From Barn Loft to Chart-Topper: The Story of antoon Verkerk
Antoon Verkerk, the Dutch musician currently linked to princess Alexia, rose to fame through a combination of musical passion, entrepreneurial spirit, and a timely boost from TikTok. His journey began not in a recording studio,but in the empty space above his parents’ barn,where he set up a desk and computer,largely uninterested in formal education.
“I hardly listened [in school], I chatted a lot.But I did get good grades. I thought school was boring. I wanted to make music and saw school as somthing that stood in the way,” Antoon recalled in an interview with an Amsterdam newspaper.
His musical engagement started early, fully immersing himself in music by age eleven. By thirteen, he was actively seeking DJing opportunities. He would contact rental companies providing equipment for parties, inquiring if a DJ was already booked. “I called those rental companies that delivered speakers and lamps for parties. Then I said: ‘I see that you and then deliver equipment for a school party there and there is already a DJ arranged?’ And then I had to say from my dad that I wanted fifty euros.”
this led to performing two or three gigs each weekend,ranging from school parties to pubs - “everywhere where people had something to celebrate.” His father, Justus Verkerk, assisted with his initial earnings and continues to manage him today, having encouraged him to pursue his musical talent.
“Music was really an obsession for me,” antoon stated. “But I thought making music especially great – I had no plans or ideas at all to really do anything with it. It was my father who said, ‘If you seriously maintain this, it can be something.'”
In 2017, Antoon left VWO (pre-university education) without a diploma to attend the Herman Brood Academy in Utrecht, training as an EDM producer. He was the youngest student ever admitted to the Academy at the time.
During his final year, he connected with Twan van Steenhoven, known as Big2 of The Opposites, who was teaching at the academy.Impressed by Antoon’s work, Big2 became a mentor. ”I did that training as an EDM producer, but I was also working on hip hop. And I wrote songs. That combination was also in the music of The Opposites. Twan helped me a lot.”
Antoon released his debut single, Hyperventilation, in the summer of 2020, amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Initially, it didn’t gain traction.Though, a year later, the song unexpectedly went viral on TikTok, fueled by videos of students singing along. Capitalizing on this momentum, Antoon performed at student associations as restrictions eased.
This sparked rapid success. In 2020,he released his first album,The Night is Ours. A club tour followed in 2021, and in 2022, he sold out the Ziggo Dome, became the most streamed artist on Spotify in the Netherlands, and won the Edison Popprijs. He has also collaborated with artists like Big2, Broederliefde, and Kris Kross Amsterdam.
In 2023, his second album, Engel (Angel), was released, accompanied by a cinematic documentary, Antoon: Angel, produced and directed by his father, who also runs a successful international TV production company. The documentary chronicles Antoon’s artistic progress and is available on Prime Video.
Antoon’s music is showcased in songs like Hyperventilation, Escape Lane (featuring Kris Kross Amsterdam), Little About Me, and Storm.The latter song poignantly addresses the loss of his mother to cancer shortly before his breakthrough in 2020.
