John Ewbank
Patty Brard wrote her latest column for Weekend Magazine about John Ewbank who caused controversy with his "Koningslied", a song that was written for the upcoming investiture of prince Willem-Alexander as King of the Netherlands. The five-minute track features 51 Dutch artists (including Ali B, Gerard Joling, Glennis Grace, Marco Borsato, and Paul de Leeuw) and was due to be performed in front of the new monarch at the ceremony at the Ahoy sports arena in Rotterdam. It reached the first position on the Dutch iTunes charts.
Ewbank has been obliged to withdraw it after critics likened it to North Korean propaganda. Journalist Sylvia Witteman started an online petition entitled "In protest at this imbecilic King's Song, I hereby resign as a citizen of the Netherlands" and attracted more than 38,000 signatures. A real anti-Koningslied campaign happened on the social networks and the mass media. Even the serious "Financial Times" was among those criticizing the song, pointing out its "poor grammar, eclectic mix of styles and lack of a memorable refrain". Nevertheless, after its withdrawal, the coronation committee put it right back into its program.
Recently Patty met John Ewbank at the Schipol Airport as she was about to fly to Ibiza and briefly talked to him. She was shocked by the death threats he received on Twitter.
To read her column, click here
Koningslied: official video
Particularly offensive to the song's detractors is the part in the music video where singers break into a chant of “‘W’ is for Willem" and form the letter 'W' with their hands. So far, the video has been viewed more than 500,000 times on YouTube, with the majority of viewers giving it the thumbs-down.
Source: Weekend, De Telegraaf
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