Valentijn Verkerk, better known as Antoon, is Dutch singer, rapper and producer. At 15 years old, he dropped out of secondary school to study at the Herman Brood Academy where he met Big2 from The Opposites. In 2020, he signed with Dreamteam Music. He then released his first extended play Heilig Water in collaboration with Big2.

In May 2021, his single “Hyperventilatie” went viral on TikTok. It became a streaming success and entered the Dutch official Top 40. His single “Leuk”, which was previously included on Heilig Water, also entered the charts. He then collaborated with Kris Kross Amsterdam on “Vluchtstrook” featuring Sigourney K. The song samples Olivia Newton-John’s classic “Have You Ever Been Mellow”, which was popularized by the Party Animals in the Netherlands in 1996. It became an immediate streaming success and peaked at #2 on the Dutch official Top 40. It is currently certified triple-platinum.

In 2022, Antoon released his EP Hallo. Its single of the same name shot straight to Number 1 for four consecutive weeks. The other single “Hotelschool” went viral on TikTok and became a platinum-certified hit. More releases followed in 2022, including the Top 5-hit “Olivia”. He ended the year headlining two sold-out shows in the Ziggo Dome, one of the Netherlands’ biggest concert venues.

In 2023, Antoon released his debut album Engel, which included most of his previous singles. It peaked at #24 on the Dutch Album Top 100. The album was promoted with a Netflix Documentary about his personal life and career. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.