In addition to Nelson and de Brij, Roxanne Hazes, Blacks, Sarita Lorena, Ferdi Boland and Gap Recima participate this season. Previous seasons were regularly joked on social media about the number of tears shed during the broadcast.
De Brig explains that in preparation for the episodes, artists receive papers containing the lives of other artists and explaining why certain songs are important to them. “It gives you the feeling that you really know them well. When you see each other for the first time, you already know where the pain is. I think that’s why the tears are flowing so freely.”
“These tears are real,” adds Nelson. “You are two meters away from doing something very personal to someone who knows how much time, energy and love you put into it. It remains interesting whether what you did to someone’s number really mattered.” De Breij compares the feeling beforehand to primary school. “It’s like you’ve been heating up an ashtray on Father’s Day for a long time and you’ll finally be able to show it off.”
The voice of Nelson and de Brij can usually only be heard in Dutch, but they are now an exception. “I sang a duet in English for the first time in my life,” laughs Nelson. “There’s a reason I haven’t done it in ten years.” De Brij has made pieces in both English and Portuguese. “I’ve practiced it for a long time. Of course it shouldn’t seem completely stupid to those who are fluent in the language.”
Dear singers It can be seen every Thursday from August 11th at 8.35pm at AVROTROS on NPO1.
