Pommelien Thijs stays at Number 1 and secures the highest debut of the week

Following a sold-out show in The Netherlands, Belgium’s reigning queen of pop music remains at the top of my chart with “Atlas”. Pommelien Thijs first broke through in 2019 as the lead on the musical tv-series #LikeMe which was very popular amongst Belgian youths. She then collaborated with Dutch singer Jaap Reesema on “Nu Wij Niet Meer Praten” in 2020, which became the Christmas Number 1 on my personal chart. Following numerous single releases, her musical breakout came with her debut album Per Ongeluk which became an uncomparable success. It spawned the platinum-certified “Erop of Eronder” and kickstarted Pommelien Thijs her string of Top 40-hits. Just this year, she earned her second Number 1-single with “Het Midden” featuring Dutch singer-songwriter MEAU. Meanwhile, she also garnered critical acclaim on Netflix’s Knokke Off. The newest “Atlas” now claims a second consecutive week at Number 1. She became the first Belgian female solo artist to peak at Number 1 in over 22 years. The last to achieve this feat was Kate Ryan, who spent three weeks atop the list in 2002 with the dance classic “Désenchantée”. While “Atlas” steadily remains ahead of Chappell Roan, she’s already lined up her follow-up single with the politically-motivated “Tegenwoordige Tijd”, released to celebrate Record Store Day in The Netherlands and Belgium. It earns the highest debut of the week at #15 and becomes Pommelien Thijs her eighth Top 40-hit.

Utrecht-based sorority U.V.S.V. / N.V.V.S.U. makes a dizzying and unexpected jump into the Top 3 with their viral song “Lotje”. It was originally released a year ago by the female Utrecht-based student sorority to celebrate its 125^th anniversary. Isn’t uncommon for Dutch fraternities or sororities to make a song to celebrate their lustrum. It is performed by president Jopke van Dobbenburgh and producer Roeland Beelen, who duet together about a French woman who likes to ski. “Lotje” its sudden success can only be attributed to TikTok, where it went viral after famous Dutch singers used the sound. This practice has resulted in the meteoric breakout of other Dutch artists, including Antoon – who suddenly went viral in 2021 with “Hyperventilatie” – or, more recently, Roxy Dekker. This trend has been more persistent globally, as artists such as Doja Cat, Benson Boone, Rema and Ice Spice have TikTok to thank for their internationally successful music careers.

Speaking of another Dutch singer that earned her breakthrough on TikTok, enter LUNA. Actually just Luna van Kampen – she is a singer-songwriter that suddenly found herself stumbling onto the national charts with a Dutch cover version of Billie Eilish her Number 1-hit “Birds of a Feather”. Though it has missed my personal Top 40, it was a popular single that accumulated more than 16 million streams on Spotify. It even earned LUNA an Edison nomination for Best New Artist. LUNA now enters my Top 10 with her third official single “Liefste”, peaking at #9. It was produced by Antoon, who also did the production on the platinum “Ik Haat Hem Voor Jou” by Froukje & S10 and earned himself his fourth Number 1-single this year with “Beetje Van Mij”. It should also be noted that LUNA now joins the ever growing list of Dutch female artists who have broken out in the 2020s. In no other decade did we have so many different Dutch female singers scoring big charting hits. This trend was arguably started by Maan – who herself scored four Number 1s, starting in the late 2010s – and has been continued by the likes of Roxy Dekker, Hannah Mae, MEAU, Froukje and S10.

Further down, Marina – formerly with the Diamonds – continues to tease us her upcoming new studio album with the deliciously camp “Cuntissimo” at #24. It’s been released just ahead of her performance at Coachella. Though Marina was one of the decade-defining artists of the 2010s with five Number 1s sign to her name, her more recent outings have underperformed, with “Butterfly” sadly stalling at #31 and “Cupid’s Girl” missing the Top 40 altogether. Perhaps with “Cuntissimo” and her Coachella-set, Marina can turn things around again. Meanwhile, Dutch singer Flemming teams up with Broederliefde on their new country-driven song “Allerlaatste Keer” at #40. This time last year, Flemming was up in the Top 3 with “Alles Op Gevoel”. It has been much longer since we’ve seen Broederliefde inside my Top 40 – the Rotterdam-based rap formation was responsible for some of Dutch hip hop’s biggest hits of the 2010s, though their last entry on here dates back to 2017’s “Officieel”.

Newly certified

“Ga Dan!” – Roxy Dekker GOLD

“Messy” – Lola Young PLATINUM