The immensely popular Dutch pop singer Roxy Dekker is on a trajectory we haven’t seen from Dutch pop stars in years, if not decades. After three sold out shows in the AFAS Live late last year, and big sets on festivals like Pinkpop and Pukkelpop this summer, she now gets to conquer the Ziggo Dome for four sold out shows. It also counts as a celebration of her freshly released second record, aptly called SUPERSTAR.
All the girls gripping onto the barricade (and the rest of the fans behind them) got noticeably jittery, excited for their idol to appear. At the start, the view of the stage is hidden by curtains. As soon as the big curtains in the middle fell down, they all screamed in anticipation. After an extended intro of song clips, the curtains on the main stage fall down, and Roxy begins the show with the opening track of her new album, ‘Bare Minimum’. Nothing about these nights is just the bare minimum though, because as Roxy leveled up to the bigger venue, she also decided to play with a live band at these shows (whereas she had a DJ behind her in the AFAS Live). The fans certainly gave it more as well, as every fan came dressed to the nines for the occasion, a lot of friend groups showing up in matching outfits for example.
The show is split in three parts, with the middle part of the show taking place at the B-stage, a huge platform in the middle of the floor. Of course Roxy gets to this stage (after the first outfit change) via a huge star, flying through the air while dancing to GALA’s ‘Freed From Desire’. True to her superstar title, Dekker pulls out all the stops. The confetti keeps flying through the air every other song, and there’s plenty of dancers around her, with all the different routines being danced back at her by fans on the floor.
To add in even more star power, the nights are also filled with multiple guest stars. While Russo, Ronnie Flex, Bankzitters and her boyfriend Koen Sebastiaan van Heest have appearances at every show, there’s also a surprise act each night. The first night saw De Jeugd van Tegenwoordig play ‘Sterrenstof’ (which translates to ‘stardust’), the second had Jonna Fraser play ‘Do or Die’ and Samuel Welten sang ‘Echte Liefde is Te Koop’ (which is Dutch for ‘Real Love Can Be Bought’) on the third night.
Even with her superstar qualities and charisma, her true power lies in her relatability. ‘Roxy Ro’ speaks to her fans as if they’re her besties, stating it feels strangely intimate, as she can see all their faces around her while she’s in the middle of the venue. For anyone else, you might have rolled your eyes at the statement, but for Roxy you just know it’s genuine as hell. And she’s absolutely correct in her feeling, because even though the arena is filled with more than 17.000 fans, it still feels very personal and cozy.
This feeling is also supported and enhanced through her music, as her songs cover themes her fans will heavily relate to, about best friends and their annoying ex-boyfriends. The vocabulary in the lyrics is the same as how they’d talk to each other in daily conversation, with a seamless mix of the Dutch language and English terms. Whether it’s “Ik was even weg, maar ik ben weer op m’n bullshit” (from ‘Bullshit’), “We zijn gewoon een beetje casual” (from ‘Casual’) or her big hit ‘Sugardaddy’ with “Vanaaf ben jij de baddie en ik de sugardaddy”, all the lyrics get shouted along with very passionately. She ends the show back at the main stage in her third and final outfit for the evening, blasting out into the night with the aforementioned hit ‘Sugardaddy’.
The show might be over, but the Dutch superstar is nowhere near done, as she announced she’s playing a show in the Johan Cruijff ArenA in April 2027, the first solo female Dutch artist to ever perform a concert by herself in the football stadium. She’s proving that her star has not yet stopped rising. Tickets for this show are already sold out, but you can sign up for the waitlist here.
