“I hope my music/videos and I make people feel better and provide a nice background/wallpaper to make some epic memories.”
— SIMON DE WIT
2019
With the skillful way he reimagines countless Top 40 hits, you would never guess that Dutch popstar Simon de Wit, who goes by the moniker Blanks, still has trouble reading musical notes.
De Wit was born in Utrecht and later moved to Groningen, a city in the northern Netherlands which has been a thriving community for nearly a millennium. At 22, de Wit has created a name for himself within the YouTube community, racking up millions upon millions of views on his videos, which vary from original songs to “Style Swaps” and “One Hour Song Challenges”. The latter is where he takes creative liberties to recreate popular songs of the time. The “Challenge” originally started out in Dutch. After his original version of the Bazzi song, “Mine,” did well in the United States though, he decided to expand his market to a new and relevant audience. He describes this as a pivotal moment for him, when he realized that people from around the world were genuinely enjoying his content.
“It feels really good, but also really weird, because you don’t actually see the people behind the numbers in real life,” he explains. “That’s why conventions and concerts are so insane — all of a sudden you see how many people actually know who you are.”
People definitely know who he is. Just this year, de Wit was a featured creator at VidCon London, a European offshoot of the American YouTube fan convention. However, his achievements did not stop there. A few weeks before our interview, he was invited to perform at the VEED Awards, which is an awards show for Dutch YouTubers, in Amsterdam. Fortunately for us though, de Wit is only getting started.
His first challenge was finding a catchy nom de guerre, which should both be close to his given name and also sound “international.” “My own name [Simon de Wit] just doesn’t sound cool in other languages than Dutch,” he says, when asked about the pseudonym. His fans beg to differ, but I do think his explanation for the name Blanks is well thought out, effective and significant. His surname, ‘De Wit’ means ‘The White,’ which he transformed into Blanks. “I [also] like the idea of a blank slate,” he shares. “I can go everywhere I want creatively and start new with every project.”
Ten years. That was how long de Wit has been curating his collection of musical instruments and equipment. In fact, he says that his first music-related memory was when he was 8 years old. “At my school, we had a music program where you could learn how to read notes and stuff and I went there. Fun fact: I still have trouble reading notes.” Nevertheless, that has not stopped him from picking up a number of instruments over the years. “I play bass, guitar, piano, ukulele… and I sing.” It also does not hurt that he comes from an incredibly musical family. His dad plays the drums, his mom used to sing in the school band and plays the accordion, and his brother is a master of both the piano and drums. In fact, for this reason, the family chose to call the countryside their home because the neighbours are few and far between. “We’ve always lived in houses with neighbours at least 100 feet away, so we could always make music and experiment.” He accredits this, along with the car rides into town, helping him grow musically. De Wit says his parents have always had an extensive music collection, but that it was not a constant in the family home. He eventually started discovering different artists on his own and listening to them in his room. Growing up in the Netherlands meant knowing what was going on with Dutch music. Eventually, he shifted his interest to the international scene, where he discovered artists like Muse, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, Avicii and Martin Garrix. However, he never limited himself to one favourite artist and could be found listening to everything from Dutch hip-hop to Swedish pop. There is definitely an upside to growing up in a non-English speaking country when it comes to music, he admits. “I can imagine I’m wording things differently or simpler than a native would do.”
He acknowledges that YouTube has helped him in more ways than one. De Wit revealed that one of the reasons his English is exceptionally good is thanks to watching countless hours of English-speaking YouTubers. Not only did it help improve his language skills, but also launched him into a community he had been longing to join for some time. “I had been making videos for a few years, stumbled upon the so-called YouTubers, and thought, ‘This looks like fun. I can do this!’” He started out making your run-of-the-mill videos like completing YouTube tags and sharing his top 10 tips to survive the summer. Gradually, he found his footing after a year-long break from the platform. “[I] started making music, but really missed making the videos. I wanted to start and do something I liked again, so I had to incorporate the music part. I brainstormed with a friend of mine, and from that session, the One Hour Song Challenge concept was born!”
The processes for completing a “One Hour Song Challenge” and writing his own original music are quite similar. Both start out with “a vibe.” If he finds one that works, then the undertaking becomes a quick yet enjoyable experience where he tries to get as many ideas down as possible. “I usually start out with the instrumental first, and then come up with the melody and lyrics. They always take me longer to make. But sometimes this process differs, and I come up with a vocal melody first, it depends.”
The debate about the left brain/right brain has been dispelled as a culturally perpetuated myth, but if it were true, de Wit would be lucky enough to say he is blessed with strength on both sides. He is currently completing his Master’s Degree in Information Science and is excited to wrap things up there, but not for the reason you might expect. “[I want to be able] to focus completely on the music. I’m still working as an online video specialist one day a week, but I’m finishing up all the projects and slowly getting ready to move on to music.” Despite working at a supermarket, teaching himself how to build websites and starting his own company at a young age, being in a place where he is able to thrive creatively is where the YouTube star feels most at home. When he is not hard at work pursuing a career in the arts, he can often be found playing tennis, reading motivational books, listening to inspirational podcasts and watching videos that help better himself.
The comments section of de Wit’s videos always includes comparisons to Golden Retrievers and observations concerning his abundance of explosive confidence. Meanwhile, regularly escaping his lips are quips expressing unpretentious pride for the sounds he has created or lyrics he has written. When I ask him about it, he confirms he has always been confident. “I’m not sure where it comes from,” he concedes. “I think I just focus on myself and don’t really think about what everybody else is doing or saying.” He leaves me with a favourite (paraphrased) quote from John Mayer, that I would also like to leave with you: “Start dancing in your own little spot and have the best time ever. People will start dancing around you and then with you. Just start dancing.” He adds, “I really believe in that too!”
Regardless of his rapidly expanding fanbase, de Wit remains a normal young adult who just so happens to have extraordinary talents. He loves singing along to 80s music on road trips and is extremely grateful for those who are following along on his journey. He is not shy when I ask what he would like to say to everyone supporting him. “First of all, I would like to thank all my followers! I know, [it] sounds cheesy, but without them, this all would not be happening, and I genuinely want to thank them for that. Also, I hope my music/videos and I make people feel better and provide a nice background/wallpaper to make some epic memories, too!”
2020
Since we spoke, de Wit has amassed a total of over 1.22 million subscribers and 57.5 million views (August 2020) on his videos, planned for an international tour (which was disrupted by COVID-19 and successfully rescheduled for May 2021), and continued to attract a dedicated audience.
From the most recent press release:
Blanks might just be the perfect musician to release an EP during the summer of 2020. Drawing heavily from his beloved era of 80s pop and dance, Blanks’ tunes are never anything short of euphoric and summery pop perfection (best listened to in a fast car with all the windows down). Collecting together some of his most beloved hits, ‘cheap sodas and ice cream kisses’ is the perfect EP to show off the success that this phenomenal artist has had so far – on the internet via his YouTube platform, and in real life at shows and gigs the world over (all Europe dates – including Brighton’s The Great Escape festival – successfully rescheduled to May 2021, please see below for details).
This EP will be led by new track, ‘Favorite Nightmare’ – a characteristically upbeat exploration of the confusing and disorientating feelings in the fallout of a break-up in ‘Favorite Nightmare’. Beginning with the use of a “telephone” effect (so that the song sounds exactly like one of the songs on the radio of the car Blanks describes in the first verse), the song is kicked into gear by the cry of ‘1, 2, 3, let’s GO!’ immediately injecting Blanks’ energy and enthusiasm into the tune. With his debut single – an 80s version of Post Malone’s ‘Better Now’ – currently going viral on TikTok, the groovy bassline and 80s-style synths of ‘Favorite Nightmare’ are very much in keeping with the strengths of this YouTube sensation-turned-pop star.
With this release coming during a summer in which we need all the positivity we can get, and the news of all live dates successfully rescheduled for 2021, ‘cheap sodas and ice cream kisses’ is set to be a 2020 summer staple of everyone’s playlists.