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Joan Franka

At the age of 22, Joan Franka will represent the Netherlands in Baku with the song You And Me. She is a gifted singer/songwriter and a taletned poet who has a story to tell through her song.

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.


Music video

Live performance

Lyrics of You And Me

I was five you were three
We were dancing in the street, and you looked just like an angel
You looked up and saw the sky, saw the birds and wondered why, they could fly away so high

In the morning I would wake, and my heart just couldn't wait
To play in your backyard
In the evening I would go telling you I love you so
And I couldn't wait to see you again

It's you and me and everybody out there
And I can see that everybody knows about
You and me, but I don't really care for it
I can see that everybody knows about us

We grew up knowing love, thanking God up above
That we could be together forever
We would never say goodbye 'cause we promised you and I
But our love couldn't handle time

And I see you walking by my house and wonder why we don't play around no more
Such a shame we had no time they were wrong and we were right
I still love you and in my mind

So I'm laying in bed thinking about the old days
Thinking 'bout it all and how it ends sometimes
Was it wrong or right was I good enough

It's you and me and everybody out there
And I can see that everybody knows about
You and me, and everybody out there
And I can see that everybody knows about
You and me, but I don't really care for it I can see that everybody knows about us
J’avais cinq ans, tu en avais trois
Nous dansions dans la rue et tu ressemblais Ă  un ange
Vers le ciel tu regardais , tu voyais les oiseaux et voulais savoir
Pourquoi ils pouvaient s’envoler si haut

Le matin en me réveillant, mon cœur était impatient
D’aller jouer dans ton jardin
Le soir je te disais à quel point je t’aimais
Et ne pouvais attendre de te revoir encore

C’est toi et moi et c’est tout le monde
Et je vois que tous sont au courant de
Toi et moi, mais je ne m’en soucie guère
Je vois que tous savent tout de nous

Dans l’amour nous avons grandi, au ciel nous disions merci
De nous laisser pour toujours ensemble
On ne se dirait jamais dit au revoir car on se l’est promis toi et moi
Mais notre amour a failli devant la vie

Devant ma maison je te vois passer et pourquoi je me demande
On ne joue plus ensemble
Quel dommage que le temps nous ait manqué, ils avaient tort
Et nous avions raison
Je t’aime encore et dans mes pensées

Refrain

Couchée dans mon lit je repense les jours passés
Je repense tout et comment des fois cela finit
Etait-ce mal ou bien et Ă©tais-je assez bien

C’est toi et moi et c’est tout le monde
Et je vois que tous sont au courant de
Toi et moi, et c’est tout le monde
Je vois que tout le monde est au courant de
Toi et moi, mais je ne m’en soucie guère je vois que tous savent tout de nous