Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights.
As a music lover you know that feeling. The one where you hear a song that stops you in your tracks, transfixes you and you are mesmerized. As someone who breathes music it is one of the greatest feelings - discovering a song or artist you cannot look away from in the best way possible.
Dutch artist Isabel van Gelder's "Die For You," a gorgeous, heartfelt, haunting ballad is one of those songs. I hate to admit this, because not the hugest social media fan, but a video of her singing the song was in my Instagram feed. I found myself floored.
I was so enamored with the song I reached out to her to find out more. What I found is the thoroughly engaging and delightful singer/songwriter is so much more than a one-hit wonder. Proof is her joyful new single, "Silly Little Boy," out today.
This is an artist who has the chance to be someone very special. What an honor to do her first American interview.
Steve Baltin: This is a big day for you. The lyric video for "Die For You" just came out.
Isabel van Gelder: Yeah, I just dropped it. I wasn't planning on recording one, but we had some footage that I filmed with some of my friends. So, I just edited it in CapCut, where you can edit your Tik Toks and stuff. I just edited a lyric video, but people seem to like it. So that's very nice. It's just insane in general how people have been responding to this song.
Baltin: I've always found that the more vulnerable you are in a song, the more people respond to it because they identify with it, and they connect with it. It's amazing that you wrote that song though when you were 17.
van Gelder: Yeah, and that's what's so crazy about it, I never really wrote it with the intention of this is something I want to share necessarily or anything like that. It makes it so much more special. I'd never really experienced anything like this releasing a song. This is I think my fourth or fifth single. It's my fifth single. It's just the first time having so many people comment and respond and share their stories with me, which is so special. I never really knew that feeling before. I think it's an even better feeling than writing this, is having so many people connect with it. It's crazy.
Baltin: I love the fact your Instagram is so different than the song. I love the video yesterday, "Bake With Me." Your Instagram is so fun and light, it shows this whole other side of you.
van Gelder: I'm so glad you feel that way because I feel like I've really been trying to work on showing a little bit more of my personality. I started off doing a little bit of modeling when I was younger and I grew a little bit of a following through that, but I never really felt like people were interested in who I was as a person. And “Die For You” obviously is such an emotional somber song, like you just said, but that’s not who I am at all. I’m very much an all over the place, quirky kind of person, I think. So, it’s really nice that you picked that up from my Instagram now because I don’t feel like my Instagram always showed that side of me.
Baltin: Do you find now that being a singer, people really want to know you personally versus modeling, where it’s based more on looks?
van Gelder: Yeah, exactly. It’s something that was really scary in the beginning because I was so used to getting praised or compliments about the way I looked. And when I started, I always, for some reason, had this belief of not necessarily that I was good enough to do this, but this is the first thing that I ever, when I was very young, felt so connected to and was so special to me that I always had this belief of like, “I’m just doing this, and hopefully people will care.” But I did in the beginning kind of think like, “What if people just want to look at my body and my face, and they don’t really give a st about what I have to say?” But it turns out they do, which is so great.
Baltin: When you think of the songs that when you were a kid spoke to you about broken hearts are there any that really stand out? What were your favorites?
van Gelder: The first one I can recall loving when I was really young, I think I was like seven or eight, and I couldn’t speak English so I didn’t understand the lyrics, but I this was like my first vivid memory of how much music emotionally can do to you because I just remember as a little girl in the home of my parents. There was this little CD, and it had summer hits on it and one of the songs was “Hurt,” by Christina Aguilera. She makes great songs, but it’s not like I listen to her that much now. But I just remember not even being able to understand what she was saying,but feeling such a pull from it,that I was like running around the room because I felt so much energy.This song gave me so much energy,and that’s why I love music so much.I feel like it’s the only thing that has ever really felt kind of magical in a way and so much bigger than me and just so special.I’ve never really experienced that with anything else.
Baltin: What other music did you listen to as a kid?
van Gelder: I grew up listening to a lot of Radiohead and a lot of Daft Punk. Radiohead, I don’t know if they’re necessarily heartbreak songs, but they’re definitely sad songs that I loved. I always loved them. My mom was a big fan. Oh, and then George Michael has a couple of songs. “One More Try,” I love that song.
Baltin: Have you always had this creative side you can tap into?
van Gelder: I think that most people are very creative and are able to write something beautiful or should create something beautiful. I’ve just been lucky enough to be a very stubborn, delusional person in a way. And I’ve always been able to shield all the things that could potentially filter me or keep those out. So, I’ve always had a very big imagination. And I’ve kept it that way, where I feel like a lot of people, once they grow up, they kind of install these doubts and things that they pick up along the way that are not going to help them create anything in the long run. But I think most people are super creative; if you look at children, they’re so creative and they’re able to make things. I think I’ve just been fortunate enough to also grow up in a very judgment-free household. I could say or do anything I wanted to; so I’ve always felt very free in that way—which is very nice.
Baltin: At what point do you start to get the belief that you could do this?
van Gelder: There’s nothing else that I want to do. I remember when I graduated high school, I was 18, and I didn’t know what I wanted to do. I knew in my heart that music was what I wanted to do, but I thought maybe I should go to university, or I wanted to study medicine for a while—which I’m very glad I didn’t do that. But I remember that I had a dream that night where I woke up and I was sitting in a classroom, and I started bawling my eyes out. That was, for me, the sign of you can’t do this because I want to make this work and I’m going to give it my everything and even if it doesn’t work out, at the end of my life I’ll be able to say I’ve tried everything because there’s nothing that has moved me so much or brought me as much joy as music has. So,I owe it to myself to try and make it work.
Baltin: What are the long-term plans?
van Gelder: I definitely have more songs coming out. I'm finishing my first EP right now. "Run" and "Die For You" are going to be the first two of that EP. And I have to say, I really don't know what will happen in the next couple of months. I do know that we're planning on doing a little international tour in Europe. But it's all very much a little bit unclear still because "Die For You" came as this surprise. My managers and I really believed that the song would do good, but we didn't expect it to take off this much because for me, this is a lot more than I've ever had streaming-wise or attention-wise. But we're definitely planning on doing a little Europe tour and then maybe afterwards,the States.It would be my dream to tour in the States or tour Europe or tour in general because I've only recently started performing live and I think it's one of the best things ever.
Baltin: Who would be the dream artist to tour with?
van Gelder: Probably Raye. I love Raye. She makes obviously way more soulful,jazzy music than I do,but she seems like the coolest person ever.She’s so talented and gifted.She’s such a great songwriter,such a great performer.That would be my answer,but I would jump at any opportunity to open up for any act or tour with anyone.