a Dutch singer-songwriter. He is best known for the song “Arcade”, which debuted in 2019 and was later included on his debut album Small Town Boy (2020).
Wiki/Biography
Duncan de Moor was born on Monday, April 11, 1994 (27 years old; as of 2021) in Spijkenisse, South Holland, Netherlands. His zodiac sign is Sagittarius.
Duncan Lawrence as a child
He grew up in Hellevoetslais, Voorne-Putten, South Holland, the Netherlands. At the age of four, he started playing the piano and writing his own songs and musical compositions. He attended an old music school and the local theater, where he played the piano, wrote songs and poems every day. He studied music at the Tilburg Rock Academy and graduated in 2017.
appearance
Height (approximate): 5′ 10″
Eye Color: Brown
Hair color: Black
Family and Race
His mother’s middle name is Laurentia. In October 2018, he came out as bisexual in an Instagram post. In a press conference shortly before the Eurovision final, he said,
I’m not just an artist, I’m a person, I’m a human being, I’m bisexual, I’m a musician, I stand for something. I’m proud that I got the opportunity to show who I am.”
In June 2019, he announced that he was in a relationship with a man named Gerco Derksen, and in September 2019, he announced that he had broken up with his boyfriend.
Duncan Lawrence’s ex-boyfriend Gekko Derksen
On October 5, 2020, he announced his engagement to American songwriter Jordan Garfield.
Duncan Lawrence and Jordan Garfield
Profession
The Band and the Dutch Sound
In his first year of study, he played in several bands, ranging from Motown to rock, from hip-hop to reggae. In 2013, he formed the band “The Slick and Suited” with four other people to finish his semester. The band debuted at Eurosonic Noorderslag, an annual four-day music festival and conference in the Netherlands. Subsequently, the band performed at Amsterdam RAI Fashion Week and opened for Berget Lewis at Mezz in Breda, P3 in Purmerend and Gigant in Apeldoorn.
Flashy
In 2014, he participated in the Dutch singing reality show “The Voice of Holland” and chose Dutch singer-songwriter Ilse DeLange as his coach. He rose to fame on the show. He made it to the semi-finals but was almost eliminated.
Duncan Laurence in The Voice of Holland
He left The Slick and Suited in March 2016. Laurence and Jihad Rahmouni co-wrote Max Changmin’s solo song “Closer”, which was included on the 2018 album New Chapter #1: The Chance of Love by the Korean pop duo TVXQ.
At the same time, he traveled to London and Stockholm, where he created music and wrote songs for many artists.
Eurovision Song Contest
In January 2019, Lawrence was selected to represent the Netherlands at the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, an international annual singing competition where contestants represent their respective countries, primarily in Europe.
Duncan Laurence at the Eurovision Song Contest
The 2019 competition was held in Tel Aviv, Israel, and Lawrence won with 498 points from 41 international judges and public votes. He is the fifth Dutch contestant to win the competition. Due to the global COVID-19 pandemic, Lawrence became the longest-reigning champion of the Eurovision Song Contest, winning the title for two consecutive years.
Duncan Lawrence holds the Eurovision Song Contest trophy
Albums and singles
In March 2019, his song “Arcade” was released to the public for the first time. In the same year, he signed a record deal with Capitol Records. In May 2020, Duncan Laurence released his first album “Worlds on Fire”. The album includes the singles Arcade, Love Don’t Hate It and Someone Else. The album peaked at number 64 on the Dutch Album Hot 100 and number 12 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart.
In November 2020, Duncan released his debut studio album, Small Town Boy. His 2019 song “Arcade” was released as the album’s lead single. The album peaked at number 6 on the Dutch Hot Albums 100, number 94 on the Belgian chart, and number 12 on the Billboard Top Heatseekers chart. The album was certified platinum after only three days of release for 40,000 units sold and streamed.
Small Town Boy by Duncan Laurence (2020)
The song “Archade” from the album reached number 1 on the Dutch Singles Top 100, number 45 on the Canadian Singles Chart, number 29 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 100 on the US Singles Chart. In the second half of 2020, his single “Archade” became popular on the social media platform TikTok, and the song achieved more success in the charts and increased streaming on various platforms. Speaking about his Archade in an interview, he said,
“Arcade” was inspired by the story of someone I loved dearly, who died young. The lyrics, chords and melody came to me automatically, as if they had fallen from the sky. When Joel Sjöö and Wouter Hardy helped me finish the song, its scope became so much greater. It went from being a very personal story to one that everyone can relate to. “Arcade” is a song about longing…longing for love…longing for something that seems out of reach. It’s about hope. Hope that you can find what you need in life.”
In January 2021, Arcade became the most-streamed Eurovision song on Spotify. In March 2021, Lawrence made his US television debut, performing “Arcade” on The Today Show. He then performed the final version of the song with Fletcher on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. In April 2021, Arcade became the first Eurovision winning song to enter the Billboard Hot 100 chart in 45 years.
Awards and Achievements
Buma Award
- 2020 National
Duncan Lawrence receives Buma Award
- The song “Archade” was released in 2020.
Other Awards
- Marcel Bezençon Prize – 2019 Journalism Award for the song “Arcade”
- 2020 “Archade” wins Edison Award for Best Original Song
Duncan Lawrence receives Edison Award
Favorite Things
- Bands: U2, Queen, Snow Patrol, Coldplay, The Fray, Paramore, Fleetwood Mac, Die Antwoord
- Albums: Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours, Ami Winehouse’s Back To Black
- Artists: Elvis Presley, Alex Vargas, Sam Smith, Adele, Troye Sivan, Allie X, Noah Cyrus, Jessie J, Tom Odell
- Song: Dance You Off by Benjamin Ingrosso
- Movies: Harry Potter series
- Books: Harry Potter series
Facts/Trivia
- Duncan enjoys listening to music and writing songs, even in his free time. He said AirPods and a laptop are two of the things he always takes with him when he travels.
- Because he was born prematurely, his parents named him “Duncan”, which means dark warrior in Gaelic.
- When asked how he came up with the name “Lawrence,” Duncan replied that it came from his mother’s middle name, Laurentia. He said,
Duncan is my first name. That’s easy. Lawrence is my mother’s first name, and her middle name is Laurentia. […] I changed my name to Lawrence in her honor.”
- In February 2020, he revealed that he had motor impairment in his right hand due to lack of oxygen at birth. He said in an Instagram post about the incident,
When I was born, I didn’t get enough oxygen, which caused me to have seizures in my first few days of life. I’m happy and grateful that it only caused some damage to the left side of my brain, causing what the doctors call a movement disorder. The simplest explanation is: I can’t move my right hand normally. ”
- Duncan grew up in a small town unfamiliar with music. Music was not part of formal school education. However, he developed a strong interest in music at an early age.
- As a child, he was often bullied and could not defend himself. This led him into the world of music where he felt safe and calm. In an interview, he talked about this and said,
I was bullied a lot as a kid. I had a hard time in school from age four to eighteen. School wasn’t a safe place for me, but my home, specifically my room, was because of my music. I couldn’t be myself. I took all the negativity home and locked myself in my room. I would play the piano and write songs. It was a way to pour all that negativity into a melody, a chord, a lyric, and turn it into a beautiful song. In a safe world created by music, I could be myself, make mistakes, and tell my own story.”
- In 2017, he performed on the song “Laat Gaan” by Dutch artist Sjors van der Panne.
- He has two tattoos on his right arm.
Duncan Lawrence shows off his tattoos
Categories: Biography
Source: HIS Education