I wonder if everyone runs into this. Let me just check: Do you have a famous singer, rapper, celebrity you would just love to hate, but then they go and do something you can’t help but support? I have to admit, I do.
I have a love-hate relationship with Dutch rock chick Anouk. Maybe you know her from her entry in the Eurovision Song Contest, three years ago, or maybe you remember her from her very, very early days when her second single, “Nobody’s Wife”, became an international hit across Europe (in a time where this was a rarity for Dutch artists). Back then, I really liked her.
Let’s just say that Anouk has got a strong personality. It suits a rock singer. It is this that puts me off, but it also intrigues me. I’m positive though, that she won’t like me either, so I do feel ok with me not fully being convinced about her and luckily, I hear many people running into the same issue with her, or maybe that’s just the crowd I hang out with.
Still, Anouk has built up a reputation for being difficult to work with. She has been known to sack her full band on occasion. She simply takes no crap and seeks perfection. Nevertheless, make no mistake, Anouk is at the top of the Dutch music industry, so all the attitude and arrogance is not exactly based on an illusion. She’s built up quite a career.
Throughout that career, she’s experimented. I described her as rock singer, but to be honest, every genre has been incorporated in her music. Hip hop and soul are reoccurring genres that she’s brushed shoulders with, but reggae has also sneaked into her music at times. In fact, as recently as this year.
Anouk is about to release a new album and today, I really started doubting myself, but I could swear an album was just released. It was. Earlier this year, she’d released an album with soul-ish songs and did a side project with reggae singer Kenny B. I could recall, it was around April or May when I already considered blogging about her, but I didn’t really hear more about it since.
I guess that could explain the rush to release something new. Maybe the album, “Queen for a Day” never hit on. Her new album is also to promote a major concert, planned for next year, and she will return to her more regular sound on the new album.
The lead single, “Down Daddy Down”, was released today and actually kicked off my day. It kicked it off in a good way, because she’s finally got a song out again that I really love and loved instantly.
At the beginning of the song, you may think you are listening to a One Republic song, but soon enough Anouk will show you what she’s been doing a lot; mixing a bit of arrogance, personal insight with her love for the current sounds of R&B. It all makes it a mellow lead single, compared to Anouk’s usual lead singles. However, it’s a very strong lead single with domination on her mind.
