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Jan Smit: Tormented for the new album

Dutchman Jan Smit sings in German for his new album.
Photo: Jim Plasman

Comeback in Germany after eight years

Singing in German as a foreigner is a high art. And Jan Smit (27) mastered it surprisingly well with his new album "Ich bin da" . The Dutchman had to record individual passages again and again in order to get the High German almost perfectly.

"A great pain!" Confesses Jan Smit in an interview. "I'm a foreigner, I'm from Holland and I tried to sing it as unaccented as possible, I did, but it was not without stress, they really broke me ..."

But the accent has not quite disappeared: "You hear it a bit, but that's good, I'm from Holland."

In the Netherlands, Jan Smit is a superstar

After eight years, Jan Smit returns with a German-language album . In Holland, he rose to become a megastar during this time - everyone knows him there. He is a singer, presenter and movie star since last year.

The Germans may still know him as "Jantje Smit", a child star who, among other things, won the "Crown of Folk Music" and won numerous prizes with his eleven albums. But you hardly hear that musically anymore. He still sings gently, but much more pop.

"Yes, that's a completely different style of music, that's why I stopped in Germany because I did not think the songs fit anymore, " says Jan Smit . "I was 20 then and I sang about my grandmother for nine years and I wanted to sing lyrics that suited my age."

He has already conquered the top of the charts in Holland 18 times. Only the Beatles made it to number 22 22 times. But Jan Smit is confident that he will soon break this record: "I'm not done yet." When will he break the record? "I hope in two years - if it continues like this."

However, fans still have to wait for a tour in Germany. In September, his wife Liza gets her third child, the second joint, a son. In November it will be on tour in the Netherlands. And in between? Hopefully a lot in Germany ...

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