Joan Franka

Joan Franka

Joan Franka was born in Rotterdam on April 2, 1990. She has a Dutch mother and a Turkish father, who sadly died when she was two years old. She’s not fluent, but has a smattering of Turkish.

As a child Joan was fascinated by theatre, poetry and music. Together with her sister, who is two years older, Joan wrote musicals and played them at every birthday and party. The duo called themselves J & N, and the Spice Girls were their biggest source of inspiration.

Joan has always been passionate about her music. That’s why, at age six, she knew she wanted a musical career. “I didn’t even know if I could sing. I just thought: I want it and I’m going to do it.” Joan was 17 when she first performed.

In 2010 Joan was scouted to take part in The Voice of Holland. After much deliberation she decided to take part. She chose coach Van Velzen. It was her first introduction to the entertainment business.

During the programme producer Holger Schwedt (a member of Van Velzen’s Dream Team) promised  to record an album with her.

Holger submitted the song You and Me for the National Song Festival in 2012. Having received most of the public vote she beat the five other contestants to win the National Song Festival on February 26. It was the first time the audience heard a song Joan Franka had written herself. “You and Me” tells the story of a childhood memory, in which she often played “Cowboys and Indians” with her first boyfriend. That’s why she wore an Indian-style dress and headdress during her performance to add lustre to her childhood memory. The headdress was made in a bridal shop. There was a lot of fuss about her dress and headdress. In the media too her outfit got a lot of attention. And Joan got a lot of spontaneous and positive reactions to her song on radio and TV. And not just in the Netherlands. Portugal, England and Turkey have also shown a lot of interest in Joan Franka.

Joan Franka is greatly looking forward to taking part in the 2012 Eurovision Song Contest. She’s proud to be representing the Netherlands in Baku in May 2012.

Joan wrote the song You and Me together with Jessica Hoogenboom, a frequent guest at Holger’s studio. “Holger suggested I write songs with other people too. When I first met Jessica I was sure I knew her from somewhere. After five minutes I found out we woke up in the hospital next to each other the year before! We were both operated on our vocal cords and woke up laughing. Since that day we often write together and have become good friends.”

Besides music Joan also writes poetry and paints regularly. She deals with her emotions by writing both songs and poems. Inspiration often comes out of nowhere. She likes being creative, including with her wardrobe.