X!NK () is a Belgian

pop punk Pop punk (or punk pop) is a rock music genre that combines elements of punk rock with power pop or pop. It is defined for its emphasis on classic pop songcraft, as well as adolescent and anti-suburbia themes, and is distinguished from other pu ...

band. The band consisted of two pairs of brothers: Jonas and Niels Meukens, and Thomas and Philip Valkiers. Jonas was the lead singer and occasionally the second guitarist, his brother Niels was the

drummer A drummer is a percussionist who creates music using drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel-Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one mem ...

. Philip played the bass guitar and Thomas played the guitar and also occasionally the

keyboard Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

. X!NK gained mainstream success after becoming Belgium's submission for the 2003 Junior Eurovision Song Contest where they took sixth place. The band was also the subject of a series of

comic book A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...

s by Mario Boon.Biography for Mario Boon
(accessed 2007-04-02). The band is planning on making a comeback with a new song and four concerts in 2023.

History

Junior Eurovision Song Contest

In the national qualifying rounds for the Junior Eurovision Song Contest in Belgium, X!NK competed against nine other contestants: Laura, Martijn, Remi, Kia, Jelly Pie, Simon MC, the twin girls Tonya and Charlotte. X!NK beat, Tonya the second-place winner with a difference of 3 points. The band then represented

Belgium Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...

at the first Junior Eurovision Song Contest on 15 November 2003 with the song "De Vriendschapsband" (The Bond/Band Between/Of Friends). The song, which they wrote themselves, is about the origin of their band and their friendship. In the field of 16 contestants, they ended in sixth place with 83 points at the final in

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. The first place was for Dino representing Croatia and the second place for Sergio from Spain with a song dedicated to his mother who died some months before the contest. Like the other contestants, they got to record their entry in a studio with a professional producer, in their case Paul Despiegelaere. Their winning song was released as a

single Single may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media * Single (music), a song release Songs * "Single" (Natasha Bedingfield song), 2004 * "Single" (New Kids on the Block and Ne-Yo song), 2008 * "Single" (William Wei song), 2016 * "Single", by ...

After the Junior Eurovision Song Contest

X!NK launched their second single, named "Oh-Ho" in the beginning of 2004. Later that year their first album, containing twelve songs was released. The album went

gold Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile met ...

Flanders Flanders (, ; Dutch: ''Vlaanderen'' ) is the Flemish-speaking northern portion of Belgium and one of the communities, regions and language areas of Belgium. However, there are several overlapping definitions, including ones related to culture, ...

(the Dutch language area of Belgium). X!NK often perform at rock festivals in Belgium (for example

Marktrock Marktrock is a music festival held each year around 15 August, in the heart of the university town of Leuven, Belgium. There is also a smaller Marktrock festival in Poperinge, which is held on the last Saturday of August. The name Marktrock comes ...

Leuven Leuven (, ) or Louvain (, , ; german: link=no, Löwen ) is the capital and largest city of the province of Flemish Brabant in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is located about east of Brussels. The municipality itself comprises the historic ...

). In 2004, they released the song "Laat Me Vrij" (Let Me Free) which served as the

theme song Theme music is a musical composition that is often written specifically for radio programming, television shows, video games, or films and is usually played during the title sequence, opening credits, closing credits, and in some instances at so ...

for the Flemish version of '' Garfield''. For the sequel to ''Ice Age'', '' Ice Age: The Meltdown'' which debuted in Flemish cinemas on 31 March 2006, they recorded the song "De Andere Kant" (The Other Side) which served as the theme song for this film. Lead singer Jonas also provided the Dutch voice for the character Jimmy the Anteater in the film. Their second album ''Vergif'' (''Poison'') was released on 30 September 2005. They also performed on the big 0110-event in Belgium. They opened the show in

Ghent Ghent ( nl, Gent ; french: Gand ; traditional English: Gaunt) is a city and a municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of the East Flanders province, and the third largest in the country, exceeded in ...

. The band announced their split in 2009. Recently Niels and Thomas also play in another Belgian band called The Crackups with two other musicians.

Reunion concert and comeback

X!NK announced they would reunite for a concert in Brussels. When the concert sold out within minutes, the band announced three more shows, which are all sold out as well. The band later announced new music, with a new lead single 'Misschien'.

Discography

Albums

Singles

References

*Part of this article is translated from the corresponding article from the Dutch Wikipedia, retrieved 7 April 2007.

External links

*
Official website
featuring tour guide, biography, pictures, news and audio.
X!NK
at the Boy Choir & Soloist Directory. *
The X!NK comic book series
at Dupuis.com (Google cache) {{DEFAULTSORT:Xnk Junior Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Belgium Dupuis titles Belgian punk rock groups Musical groups reestablished in 2001