The track, ”Bludfire”, by Eva Simons and her husband, DJ Sidney Samson, is what you would now consider to be a signature Eva Simons track. That is, if you know her. But Eva Simons has walked a long journey to become the artist that she is today.
In The Netherlands she’s considered a “national pride”. Back in the old music industry it was rare for someone from The Netherlands to break through internationally, let alone be able to break through in the States. It only happened to about two artists back in those days. So, logically, that became the dream for any Dutch artist.
Nowadays, there are many Dutch artists who have managed to get a song in the Billboard Hot 100 and many more have now collaborated with the biggest international stars. Eva Simons is one of the firsts though.
Her international career started after collaborating with Afrojack on “Take Over Control”, which paved the way internationally for the both of them. No one knew this track would become the sound she would own later. But then again, no one could’ve predicted that Eva would look like she does today.
Music is in her veins. Her dad is a pianist and her mother is a singer, very well known among her peers. So, it’s not a surprise that Eva followed into their footsteps.
In order to break into the business she auditioned for the talent show Popstars and became part of a girl group called “Raffish”. They only had one hit, “Plaything”. Eva was the one you would quickly overlook. Something she would correct later.
See if you can spot her in this video:
A demo she had recorded, for a song called “Silly Boy”, started attracting millions of views on YouTube. People speculated that it was a new track by Rihanna and that’s when she got signed. To this date, there are people on YouTube claiming the song is either Rihanna’s or Lady Gaga.
Rihanna´s edgier look also rubbed off on Eva and her girl next door look got replaced by a fitting look for a pop star. Now, she had to get the sound right, which is where Afrojack came in. But Eva is all about being able to do things herself.
For her collaboration with Will.I.Am she negotiated that she could mix her own vocals, so it´s no surprise that she would get herself skilled to do what Afrojack can do. Nowadays, she also DJs.
The sound of Rihanna and Afrojack can still be heard in what she does today, often blended with a dancehall sound (very obvious in her previous single, “Policeman”). Though her success has never matched the Will.I.Am collaboration again, she’s moved on to make her music more her own without comprimize. She’s got fire in her spirit and music is in her blud.
