FEATURE:
Spotlight
Isabel van Gelder
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SHE has…
a million followers on Instagram, yet there are many who do not know about Isabel Van Gelder. This amazing Dutch artist is new to me, but I wanted to spotlight her, as she plays some dates in the U.K. in September. She plays in Birmingham and London. I think these dates are sold out, such is the demand to see her. I am going to come to some interviews with this spellbinding talent. Prior to getting there, here is a little bit of background:
“Isabel van Gelder is a 23-year-old singer-songwriter/pop artist from Amsterdam. Her angelic sound and presence shine through in her impressive songs: emotionally layered storytelling ballads, balanced with carefree, upbeat tracks. In both extremes, Isabel effortlessly weaves dreamy melodies with deeply personal lyrics, and audiences listen closely.
Since the release of her singles Die For You and My Silly Boy, it has become impossible to ignore Isabel. Her videos on Instagram and TikTok have amassed millions of views, while her debut EP ‘Minor Details’ has reached millions of streams on Spotify. When she announced her first European tour, it sold out within weeks. Now, she is announcing a brand-new and expanded European tour, featuring larger venues and many more cities”.
In January, she released her debut E.P., Minor Details. A play on words, it is a clever, captivating, singular and stunning work from someone who I do feel is such a fascinating person. Reading interviews with Isabel van Gelder, you hear such a passionate and intelligent voice. She is also a model as well as a musician. I think the modelling career is in the past, but transitioning between these two worlds. Modelling about looks and aesthetics; music more about depth and different elements.
In 2025, Forbes spoke with Isabel van Gelder around the release of the lyric video for Die for You. There has not been as much buzz about her in the U.K. press as you’d imagine, so I sort of missed out on her. Sold-out gigs around the country shows that there is this loyal fanbase here:
“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 s**t 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: 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”.
Stardust spoke with the multi-talented and adored Dutch artist around the release of I Don’t Want to Fall in Love Again. Isabel van Gelder is already such an accomplished composer and artist. She is so level-headed and mature, so you know she will conduct her career with such grace and wisdom:
“I Don’t Want To Fall In Love Again” feels like it comes from a very specific emotional place. What was happening in your life or in your head when this song first started to take shape?
Isabel Van Gelder: I was in London in a session with Jake Gosling the day the song was created. The day started off a little rocky. I was having a hard time coming up with something to write about that I felt was good enough. In the last couple of hours, we still didn't have an idea, so I got in front of the mic and started freestyling some melodies. It ended up working; we got all the melodies in the first take. I stepped out of the booth and went straight into writing lyrics, and it was one of those songs that just fell out. I barely had to think about it. Altogether, the song was done within an hour.
What's strange is that at the time, I was still in a relationship. Although I hadn't admitted it to myself yet, we were in a very bad place. Looking back, I think the song was foreshadowing how I was really feeling on some unconscious level. I tend to emotionally check out when things get too difficult or painful, and I think I was somewhere in the middle of that process without realizing it. Maybe I was preparing myself for what was to come.
Your music tends to feel vocal-driven, and your voice carries so much of the emotion here. When you’re recording a song this vulnerable, do you think more about technical control or emotional truth?
Isabel Van Gelder: Emotional truth, for sure! I'm not a very technical singer. I don't have a lot of formal training, and when I personally listen to music, I always listen to the story and emotion first. Blanks, my friend and producer who I work with most, also worked on “I Don’t Want To Fall In Love Again,” actually told me that whenever he feels the vocals could be better, he just tells me to focus on the story. That always ends up producing the best takes. I think that says it all, really.
“I Don’t Want To Fall In Love Again” is also your first release with Columbia Records. How did it feel to begin this next chapter with a song that feels so personal?
Isabel Van Gelder: I'm incredibly excited about this new chapter; it genuinely feels like a dream come true to be working with a label that has been home to so many incredible artists over the decades. And I'm really happy that this is the song we're starting with. It feels personal and honest, which I think gives a good first impression of who I am as an artist. I can't wait to go even deeper with the songs that are coming next!
“Die for you” connected with listeners in such a major way, reaching millions of streams and bringing your music to a wider audience. Was there a specific moment when you realized how far the song had traveled?
Isabel Van Gelder: I think the first real moment it hit me was at my first headline show in London where the entire crowd knew every word. It's a feeling I genuinely can't describe. There's something almost surreal about standing in a room full of people singing back something you wrote in your bedroom at 17. It's incredible, really.
As you move into this new chapter, what do you want listeners to understand about who you are as an artist right now?
Isabel Van Gelder: I hope they know how genuinely grateful I am for all the support so far. I have a very close relationship with the people that follow me, and I hope I can keep creating things that they love and that mean something to them. I’ll always try to be as honest as I can in my music, and I can't wait to see where this journey takes us!”.
The more I read, the more I realised this is a true music sensation. Someone who I feel can go on to be as big as an artist like Taylor Swift. In terms of her future, I can see these massive tours and collaborations with huge artists. Hit Parader spoke with Isabel van Gelder this year. Someone who they predict will adorn their cover within a couple of years:
“Mark my words, Dutch singer/songwriter Isabel Van Gelder will be on the cover of Hit Parader within the next two years. True, I am the editor, and the insanely likable Van Gelder has become a friend through our frequent interviews, so I might seem biased. But when you have two different major industry figures/label presidents tell you how badly they wanted to sign her after she joins the storied history of Columbia Records alongside Rosalia, Harry Styles, and more, you know the hype is legitimate.
Like almost every artist, Van Gelder says songs coming to her like a thunderbolt is all too familiar to her. “In my experience personally, I do feel like the songs that I think are my best songs happen very quickly. And I think when you’re truly inspired, or you’re in this kind of flow state, sometimes you don’t really even know what’s happening, and it just happens. This song was definitely one of those moments,” she says. “I walked out of the studio, and I wasn’t even sure. I had to listen back to what we actually just made? And then I was like, ‘Hey, this is actually good.’”
For Van Gelder, signing with Columbia, which has also been home to legends such as Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, Barbara Streisand, Miles Davis, and more, is the beginning of a new chapter she can’t wait to experience.
“It’s really exciting. All of this happening is obviously a dream come true. And if you had told me a year ago, I would not have ever thought that I’d be where I am right now, even though it’s still the start of everything. I’m very excited, and at the same time, I’m very eager, and I feel even more driven to work 10 times as hard, because I feel like having a deal right now only creates more opportunity in a way,” she says. “I just want to work as hard as I can and do everything I can to make this happen, of course. And I want to be back in the States as soon as I can.”
While Van Gelder might be setting up for a future run at the title “queen of heartbreak” musically, she is, again, far from that in her everyday life, as she proves with her tastes like YUNGBLUD and Bo Burnham. “I feel like somebody that I’ve been following for a long time, and I think he does the sickest shows, is Yungblud. I’d love to see and crowd surf to one of his shows. I feel like it’s crazy and so much energy and just would be really fun,” she says. “I love Bo Burnham. I just think he’s so smart. Also, I just think he’s really funny. And then he’s a fantastic singer, like a musician really. And I loved his special that he made during COVID with all the songs. I just thought it was genius. Like the music is genius. I love him. And I think it’s really funny. He’s just my type of guy.”
You likely will not see crowd surfing at one of her shows, but between the tears, the songs might induce her to promise a lot of fun. “We’re definitely playing some upbeat songs, and I talk a lot. I tell a lot of stories. It feels pretty spontaneous. I think you really do get a feeling of who I am as a person. And I think that’s what I really want people to take away from coming to shows that they feel like they know me a little bit better,” she says.
Ahead of dates in the U.K. shortly, I wanted to shout out the absolutely wonderful Isabel van Gelder. I am already such a fan of hers and cannot wait to see where she heads. Such is her talent and incredible personality, you cannot help but to fall for her! I think we will be talking about her…
DECADES from now.
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