Come play in his “Arcade”: Dutch star Duncan Laurence's single isn't a losing game

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Paul BellaartDutch artist Duncan Laurence is moving up the charts with his cinematic song “Arcade,” with its memorable chorus, “Loving you is a losing game.”  He recently performed it on NBC’s Today show and on Ellen DeGeneres, and tells ABC Audio he’s delighted that American fans are just now discovering the track, which won the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest.

“To see all the reactions from new people hearing it in the U.S., but also people who knew it already from things like Eurovision and stuff here in Europe and say, ‘Finally it’s happening!- it’s just a mix of all sorts of reactions,” Duncan tells ABC Audio. “It’s just so much fun to read them. It’s really encouraging.”

Duncan, who was also on the Dutch version of The Voice, is actually surprised that “Arcade” has hung around long enough to become a hit in the U.S. — but it’s partly due to TikTok.

“After doing Eurovision…I kind of thought, like, that was the peak — that was the function of ‘Arcade,'” he recalls. “Like, ‘It’s done its part in my career, and now we can move on and make some new music.’ And then all of a sudden out of the blue, there it was on TikTok! And it was shared so many times.”

To Duncan, that means that he’s done something important.

“It just showed that it resonates with people…people want to connect to it, want to share it, want to talk about it,” he gushes. “And especially in these times where…it’s not possible for me to do concerts…it’s so encouraging to see everyone love the song and just share it. And it makes me feel like what I’m doing is right.” 

“Arcade” is on Duncan’s debut album Small Town Boy, out now.

By Andrea Dresdale
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