By Eileen Fortner, Contributor 

[Joost Klein; 2025] 

Rating: 7/10

Key Tracks: “United By Music,” “Filthy Dog,” “Europapa” 

Gabberpop artist Joost just released his new album, Unity. Following his participation (and controversies) in Eurovision 2024, he announced that he would be back in 2025 for more. However, he then declared that he would not attempt Eurovision 2025 and announced that his new goal in his career is unity among people. 

A new album from Joost had been highly anticipated since his fan-favorite album Fryslân which was released in 2022. Though there was anticipation of an album, Joost did anything but keep quiet. Several singles were released within the three years of anticipation such as, “Droom Groot,” “Europapa” and several others. 

Read more: Eurovision song entry “Espresso Macchiato” raises controversy among Italians 

Unity marks a changing point for Joost and his career, mainly closing off the part of his life where his dreams were both made and yet still taken from him. I’m talking about his participation in Eurovision 2024 where he was a massive fan favorite, especially among fans in the United States, making his career progress further than he could have thought. 

Joost closes off this part of his life in two different ways throughout this album. First with the opening track of the album “Why Not???.” Within this song, he refers to his mistreatment in the contest from the very beginning with the lines, “Once there was a boy, and he had a dream, But then, one day, his dream was taken away.” Not only does Joost verbalize this within his lyrics, but the name of the track is possibly a reference to the very remark that gained Joost popularity during the contest. At a press conference, a reporter asked the Israeli contestant a rather political question to which the moderator spoke up with, “You don’t have to answer that.” Joost, being quick with his words, instantly replied with “Why Not?” This clip gained a lot of fame during the contest. Secondly, Joost says goodbye to “Europapa” by giving it a place to rest within the album, along with the gut-wrenching “Europapa – Outro,” which is a tribute to his late parents, the very people he did the contest for. 

“Why Not???” was not all Joost had to say about the contest, he decided to further his message to the EBU (Eurovision Broadcasting Union) with the track “United By Music,” which featured the Estonian rapper Tommy Cash (a current entry in the Eurovision Song Contest for 2025). “United By Music” is the official slogan of the Eurovision Song Contest, so there is no doubt that this is a jab at the EBU. Not only is the song incredibly catchy, but it’s also very harsh with what it’s saying; the opening lines being, “We want peace, they want war.” Throughout the song, it uses several oxymoronic phrases to show the unity that music provides. This track has gained strong opinions among fans with some saying it is too vulgar with others saying that the message it provides is valid and important. 

Though many songs on this album provide a strong meaning, others like “Filthy Dog” simply promote an anti-violence line within the song. Others like “1” and “Internetcafe 24/7” give a nostalgic feeling of 90s Europop. This album has been beloved among fans with some of their only complaints being that they were disappointed with the lack of hardstyle within the songs. Overall, Unity is a highly diverse album showcasing some of the best works of Joost, representing his musical talent perfectly. 

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