Within Temptation singer Sharon Den Adel shared her theory about why her band has been losing so many fans over their politics.
In a new interview with Mariskal Rock, the singer was asked how she feels about it. “Well, it says that our society is changing again, but a little bit more backwards. And I think it has to do with a lot of things in society,” she explained. “And I think also for people to change their minds, how they perceive people, goes slowly. But I felt like there was more tolerance in the past than there is now in certain parts of Europe.”
Den Adel mentioned the movements the band has been in. “But it has also to do with certain things changing in society as well, because we had a lot of movements lately — the #MeToo movement, the Black Lives Matter movement — and I think this is like an anti-reaction almost to everything that is a movement. And I think hopefully it will go away again and people start realizing we’re talking about people in general. It doesn’t matter what subject it is — if it is LGBTQ, Black Lives Matter or the #MeToo movement — but, yeah, it’s a very delicate thing.”
The frontwoman added that Within Temptation wants to bring fans together through their music “to make people understand that we’re all the same eventually. And just because people are different, it doesn’t mean that we should ridicule them or cast them out of society. We should be embracing people who are different because it makes [the world] more colorful,” she added.
Den Adel hasn’t been afraid to voice her thoughts when it comes to politics, both in interviews and with songs. However, the band has lost many fans for openly sharing their views over the years, but it appears that the singer doesn’t regret talking about politics in songs. “I don’t think we can end wars, but what I do think is it’s important to keep on talking about the subjects which matter,” she explained during an interview with Louder. “And the thing is, I think it’s good to have that conversation with everyone. Everybody should have this conversation. What kind of world do we wanna live in?”
“But I think as musicians, we don’t have an agenda. We are just one of those people feeling a bit powerless. And just talking about it and finding common ground with people who think differently, but also common ground with people who think the same way, you can exchange ideas. And hopefully, as long as we keep on talking to each other, that might bring some change in the future, hopefully,” she added.
The singer also discussed her position on LGBTQ+ rights and how people started reacting differently when they found out she supported it.
It came up after Den Adel posted a message on social media in September to show her support for the LGBTQ+ community. After the post, she lost about 20,000 followers on Instagram.
Den Adel also mentioned that she believes in democracy and open discussion and that this is her and the band’s way of keeping the topic in the conversation.