This is the Europapa singer who was disqualified from Eurovision

A goofy rapper singing over happy hardcore about his love for Europe: It could have been so great. But just hours before the Eurovision final of 2024, and after he gave a smashing performance at the semifinal two days earlier, Joost Klein was disqualified from Eurovision. Who is this character making Eurovision history?

Image: Corinne Cumming / EBU

On May 11, 2024, Joost Klein was supposed to sing his tune 'Europapa' to millions of viewers around Europe and the world. His adventure was cut short due to an incident behind the screens after his performance in the semifinal of Eurovision in Malmo, Sweden.

Image: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

The Dutch performer allegedly intimidated a female member of the production team on the evening of his semifinal performance. It was a serious incident and the organization had the local police investigate it.

Image: Corinne Cumming/ EBU

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Hours before the start of the show, Eurovision's organizers EBU stated:
"The Dutch artist Joost Klein will not be competing in the Grand Final of this year's Eurovision Song Contest. Swedish police have investigated a complaint made by a female member of the production crew after an incident following his performance in Thursday night's Semi Final. While the legal process takes its course, it would not be appropriate for him to continue in the Contest."

The Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS, which is behind the entry of Joost Klein, says it finds the disqualification "disproportionate and is shocked by the decision." Its statement on Instagram adds: "We deeply regret this and will come back to this later."

Who's this weird guy who got himself into trouble at Eurovision? As it turns out, Joost Klein has an interesting backstory.

The singer was born in the rural north of The Netherlands, in Friesland. He lost his father to cancer when he was 12 and his mother to cardiac arrest a year later. An orphan, Joost was raised by his older brother and sister.

Image: Joost Klein / Instagram

In the song 'Europapa,' Joost Klein honors his father and addresses him directly:
"At the end of the day / We are all human beings
My father told me once that / The world has no borders
I miss you every day / Is what I whisper to myself
You see, dаd / I did liѕten to you"

Image: Eurovision, 09-05-2024 / YouTube

Klein became known in The Netherlands for his YouTube channel 'Eenhoorn Joost' ('Unicorn Joost'). He made sketches, short documentaries, and songs.

Klein's songs (and poetry, which he published in 2018) often are autobiographical and filled with jokes. Some of them address social problems like bullying or homelessness.

Image: Corinne Cumming/ EBU

Having scored several hits in The Netherlands, Klein founded his own record company, Albino Records, in 2019. He scored a hit in Germany, Switzerland, and Austria with 'Friesenjung' in the summer of 2023.

Image: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

In December 2023, the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS announced that Joost Klein would represent The Netherlands in Eurovision 2024. In February, his song 'Europapa' was released.

Image: Corinne Cumming/ EBU

Joost Klein told Eurovision-tv that he had dreamed of participating in Eurovision from a young age.

Image: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

Reactions on social media were mixed. Some thought he was a ridiculous choice, while others saw it as the "guts and risk that the Netherlands needs" to score high in the competition.

Katja Zwart, a podcast maker and Eurovision expert, was delighted with Klein's participation. "It's refreshing, a welcome change from the ballads of recent years," she told Dutch broadcaster NOS.

"Happy hardcore is not my style, but Joost is really an artist. He is not only a musician but also a performer. This boy is bursting with creativity."

Image: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

More critical listeners said the choice of the Frisian rapper and his entourage (photo) were "ridiculous," as there were "much better artists in the Netherlands."

Photo: Corinne Cummings / EBU

Zwart rejected the criticism. "I see the reactions too. People are wondering, 'Who?!' But let's not forget that Duncan Laurence was also relatively unknown before he took part, and ultimately won." Duncan Laurence was the winning candidate in 2019.

Photo: Ruud Janssen / AVROTROS via Eurovision

According to the jury report of the Dutch Pop Prize, which Joost Klein won in 2023, a true artist takes on the challenge of building bridges and addressing abuses. He dares to make his voice heard, raise social issues, and incorporate this into his work in an appealing way. Joost does exactly that, the Pop Prize judges stated.

"In his songs, he translates the chaos of being young, his struggles with his mental health, and the lack of support," said the jury. "It became clearer than ever in the past year that this resonates with his audience and gives them strength."

Image: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

The jury of the Pop Prize described Joost's work as honest, unpolished, and full of meaning. "And yet with humor and lightness, both lyrically and musically. His music has a clear signature of its own."

It's possible that Joost Klein's 'big mouth' got the best of him during the tense week of Eurovision in Malmo. While the EBU and AVROTROS, the people in charge of the organization of the contest, have not shared any details of the incident that got him canceled, they did say it involved verbal intimidation.

Image: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

Before the start of Eurovision, Joost Klein was named as one of the contenders to win. The clip of 'Europapa' was the second most-watched video from a Eurovision candidate by May, and his song also made it to number 2 for all Eurovision entries on Spotify.

Photo: behind the scenes during the filming of the video of 'Europapa' / AVROTROS

However, the singer would never get to see how this online success translated into audience votes and jury points during the Eurovision Song Contest. After getting into an apparent argument behind the screen, even involving police, he had to leave the set before the final.

Image: Sarah Louise Bennett / EBU

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