The cancellation of the 2020 Eurovision Song Contest was a blow to all of the artists who were set to represent their countries, however missing out on the opportunity to represent your country on home soil seemed even more cruel.
Thankfully Jeangu Macrooy has been given a second chance at representing the Netherlands as national broadcaster AVROTROS, have once again entrusted Jeangu with the responsibility of representing the Netherlands in the 2021 Eurovision Song Contest in Rotterdam. Jeangu was chosen internally and will be performing his new entry, Birth of a New Age.
Jeangu’s music style can be described as modern soul with elements of gospel. This was clearly felt in his 2020 entry Grow, and now again in his 2021 entry, Birth of a New Age. Both of the entries were written and produced by Jeangu himself and his longtime collaborator Perquisite.
Birth of a New Age is a story of resilience and the beginning of a new era. According to Jeangu, “The song is an ode to everyone who stands up for themselves and dares to celebrate the power of their authenticity”. Birth of a New Age is strong and anthemic. The beautiful vocals builds throughout the song to a powerful gospel backing choir which is sure to stand out of the Eurovision stage.
Birth of a New Age will also bring a new language to the Eurovision Song Contest. For the first time, lines of Sranan Tongo will be sung on the Eurovision stage. The lyrics are inspired by an old Surinamese saying, “Mi Na Afu Sensi, No Wan Man E Broko Mi” which translates to “I’m half a cent, you can’t break me”. (The half-cent is the smallest coin in Suriname, and therefore cannot be broken into smaller denominations).
Jeangu was born in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname. Until 1975, Suriname was a constituent country of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and still holds many close ties to the Netherlands.
Jeangu’s musical passion started with a gift of a guitar for his 13th birthday. Jeangu formed a musical duo called Between Towers with his twin brother Xillan and in 2013 they released an album entitled Stars on My Radio.
Jeangu moved to the Netherlands in 2014 to study songwriting at the ArtEZ Conservatory in Enschede. It was here that he met music producer Perquisite and signed to his record label Unexpected Records. Jeangu has released 2 solo albums, High on You in 2017 and Horizon in 2019. He has been nominated for 2 Edison Awards (the Dutch version of the Grammys). In 2017 he was nominated for the Best Newcomer and in 2018 for Best Album (High on You).