Arcade (song)

"Arcade"
Single by Duncan Laurence
from the album Small Town Boy and the EP Worlds on Fire
Released7 March 2019
GenrePop
Length3:04
Label
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
  • Wouter Hardy
  • Oscar Holleman
Duncan Laurence singles chronology
"Arcade"
(2019) 		"Love Don't Hate It"
(2019)
Music video
"Arcade" on YouTube
Eurovision Song Contest 2019 entry
Country
Finals performance
Semi-final result
1st
Semi-final points
280
Final result
1st
Final points
498
Entry chronology
◄ "Outlaw in 'Em" (2018)
"Grow" (2020) ►
Official performance video
"Arcade" (Second semi-final) on YouTube
"Arcade" (Grand Final) on YouTube
"Arcade" (Reprise) on YouTube

"Arcade" is a song by Dutch singer-songwriter Duncan Laurence written and composed by Laurence, Joel Sjöö, Wouter Hardy, and Will Knox. The song was released on 7 March 2019 by Spark Records.[1] It was later included as the lead single on his debut studio album Small Town Boy, and also features on his debut EP Worlds on Fire.[2][3]

"Arcade" represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel, which it won, marking the Netherlands' first Eurovision victory since 1975.[4] After the complete line-up of songs was announced, "Arcade" was the bookmakers' favourite to win Eurovision, and had remained so until the contest ended.[5] An acoustic version of the song was released on 19 July 2019, followed by a duet version featuring American singer Fletcher on 27 November 2020.[6][7] In February 2020, "Arcade" won an Edison Award for Best Pop Song of the Year.[8]

In the second half of 2020, "Arcade" went viral on social media platform TikTok, resulting in new chart successes and streams on various platforms.[9][10][11] In January 2021, "Arcade" became the most-streamed Eurovision song on Spotify, passing "Soldi" by Mahmood, the runner-up of Eurovision 2019.[12] Later that year, in April, "Arcade" became the first Eurovision song in 25 years and the first Eurovision winning song in 45 years to chart on the US Billboard Hot 100;[13][14] by September, it peaked at number 30.[15]

In August 2023, "Arcade" became the first Eurovision song to accumulate a billion streams on Spotify.[16][17]

  1. ^ "Arcade – Single by Duncan Laurence". Apple Music. Retrieved 17 May 2019.
  2. ^ "Small Town Boy – by Duncan Laurence". Apple Music. Retrieved 26 February 2021.
  3. ^ "Worlds On Fire – EP by Duncan Laurence". Apple Music. Retrieved 13 May 2020.
  4. ^ "Duncan Laurence takes 'Arcade' to Eurovision for The Netherlands". European Broadcasting Union (EBU). 7 March 2019. Retrieved 8 March 2019.
  5. ^ "The Netherlands: Duncan Laurence Now Favourite to Win Eurovision 2019". EuroVoix. 9 March 2019. Retrieved 15 March 2019.
  6. ^ "Arcade (Acoustic Version) – Single by Duncan Laurence". Apple Music. Retrieved 20 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Arcade (feat. FLETCHER) – Single by Duncan Laurence". Apple Music. Retrieved 30 November 2020.
  8. ^ "Winnaars Pop Edison 2020 bekend". edisons.nl (in Dutch). 11 February 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2020.
  9. ^ "Duncan Laurence joins in, as "Arcade" goes viral in Harry Potter-themed TikTok videos". Wiwibloggs. 12 October 2020. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  10. ^ "More success for Duncan Laurence as "Arcade" re-enters UK singles chart and becomes most streamed Eurovision winner". Wiwibloggs. 13 January 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  11. ^ "Two years on, more success for Duncan Laurence as "Arcade" enters UK Trending Chart". Wiwibloggs. 11 February 2021. Retrieved 11 February 2021.
  12. ^ ""Arcade" passes "Soldi" as the most-streamed Eurovision entry on Spotify". Escxtra. 29 January 2021. Retrieved 29 January 2021.
  13. ^ "Duncan Laurence's 'Arcade' Is First Eurovision Song Contest Winner to Hit Hot 100 in 45 Years". Billboard. 13 April 2021. Retrieved 16 April 2021.
  14. ^ "Duncan Laurence Has 'No Idea' How His Breakthrough Single 'Arcade' Keeps Going Viral". Billboard. Archived from the original on 11 June 2021. Retrieved 11 June 2021.
  15. ^ "Eurovision winners Måneskin and Duncan Laurence crack Top 30 on Billboard charts". wiwibloggs. 31 August 2021. Retrieved 6 September 2021.
  16. ^ "Bijzondere mijlpaal voor Duncan Laurence: een miljard Spotify-streams". nos.nl (in Dutch). 9 August 2023. Retrieved 9 August 2023.
  17. ^ Adessi, Antonio (9 August 2023). "Eurovision, 1 miliardo di ascolti per "Arcade" di Duncan Laurence". Eurofestival News (in Italian). Retrieved 9 August 2023.