The Utrecht band Rondé can look back on a dream year. Thanks to three hits in a row, the group around singer Rikki Borgelt was in the Top 40 longer than all other Dutch bands. The clip at Hard to say goodbye is heading towards 2 million views and a special chart milestone is close.
It is 2017. Because of Record Store Day, Rondé gives small performances in record stores, for example in The Hague. Of Naturally and Run the group has modest radio hits up its sleeve, but singing with spectators right in front of the nose turns out to be exciting. The band looks modest and almost shy.
Five years later, Rondé has seen every festival stage and the stage is a second home. One thing has not changed. ,,Thank you for coming,” says drummer Sharon Zarr to people who recently had their picture taken with the group after a concert in Leiden. He sounds genuinely grateful and humble, just like the band’s social media posts.
Success is no longer modest. That started with Hard to say goodbyeactually at the end of last year. It was the most played song on the radio for weeks, reached the highest regions in the Top 40, the 538 Top 50, the 3FM Mega Top 30 and the 100% NL Top 20 and entered the Top 2000 at 881 this year. clip now has almost 1.9 million views, numbers that Rondé never came close to.
The band did it with Love myself and Bright eyes about it again. Both tracks came high in the list of most played songs on the radio, the Top 40 and the hit list of 100% NL. All in all, Rondé spent 45 weeks in the Top 40 this year, longer than any other Dutch band. In the 538 Top 50 it is the most successful Dutch group, with a top 15 spot in the year-end list, they beat Di-rect and Son Mieux.
Rondé is doing well in terms of airplay and streaming figures (41 million in 2022), but the group is mainly a live act. This became apparent again when they gave one of the first concerts in The Hague without corona restrictions last March.
Hard to say goodbye was the sound of a ritual farewell to two years of misery. For the audience, but also for the band members themselves: their friendship was palpable and they enjoyed it as if they had had to do without a basic necessity of life. Of course modest: singer Rikki thanked everyone twice for coming.
Read on under the video of Love myself, live at Qmusic:
Where is this going? The band would find Ziggo Dome ‘great’, but it seems early for that. During the songs, the band members are stage animals, but during the chats in between, that elusive charisma of pop stars is still missing, that charm with which they can tell the same story every night that seems spontaneous every time. But an Afas Live should be possible.
Bee Until here Rondé also issued a Dutch-language business card last week. It may open doors: will Rikki go to next year Dear singers or can a whole band participate for the first time? One milestone cannot be missed. If Bright eyes remains in the Top 40 for a while, Rondé will be part of the list of the hundred most successful acts of all time from the beginning of next year. Another highlight is fixed in the agenda: next summer the band will perform at Pinkpop for the first time.
Who are Ronde?
Rondé consists of singer Rikki Borgelt, guitarist Armel Paap, bassist Cas Oomen and drummer Sharon Zarr. Keyboardist Teun Dillisse has been there since the departure of Adriaan Persons (still known from X Factor) in corona time also always with, but not an official member.
The band was formed in 2014 after a school assignment at the Herman Brood Academy, a year later they received the 3FM Serious Talent Award. The further rise was somewhat delayed when Rikki had to undergo surgery due to persistent problems with her vocal cords. The group released two albums, Round in 2017 (entered the album chart at 18) and Flourish in 2019 (8 in the album chart).
Little is known about the private lives of the band members, although Rikki talks lovingly about her father, who died of cancer, during concerts.
Also listen to the AD Media Podcast below or subscribe via Spotify or itunes. Find all our podcasts at ad.nl/podcasts.
Watch our Show & Entertainment videos below:
Free unlimited access to Showbytes? Which can!
Log in or create an account and don’t miss a thing of the stars.
#Goldband #Direct #Rondé #Top #longest #milestone #close