We recently connected with Matthijs Rijsdijk and have shared our conversation below.

Matthijs, appreciate you joining us today. Are you happier as a creative? Do you sometimes think about what it would be like to just have a regular job? Can you talk to us about how you think through these emotions?

I am happiest on stage. Truly. Performing is the most alive I have ever felt on this planet. There’s something about stepping into the light, feeling the energy of a room shift, sensing that people are with you — that makes everything make sense. It gives me purpose. It makes me feel useful, powerful, aligned. Like I’m doing the one thing I’m genuinely built for.

That feeling of “this is the best thing there is” is what keeps me going. Because the career itself? It’s not always romantic. It’s financially unstable, emotionally exposing, full of peaks and deep valleys. You celebrate loudly and doubt yourself quietly. You win something small and then wonder if it’s enough. It demands belief from you over and over again.

Last autumn was a turning point. I came very close to representing my country at Eurovision — which has been a childhood dream of mine. When it didn’t happen, something shifted in me. The high disappeared overnight. Suddenly, I felt tired. And for the first time in a long while, I seriously fantasized about having a regular job.

I have a bachelor’s degree in linguistics. I imagined becoming a translator. A court interpreter. Maybe even a judge or a journalist. I pictured a steady income. Stability. A mortgage. A house with solid walls and predictable months. I even imagined how it would feel to introduce myself without having to explain the volatility of an artistic life.
It wasn’t that I stopped loving music. It was more that I wanted relief. I wanted certainty. I wanted money in a straightforward way.

But here’s the thing: it only takes one peak moment to dissolve all of that. One show where the audience is fully with me. One song that lands exactly how I hoped. One rehearsal where I feel the electricity again. In those moments, every fantasy about a “normal” life quietly falls away. Because life feels too short not to choose the thing that makes you feel most alive.

So yes, sometimes I think about a regular job. But every time I truly imagine leaving the stage behind, I feel something in my body resist. And that resistance tells me everything I need to know.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

My name is Roi Soleil which means “Sun King.” The name reflects the core of my work: the belief that we are all made of gold and allowed to shine. My music lives in the space between grandeur and vulnerability.

I’m a Dutch pop artist creating theatrical, emotionally charged music and live performances. I’ve been building toward this career for years. Although I studied linguistics at university, storytelling has always been my true language. I’m fascinated by how words and melody can transform pain into something powerful.

As Roi Soleil, I create bold pop songs and immersive performances that celebrate ambition, queerness, and emotional intensity. My shows are not just concerts, they are experiences where people are invited to feel deeply and unapologetically. I want audiences to leave feeling larger than when they walked in.

What sets me apart is that Roi Soleil is not just an artist name: it’s a philosophy. I fully commit to the theatrical, the dramatic, the sincere. I don’t dilute the emotion. I turn it up. Even doubt and rejection become part of the gold.

I’m proud of staying committed to this path, even through uncertainty. Coming close to representing my country at Eurovision last year confirmed that the dream I’ve carried since childhood is real and within reach.
At its core, my work is about stepping into your light, especially when it feels terrifying <3

How can we best help foster a strong, supportive environment for artists and creatives?

In my view, the most important thing society can do is take art seriously, not just emotionally, but structurally. Art doesn’t always have to be profitable to be valuable. Its worth isn’t only measured in revenue; it lives in connection, reflection, identity, and cultural memory.

We often expect artists to function like businesses while creating work that holds emotional and social meaning. That tension can be exhausting. A thriving creative ecosystem requires funding structures, fair compensation, and long-term belief, not just applause after the fact.

I also think creatives themselves have a role to play. We can support each other more. Share stages. Share audiences. Celebrate each other’s wins instead of competing for scarcity. When artists unite, the ecosystem becomes stronger and less fragile. If we want culture to thrive, we have to treat it as essential and not ornamental.

Is there mission driving your creative journey?

Yes! Absolutely!

Since I was a child growing up in a small village, I’ve dreamed of Eurovision. Not just as a competition, but as a symbol. It represents music crossing borders, languages blending, cultures meeting. It’s theatrical, emotional, political and joyful all at once.

For me, it would be the ultimate homecoming. A queer artist from a small place stepping onto a European stage and celebrating identity, ambition, and joy without shrinking. That feels powerful. More broadly, my mission is to create work that celebrates bigness: big feelings, big dreams, big presence. I want to show that sensitivity and grandeur can coexist. That queerness is not something to tone down, but something to elevate. That joy can be radical.

Eurovision is one dream. But the deeper mission is connection across languages, across borders, across differences. Music has always done that for me. I want to be part of doing that for others.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.roisoleilmusic.com
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/roi___soleil
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/RoiSoleilX1V
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@Roi___Soleil