Joany Franka Johanna Ayten Hazebroek Kalan (born 2 April 1990), known professionally as Joan Franka, is a Dutch singer and songwriter of Turkish descent. She represented the Netherlands in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2012 The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song "Running Scared (Ell & Nikki song), Running Scared" by Ell & Nikki, El ...

with the song " You and Me". She became known in the Netherlands through her participation in the first season of ''

The Voice of Holland ''The Voice of Holland'', also known by its acronym ''TVOH'', is a Dutch singing reality competition television series that became a global TV format franchise, created by media tycoon John de Mol Jr. and musician Roel van Velzen in the Net ...

''.

Music career

2010–2011: ''The Voice of Holland''

In September 2010, Hazebroek entered the inaugural 2010–2011 season of the talent show ''

''. She auditioned with

Nickelback Nickelback is a Canadian Rock music, rock band formed in 1995 in Hanna, Alberta, Hanna, Alberta. Throughout its history, it has consisted of lead guitarist and lead vocalist Chad Kroeger, rhythm guitarist, keyboardist and backing vocalist Ryan ...

's "

How You Remind Me "How You Remind Me" is a song by Canadian rock band Nickelback. With lyrics written by lead singer Chad Kroeger and music composed by the band, the power ballad was released on July 17, 2001, as the lead single from their third studio album, ' ...

". Two out of four judges hit their "I Want You" buttons, and she chose to join the team of Roel van Velzen. She advanced from the Battle round, where she performed " One of Us" by

Joan Osborne Joan Elizabeth Osborne (born July 8, 1962) is an American singer, songwriter, and interpreter of music, having recorded and performed in various popular American musical genres including rock, pop, soul, R&B, blues, and country. She is best kn ...

. In the first live show, Hazebroek performed Jewel's " Foolish Games", followed by

Marc Cohn Marc Craig Cohn (; born July 5, 1959) is an American singer-songwriter and musician. He won the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 1992. Cohn is best known for the song " Walking in Memphis", from his 1991 album '' Marc Cohn'', which was a To ...

's "

Walking in Memphis "Walking in Memphis" is a song written and originally recorded by American singer-songwriter Marc Cohn, for whom it remains his signature song. It received a Song of the Year nomination at the 34th Annual Grammy Awards in 1992, the same year tha ...

" in the third live show. She was eliminated in the fifth live show, following her performance of " Promise Me" by

Beverley Craven Beverley Craven (born 28 July 1963) is a British singer-songwriter best known for her 1991 UK hit single " Promise Me". She has recorded six studio albums, including the collaborative album '' Woman to Woman'' with Judie Tzuke and Julia Fordha ...

. Two of the songs she sang during the competition charted as minor hits in the

Dutch Single Top 100 The Dutch Single Top 100 or Single Top 100 is a Dutch chart, based on official physical single sales, legal downloads and since July 2013 streaming and composed by Dutch Charts. It is one of the three official charts, the other two being the Du ...

: "Foolish Games" reached number 42 and "Promise Me" reached number 45, based on downloads.

2012: Eurovision Song Contest

In 2012, Hazebroek entered the , the Dutch national selection for the

, with the song " You and Me". In the final on 26 February 2012, she won her duel against fellow ''The Voice of Holland'' alum Raffaëla Paton, and advanced to the superfinal alongside Pearl Jozefzoon and Ivan Peroti. Despite coming last with the expert jury, she won over 50% of the televote. As a result, Hazebroek won the competition and was chosen to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in

Baku Baku (, ; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities in Azerbaijan, largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and in the Caucasus region. Baku is below sea level, which makes it the List of capital ci ...

, Azerbaijan. She performed in the second semi-final on 24 May 2012, but failed to qualify for the final. This marked the Netherlands' eighth consecutive elimination in the semi-finals of the Eurovision Song Contest.

2014–2023: ''Luba the Baroness'' and comeback

From 2014 to 2017, Hazebroek attended the Herman Brood Academie in

Utrecht Utrecht ( ; ; ) is the List of cities in the Netherlands by province, fourth-largest city of the Netherlands, as well as the capital and the most populous city of the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of Utrecht (province), Utrecht. The ...

. During her studies, she developed the

alter ego An alter ego (Latin for "other I") means an alternate Self (psychology), self, which is believed to be distinct from a person's normal or true original Personality psychology, personality. Finding one's alter ego will require finding one's other ...

'Luba the Baroness'. In 2021, she appeared in the Belgian documentary series ''I aime who I am'', in which she commented on the impact of her participation in the Eurovision Song Contest on her

self-image Self-image is the mental picture, generally of a kind that is quite resistant to change, that depicts not only details that are potentially available to an objective investigation by others (height, weight, hair color, etc.), but also items that ...

. In 2023, Hazebroek participated in the second season of the

RTL 4 RTL 4 (Radio Télévision Luxembourg 4) is a Dutch free TV channel; it is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. RTL 4 is a general entertainment channel with infotainment, televi ...

television show ''Better Than Ever'', where she performed a cover of " The Night We Met" by Lord Huron. In the show, she revealed to have been in conflict with her

record label "Big Three" music labels A record label or record company is a brand or trademark of Sound recording and reproduction, music recordings and music videos, or the company that owns it. Sometimes, a record label is also a Music publisher, ...

following her Eurovision Song Contest participation, due to negative experiences with, among others, her manager. She also revealed that she had disagreed to wear the controversial Native American headdress during her Eurovision performance. On 7 April 2023, she released her debut studio album ''Luba the Baroness'', containing songs she wrote in 2017.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Franka, Joan 1990 births Living people Dutch people of Turkish descent Musicians from Rotterdam The Voice (franchise) contestants 21st-century Dutch singer-songwriters 21st-century Dutch women singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants