Janna Baerends

Janna is a storyteller pur sang. She accompanies herself on guitar and piano, drawing inspiration from great singer-songwriters from the 1970s and elsewhere. Her music is a mix of pop, soul, jazz and folk.

With her warm voice, interpretations and personal style, she touched both the coaches, the professional jury and the audience during the TV programme Talent Unplugged. Janna closed the programme convincingly winning with her impressive rendition of Charles Aznavour's 'She'. With this, her name was established.

Right after the final broadcast, she released her first and self-written single 'She Knows Me Now (The Silent Song)', a song about listening to the intuitive voice that every person knows inside. This song received a lot of airplay on NPO Radio 2, in major Spotify playlists, among others, and Janna was featured several times with high-profile TV appearances with Eva Jinek, among others.

After several successful performances at major festivals in the summer of 2025, such as Zwarte Cross, Hullabaloo in Groningen and Concert at Sea, Janna launched the first part of her own theatre tour in the autumn for sold-out venues across the country, from De Kleine Komedie in Amsterdam to Muziekgebouw Eindhoven.

On 14 November 2025, Janna played at a sold-out AFAS Live in Amsterdam. During these shows, Janna, accompanying herself on guitar and piano, and her band (drums, bass/contrabass and violin) played well-known songs such as 'She' and 'The Boxer', in addition to a large number of her own songs.

Last autumn, Janna could be seen as support for Hannah Mae's entire club tour, as a guest at Trijntje Oosterhuis' Soulful Christmas show, and as support for artists such as Guus Meeuwis and RONDÉ. 2026 started for Janna with a successful performance at Noorderslag (ESNS) in Groningen, followed by part two of Janna's theatre tour in January and February, topped by a sold-out Royal Theatre Carré.

On 6 March, she released the single - 'Light Over You'. It is her first single after her debut single 'She Knows Me Now (The Silent Song)', which was heard on several radio stations and featured on TV with Eva Jinek, among others. Janna wrote 'Light Over You' together with none other than Maarten van Damme of Racoon, JP Hoekstra of Krezip and Will Knox (Son Mieux, Duncan Laurence). 'Light Over You' is a beautiful and personal pop song that is about recognition of love: 'That moment when someone enters the room and the atmosphere in the room shifts almost imperceptibly, yet palpably. Something that can touch you unexpectedly, just for a moment and yet just long enough to remind you of love you feel inside yourself.