Born in The Hague, Anouk is a household name in The Netherlands. Beginning her career as a singer-songwriter in 1996, to date, she has released twelve studio albums and received several national and international awards for her music. She also represented the Netherlands in the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest with Birds, reaching the finals and finishing in ninth place overall.
Queen for a Day is Anouk’s tenth studio album, released in 2016. The eleven tracks bring a vocally heavy sound that showcase Anouk’s powerful, versatile voice. Fluctuating from slower, sadder and more melodic songs to heavier hitters with accompanying rock, pop, rhythm & blues and electronic undertones, the album includes a little bit of everything – a true representation of Anouk’s evolving sound and style, encompassing her impressive career.
Run Away Together, If I Knew, Keeps Getting Better, Castles in the Air and Right On Time offer a slower tempo, accompanied by reflective lyrics about love, loss, hope, regret and lessons learned. These tracks highlight Anouk’s voice prominently, with backing vocals and musical instruments playing support roles to accentuate a particular mood or style.
Not A Lovesong, New Day, Dirty Girl, Be My Baby, Wanna Little Something and We Are feature more upbeat and energetic sounds that vary across styles and genres. These tracks are more musically heavy as the layers of instrumental accompaniment envelop Anouk’s voice. Dirty Girl has a playful, grungy sound with sensual lyrics, while Be My Baby and Wanna Little Something deliver a funky, rhythm & blues sound with teasing elements of hiphop thrown in as well. We Are is an empowering anthem of change, featuring bright little notes reminiscent of a tropical island getaway.
Anouk’s Queen for a Day presents a comprehensive picture of the artist’s overall sound and is sure to be popular with both long-time and first-time listeners.
We reviewed Queen for a Day in Issue 41 of Dutch the magazine.
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