TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – Winner of the third season of "Holland's Got Talent," Martin Hurkens, arrived at Tainan's Tayih Landis Hotel on Saturday (Nov. 30) and is expected to take the stage at the Taiwan Spinning (T.S.) Mall on Sunday (Dec. 1) afternoon.
Accompanied by his wife, Hurkens was greeted by Tainan City Mayor Huang Wei-cher (黃偉哲) with pressed flower art and a scarf made from orchids. Huang said he was introduced to Hurken's singing during his campaign last year when a friend shared a music clip of the 65-year-old from the Netherlands, reported CNA.
Originally a baker, Hurkens participated in the Dutch singing contest after his daughter went behind his back and signed him up. The singer's popularity skyrocketed after he posted his street performance of the hit song "You Raise Me Up" on Youtube, and the clip has since drawn more than 27 million views.
Hurkens is scheduled to perform at 3 p.m. on Sunday as part of the "Tainan Christmas and New Year's Eve Party" series. He will be joined by school choirs from Wenyuan Elementary and Fuxing Elementary to present several well-known songs, including "The Moon Represents My Heart" (月亮代表我的心), a Mandarin song made popular by Taiwanese icon Teresa Teng (鄧麗君).