LOONA

Loona is the music project of Dutch singer and dancer Marie-José van der Kolk, whose Spanish-inflected dance songs are closely associated with the summer of 1998. What began as a collaboration with DJ Sammy has continued as her solo project since 2008.

The pair met in Mallorca, where van der Kolk initially performed as a dancer. She later sang to DJ Sammy’s music under the name Carisma before adopting the name Loona in summer 1998. After the duo split in 2005, she returned with Loona as a solo project in 2008.

Her breakthrough came with “Bailando”: the cover of the Paradisio track became a summer hit in 1998 and spent weeks at number one in Germany and Switzerland. The orchestral Mecano cover “Hijo de la luna” also reached the top of the German charts. Following an objection from Herbert Grönemeyer, “Mamboleo” even required a new video: instead of dancing on the beach, Loona appeared in the middle of a traffic jam. Like “Bailando” before it, the track earned her an Echo for Best Dance Single. Years later, “Vamos a la playa” reached number four in the French singles chart and returned Loona to the Swiss charts.

Her sound sits between Eurodance, Europop and Spanish-language pop, with new releases also arriving in 2025 and 2026.