On Sunday, Jan Smit received a special award in Volendam from Erik de Zwart, chairman of the Dutch Top 40 Foundation.
Twenty-five years ago, Jan Smit's song Ik Zing Dit Lied Voor Jou Alleen (I Sing This Song Only for You) came out of nowhere to reach number 1 in the Top 40. Erik de Zwart was the presenter of the weekly charts at the time. However, he never played the song in its entirety and invariably cut Jan's hit short. De Zwart: "His manager at the time, Jaap Buijs, who died far too young, was a master at resolving these kinds of issues. He simply took Jan to the studio to introduce him. Not long after, I was walking around the studio with Jan on my shoulders. Every time we talk about it, we can't help but grin. Reaching number one on the Dutch Top 40 is a very special achievement. He more than deserves this special Top 40 Award!"
A quote from the jury report:
In 1997, 11-year-old Jan Smit became the youngest artist to reach number one in the Top 40. In the first week of sales alone, 20,000 copies of the single were sold, more than five times the number sold by De Regenboog (by Frans Bauer and Marianne Weber), which was number two at the time. Jan Smit also broke the spell that had been cast on reaching number one since 1968. The Beatles had achieved this twice (with We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper and Hey Jude) and Procol Harum (with A Whiter Shade Of Pale) also came from nowhere to reach number 1. Jan Smit became the first Dutch artist to make it to number 1 in the Top 40 right from the start.
Jan Smit scored 29 Top 40 hits, including:
12 top 10 hits (total of 70 weeks in the top 10)
8 top 3 hits (total of 38 weeks in the top 3)
6 number 1 hits (total of 25 weeks at number 1)
First hit: Ik Zing Dit Lied Voor Jou Alleen (I Sing This Song Only for You), April 12, 1997
Biggest hit: Als De Morgen Is Gekomen (When Morning Comes), September 2, 2006
He is also ranked #2 among Dutch acts with the most number 1 hits.
- Marco Borsato, 15 number 1 hits
- Jan Smit, 6 number 1 hits
- Golden Earring, 5 number 1 hits
- The Cats, 5 number 1 hits
Last Friday, Jan released another new single, Hoofd Leeg, Hart Vrij (Empty Head, Free Heart), with which he is aiming for his30thTop 40 hit.
More about Jan Smit
On Sunday, Jan Smit received a special award in Volendam from Erik de Zwart, chairman of the Dutch Top 40 Foundation.
Twenty-five years ago, Jan Smit's song Ik Zing Dit Lied Voor Jou Alleen (I Sing This Song Only for You) came out of nowhere to reach number 1 in the Top 40. Erik de Zwart was the presenter of the weekly charts at the time. However, he never played the song in its entirety and invariably cut Jan's hit short. De Zwart: "His manager at the time, Jaap Buijs, who died far too young, was a master at resolving these kinds of issues. He simply took Jan to the studio to introduce him. Not long after, I was walking around the studio with Jan on my shoulders. Every time we talk about it, we can't help but grin. Reaching number one on the Dutch Top 40 is a very special achievement. He more than deserves this special Top 40 Award!"
A quote from the jury report:
In 1997, 11-year-old Jan Smit became the youngest artist to reach number one in the Top 40. In the first week of sales alone, 20,000 copies of the single were sold, more than five times the number sold by De Regenboog (by Frans Bauer and Marianne Weber), which was number two at the time. Jan Smit also broke the spell that had been cast on reaching number one since 1968. The Beatles had achieved this twice (with We Can Work It Out / Day Tripper and Hey Jude) and Procol Harum (with A Whiter Shade Of Pale) also came from nowhere to reach number 1. Jan Smit became the first Dutch artist to make it to number 1 in the Top 40 right from the start.
Jan Smit scored 29 Top 40 hits, including:
12 top 10 hits (total of 70 weeks in the top 10)
8 top 3 hits (total of 38 weeks in the top 3)
6 number 1 hits (total of 25 weeks at number 1)
First hit: Ik Zing Dit Lied Voor Jou Alleen (I Sing This Song Only for You), April 12, 1997
Biggest hit: Als De Morgen Is Gekomen (When Morning Comes), September 2, 2006
He is also ranked #2 among Dutch acts with the most number 1 hits.
- Marco Borsato, 15 number 1 hits
- Jan Smit, 6 number 1 hits
- Golden Earring, 5 number 1 hits
- The Cats, 5 number 1 hits
Last Friday, Jan released another new single, Hoofd Leeg, Hart Vrij (Empty Head, Free Heart), with which he is aiming for his30thTop 40 hit.