Wouter Hardy Explained

Wouter Hardy
Alias:HRDY
Birth Date:3 April 1991
Birth Place:Boxtel, Netherlands
Genre:Pop music
Years Active:2013–present
Label:Sony Music Publishing
Website:

Wouter Hardy (in Dutch; Flemish ˈʋʌutər ˈɦɑrdi/; born 3 April 1991), also known by his stage name HRDY, is a Dutch musician, songwriter and producer.[1] He is known for his work with, among others, Duncan Laurence, Gjon's Tears and Alika Milova.

Career

Hardy was born and raised in Boxtel, North Brabant.[2] After graduating from the Rock City Institute in Eindhoven, he moved to Rotterdam to study at the Codarts University for the Arts.[3] During his studies, he joined the band of Sharon Kovacs, with whom he toured through Europe until 2016.[3]

In late 2016, Hardy met Duncan Laurence through Sony Music Publishing.[3] Together, they worked on the song "Arcade" for two years.[3] Prior to its public release, the song was internally selected by the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS to represent the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.[4] "Arcade" went on to win the competition, giving the Netherlands its first Eurovision win since 1975, and became one of the most successful Eurovision Song Contest winning entries on streaming platforms and international charts in recent history.[5]

Following the cancellation of the Eurovision Song Contest 2020, Hardy was invited to participate in a songwriting camp in Zürich to help write a new song for the Swiss representative Gjon's Tears for the 2021 edition.[6] Together with Gjon's Tears and the Belgian songwriter Nina Sampermans, he wrote the song "Ground Zero", which was later translated into French as "Tout l'univers".[6] Out of five finalists, a professional jury ultimately chose this song to represent Switzerland in the Eurovision Song Contest 2021.[6] At Eurovision, the entry finished in third place with 432 points, Switzerland's best placement since 1993.

In December 2022, it was announced that Hardy and Sampermans will be participating in the 2023 edition of, the Estonian national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, as co-writers of the entry "Bridges" by Alika.[7] "Bridges" eventually won the competition and thus became the Estonian entry for the, where it finished in eighth place with 168 points.[8]

Discography

Extended plays

TitleDetails
Lockdown EP
  • Released: 27 August 2021
  • Label: HRDY Records / B-Kube Music
  • Format: Streaming
Making Memories EP
  • Released: 3 June 2022
  • Label: HRDY Records / B-Kube Music
  • Format: Streaming

Singles

TitleYearAlbum
"A New Dawn"2021Lockdown EP
"Brother"
"Sunday"
"Forgiven"
"Making Memories"Making Memories EP
"Me and My Piano"
"Empty"2022
"Dad"

Songwriting discography

TitleYearArtistCo-written with
"Arcade"2019Duncan LaurenceDuncan de Moor, Will Knox, Joel Sjöö
"Caroline"2020NambyarJesse Nambiar, Joel Sjöö, Morien van der Tang
"Tout l'univers"2021Gjon's TearsGjon Muharremaj, Xavier Michel, Nina Sampermans
"Long Night"OlaOlamide Polet, Nina Sampermans
"Snow in New York"Cheryl van Tricht
"Wasted Time"Charlotte Foret, Nina Sampermans
"Riddle"
"Without You"
"The Fall"
"Far Gone"
"He Knows"
"Stars"Duncan LaurenceDuncan de Moor, Jordan Garfield, Brett McLaughlin
"Alright"Hanin al KadamaniHanin al Kadamani, Amber Gomaa, Billie Maluw
"Er is nog zo veel"Stef Bos, and Friday
"Als jij maar bij me bent"2022MeauMeau Hewitt
"Half a World Away"Remme feat. Clara MaeRemme ter Haar, Clara Hagman, Isa Azier
"Know"Dion CooperDion Cooper, Jordan Garfield, Loek van der Grinten, Duncan de Moor
"Bridges"AlikaAlika Milova, Nina Sampermans
"Skyboy"2023Duncan LaurenceDuncan de Moor, Jordan Garfield

Eurovision Song Contest entries

YearCountrySongArtistSemi-finalFinal
PlacePointsPlacePoints
"Arcade"Duncan Laurence12801498
"Tout l'univers"Gjon's Tears12913432
"Bridges"Alika10748168

Notes and References

  1. Web site: About Me . Wouter Hardy . 16 June 2021.
  2. Web site: Liukku. Antti. 21 May 2019. In dit studiootje op Rotterdam-Zuid werd Duncans prijswinnende hit gemaakt. 16 June 2021. Algemeen Dagblad. nl.
  3. Web site: Hoogh . Helmut de . Wouter schreef aan Arcade: 'Duncan vond mij de boeman' . . 16 June 2021 . nl . 27 November 2019.
  4. Web site: Hoe Duncan Laurence Nederland aan een overwinning op het Songfestival hielp . . 16 June 2021 . nl-nl . 18 May 2021.
  5. Web site: 'Arcade': the story of its continued success . Eurovision.tv . 16 June 2021 . en-gb . 17 May 2021.
  6. Web site: Vendel . Edward van de . Wouter Hardy: mijn nieuwe tijdperk . Eurostory . 16 June 2021 . nl . 11 April 2021.
  7. Web site: Vendel . Edward van de . Wouter doet weer Eurovisie . Eurostory . 8 January 2023 . en . 4 December 2022.
  8. Web site: Alika's first impressions after winning Eesti Laul 2023! . 2023-05-07 . ESCBubble . 12 February 2023 . en-GB.