The historical score shows how big an act was at the time of that edition, on a scale of 100 against the biggest acts of all editions. The letter is the level by the festival's own scale. How the points work ›
Chances for 2027
Probability estimates remain estimates and are not an official announcement.
No rumours, no inside knowledge. Tap Why? for the reasons.
Why?
Why?
Why?
Figures
Soul, funk & jazzfunkrockreggaeskarap
Career
- Line-ups
- Pinkpop 2017, Pinkpop 2022
- Hits since 2015
- Afraid Of The Dark NL #12, 2021
- Larger Than Life (Armin van Buuren & Chef'Special) NL #36, 2024
- Speed Of Light NL #41, 2024
- Nicotine NL #46, 2018
- Trouble NL #49, 2020
- C'est la vie NL #53, 2025
Stature
- Gold and platinum
- the Netherlands: 7 albums, 20 singles
- New Gold goud, 2026
- Amigo platina, 2019
- One For The Mrs. goud, 2018
- Amigo goud, 2017
- and 3 more
- Biggest own venue
- AFAS Live Loge, Amsterdam
- ±6.000 plaatsen
- 2027 (Benelux, last three years)
Older concert dates are still being added, so this may be incomplete.
Today
- Radio
- Last 30 days
NPO 3FM 28 6,5 per week Qmusic NL 5 1,2 per week KINK 4 0,9 per week Since we track the stationNPO 3FM 2.632 2.4 a day since Nov 2023 KINK 226 0.2 a day since Nov 2023 Qmusic NL 21 0.2 a day since Aug 2026 - Airplay Top 40 (NL)
- 10 weeks in the last twelve months, best position 12
- Home act
- 40% of worldwide search volume comes from Belgium and the Netherlands (typically a few percent)
Records
Albums in the Belgian and Dutch album charts (Ultratop, Dutch Charts) and with gold or platinum (BEA, NVPI).
| Album | Year | Belgian album chart | Dutch album chart | Gold/platinum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Gold | 2024 | – | #5 (2 wk) | gold NL |
| Unfold | 2020 | – | #1 (23 wk) | – |
| Amigo | 2017 | – | #2 (146 wk) | gold NL, platinum NL |
| Passing Through | 2014 | – | #1 (63 wk) | gold NL, platinum NL |
| One For The Mrs. | 2011 | – | #25 (33 wk) | gold NL |
singles met goud of platina: Belgium 0, the Netherlands 20.
How popular is Chef'Special compared with other countries?
Much bigger in the Netherlands than you would expect; smaller in Belgium.
Based on search volume and listeners from the various sources. Each country compared with the worldwide figure.
Upcoming concerts
Benelux first, then Europe. Alle data op Ticketmaster.
| Date | Stad | Country | Zaal of festival | Event |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14/11/2026 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | A'DAM Toren | To the Moon and Back | Chef'Special (acoustic) | Blok 3 |
| 02/04/2027 | Tilburg | Netherlands | 013 Main | Chef'Special |
| 07/04/2027 | Nijmegen | Netherlands | Doornroosje - Rode zaal | Chef'Special |
| 16/04/2027 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | AFAS Live Loge | Chef'Special | Premium Seats |
| 17/04/2027 | Amsterdam | Netherlands | AFAS Live Loge | Chef'Special | Premium Seats |
On the map, until the end of September 2027
The numbers follow the dates, also in the timeline above. Hover or tap a number for the date and venue.
Best-known songs (Deezer)
Per edition, historical
Score measured in the twelve months before each edition, place = rank in that line-up. The letter differs per festival: an A at Best Kept Secret can be a C at Rock Werchter.
| Edition | Score | Level | Rank | Exceptional | Belgium | Netherlands | World | Sources |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinkpop 2017 | 36 | B | 14 / 45 | 22 | 16 | 52 | 16 | Wikipedia, charts, stature |
| Pinkpop 2022 | 38 | B | 16 / 49 | 44 | 22 | 54 | 14 | Wikipedia, charts, stature |
Reviews and reports
Reviews by Dansende Beren and Festileaks.
| Edition | Titel | Bron | Date | Soort |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pinkpop 2022 | Pinkpop (Festivaldag 2): Muziek drijft temperatuur naar ongeziene hoogtes | Dansende Beren | 19/06/2022 | dagverslag |
| Pinkpop 2017 | 20.000 mensen minder op dag 2 van Pinkpop | Festileaks | 04/06/2017 | dagverslag |
Over the years
◆ purple = album, ▲ red = festival in Belgium, ▲ green = festival in the Netherlands, ● grey = own concert. Click the legend to switch them on or off.
Festivals and own concerts
- ●17/04/2027 · AFAS Live Loge, Amsterdam (planned)
- ●16/04/2027 · AFAS Live Loge, Amsterdam (planned)
- ●07/04/2027 · Doornroosje - Rode zaal, Nijmegen (planned)
- ●14/11/2026 · A'DAM Toren, Amsterdam (planned)
- ▲Saturday, June 2022 · Pinkpop
- ▲Saturday, June 2017 · Pinkpop
Place among all acts on this site: 80 = viewed or searched more than 80% of the other acts that month. The thick line is the average.
Studio Brussel since August 2023, NPO 3FM and KINK since 2020, the other stations since late October 2026. "Compare countries" shows the average per station.
Songs per station, last 18 months
| Station | Country | Most played |
|---|---|---|
| KINK | Netherlands | Amigo 2 · In Your Arms 2 |
| NPO 3FM | Netherlands | Fly Like Me 2 · Larger Than Life 2 · In Your Arms 1 |
| Qmusic NL | Netherlands | Afraid Of The Dark 10 · In Your Arms 6 · Speed Of Light 5 |