Many people in The Netherlands know Jan Smit for a long time already. Not a surprise: Jan is from Volendam, a town northwards from Amsterdam. This fisherstown is known from it’s many musical talents. Three Eurovision participants come from Volendam: Bernadette, Maribelle and 3JS. Jan Smit became a star when he was 11 years old. He sang “Ik zing dit lied voor jou alleen” about a grandmother who passed away. Jantje Smit (little Jan Smit) as his stage name was in these days, stole many grandmothers’ hearts.
In fact, lots of people in the Netherlands made fun of Jantje Smit. They didn’t take the boy too serious. People who want to make fun of him now still speak about Jantje Smit. But…. maybe it is a little bit too easy. Let us take you back to the 1st of january 2001, when a fire in a pub in Volendam made an end to the lives of 14 youngsters, of Jan’s peer group. Jantje Smit performed at the memorial service, while some of these youngsters were good friends of him. He sang “Ave maria”. If you can do thát in this situation, you are capable of something….
This is “Ave Maria”, but not the memorial service
Jantje became Jan and is now involved in the Eurovision Song Contest since 2011; as a commentator, but also as a member of the selection commitee since 2014.
