Below you can see maps of the Netherlands where each municipality is coloured based on the song that received the most votes in that municipality.
What stands out over the past six years is primarily the ‘downfall’ and comeback of Bohemian Rhapsody. While this song was the most popular in almost all municipalities in 2018, by 2020 this was hardly the case anywhere. Since 2022, Bohemian Rhapsody has regained the top spot in most municipalities, but not nearly as many as in 2018.
In 2019, Bohemian Rhapsody faced significant competition from Normaal, due to a voting campaign held that year for farmers. Additionally, the newly released Roller Coaster by Danny Vera appeared in the south. Ede Staal then claimed a few municipalities in the north.
In 2020, Queen was dethroned for the first time since 2015. Back then, it was Imagine by John Lennon. This time, it was Roller Coaster by Danny Vera, which had entered the chart at number 4 the previous year, the highest new entry ever. This is clearly visible on the map; in almost every municipality, this song is number 1. Normaal has completely disappeared from the map, and Queen only tops the lists in a few municipalities in the centre of the country.
In 2021, Bohemian Rhapsody is back at number one in the Top 2000. Queen also makes a significant comeback on the map. However, Danny Vera is still more popular in a majority of municipalities. New artists also appear on the map. In the The Hague area, Golden Earring is number 1 in several municipalities. This is likely due to the illness of one of the band members and the subsequent announcement of the band’s farewell. In a few municipalities in North Holland, Procol Harum’s A Whiter Shade Of Pale tops the list. This song was the favourite of Peter R de Vries, who was killed that year.
In Volendam and three municipalities in northern Limburg, people vote for regional artists. Lastly, Kate Bush is most popular in Urk, the reason for which remains a mystery.
The 2022 map shows a lot of local music. In Limburg, we see the now familiar Limburg artists on the map. In Groningen, Ede Staal managed to beat Danny Vera and reappears on the map. The Frisians tried to get We Kam Fram Fryslân to number 1 on the list. While they didn’t quite succeed, the effect of this voting campaign is visible on the map. In half of the Frisian municipalities, this song is number 1. Edam-Volendam swaps the 3J’s for The Cats. Urk votes for Kate Bush for the second year in a row, but now for Running Up That Hill instead of All We Ever Look For. Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody has won a majority of municipalities for the first time since 2019. Roller Coaster by Danny Vera is mainly found in Drenthe and the south of the country.
2023 mainly shows a continuation of the trends from previous years. Danny Vera declines further and is only visible on the map in the south (except for Coevorden and Vlieland). Ede Staal gains two extra municipalities in Groningen. Rowwen Hèze takes three additional municipalities in Northern Limburg, where regional artists are doing particularly well this year. In Friesland, ‘Wy Kam Fram Fryslân’ disappears from the map, and in West Friesland, Oôs Joôs appears. In Hilversum and Wijde Meren, we see Conan Gray on the map, due to a voting campaign for the girls from Hilversum who died this year. It was the favourite song of one of the girls.
Changes last 5 years.
