Als het avond is

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"Als het avond is"
Single by Suzan & Freek
from the album Gedeeld door ons
LanguageDutch
Released2 November 2018
Length3:25
LabelSony Music
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)Arno Krabman
Suzan & Freek singles chronology
"Als het avond is"
(2018) 		"Blauwe dag"
(2019)

"Als het avond is" (lit. 'When It's Evening') is the debut single by the Dutch musical duo Suzan & Freek. It was released on 2 November 2018 and later included on their 2019 debut studio album Gedeeld door ons.

The duo rose to fame by posting covers of pop songs on Facebook. "Als het avond is" was the first original song they wrote. It rose to number one on the Dutch Top 40 after 17 weeks on the chart, breaking a 48-year-old record for longest rise to the top, and spent three weeks at the peak. It became one of the biggest Dutch-language hit songs of all time.

Background

Suzan & Freek first went viral when The Chainsmokers shared their cover of "Don't Let Me Down". The duo used the attention to earn support slots for shows in the Netherlands.[1]

"Als het avond is" was the first original song that Suzan & Freek wrote. It was originally an English-language song named "A Night Like This". However, they realised quickly that writing songs in English did not suit them. "You know much more about the meaning of what exactly you sing," Freek Rikkerink said about writing Dutch lyrics.[2]

The duo was also unsure if their own compositions would appeal to the public. "If it feels right, we release it. Otherwise we'll put it in a drawer and never listen to it again," Rikkerink said.[3] The song was written in an afternoon, and a demo was sent to Sony Music, who agreed to release it as a single.[4]

The success of "Als het avond is" allowed the duo to quit their jobs and focus on music full time – Suzan Stortelder as an interior designer, and Freek Rikkerink as a record label employee.[5]

The duo also attempted to write a German-language version of the song, but was unsatisfied with it. They played it live once on Radio 538 in 2025.[6] A musician in China also recorded a Chinese-language version of the song with the duo's approval.[7]

Lyrics

Stortelder said that the song is "not about our relationship, although that is often assumed. We heard from people that they thought 'We're breaking up.' But it's about the feeling that we've both had that you miss someone very much. That could be a family member or a friend you're dating who you slowly lose contact with. You can no longer talk, you no longer reach the other."[8]

Rikkerink said that "We got a lot of messages from people who recognised themselves in it; for example, because they were separated or depressed."[8]

Commercial performance

In December 2018, "Als het avond is" debuted at No. 30 on the Dutch Top 40 as the highest entry of the week.[9] It reached number one in March 2019 after 17 weeks on the chart, breaking a 48-year-old record previously held by Les Poppys' "Non, non, rien n'a changé" (14 weeks) for the longest climb to number one in chart history.[10] It remained at number one for three weeks.[11]

In March 2019, before the song reached number one, it was already certified Gold in the Netherlands.[12] It would eventually be certified 3x Platinum.[13] As of November 2024, the song recorded over 90 million streams on Spotify.[14]

In 2021, the Dutch Top 40 reported that it was the fourteenth-biggest Dutch language hit song of all time.[15]

Reception

In 2019, the song entered at No. 278 in the annual Top 2000 greatest songs of all time poll, hosted by NPO Radio 2.[16]

Charts

References

  1. ^ "Hoe bepalen Suzan & Freek welke liedjes ze coveren?". NPO 3FM (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  2. ^ "'A Night Like This' werd 'Als het Avond is'". NPO Radio 2 (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  3. ^ "Onvoorwaardelijke liefde bezorgt Suzan & Freek doorbraakhit". NPO Radio 2 (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  4. ^ van Eenennaam, Alexander (9 March 2019). "Suzan & Freek: Beetje lullen, avondje chillen en dan een hit". Algemeen Dagblad.
  5. ^ "Suzan & Freek kondigen eerste single aan na debuutalbum". NPO Radio 2 (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  6. ^ Smit, Menno (16 January 2025). "Suzan und Freek? Zo klonk hun hit in het Duits op Radio 538!". Weekblad Party (in Dutch). Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  7. ^ "Chinese versie megahit Suzan & Freek gemaakt, Duitse versie ging prullenbak in". RTL Nieuws & Entertainment (in Dutch). 16 January 2025. Retrieved 7 February 2025.
  8. ^ a b Winten, Marjolijn (28 September 2019). "Suzan & Freek: "Dit album is onze muziek-baby"". Nolala (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  9. ^ "Top 40: Suzan en Freek hoogst nieuw met Als Het Avond Is". Top40.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  10. ^ "Suzan & Freek domineren de Top 40". RTL Nieuws & Entertainment (in Dutch). 29 March 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  11. ^ "Suzan & Freek voor de derde week aan kop in de Top 40 | Top 40". Top40.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  12. ^ "'Als het avond is' levert Suzan en Freek gouden plaat op". www.gld.nl (in Dutch). 1 March 2019. Retrieved 8 January 2025.
  13. ^ "Database | Goud, Platina & Diamant". www.goudplatina.nl. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  14. ^ "Het leven van Suzan & Freek in 20 foto's: bekijk alle hoogte- én dieptepunten". Mannenzaken (in Dutch). 16 November 2024. Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  15. ^ "De 40 grootste Nederlandstalige hits aller tijden | Top 40". Top40.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  16. ^ "Dit is de Top 2000 van 2019". NPO Radio 2 (in Dutch). Retrieved 13 January 2025.
  17. ^ "Suzan & Freek – Als het avond is" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  18. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – week 13, 2019" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  19. ^ "Suzan & Freek – Als het avond is" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  20. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 2019" (in Dutch). Ultratop. Retrieved 14 August 2020.
  21. ^ "Top 100–Jaaroverzicht van 2019". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
  22. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 2019" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 23 June 2018.
  23. ^ "Decennium Charts – Singles 2010–2019" (in Dutch). MegaCharts. Retrieved 3 May 2022.