Davina Michelle’s “All is Ours” (Part 1 of 2)

This Dutch pop singer-songwriter has a not-evil master plan for world domination

An edited version of this feature appeared previously in SPIN.

Davina Michelle got her start the new-fashioned way: she recorded herself singing covers of well-known pop songs, uploaded them to YouTube, and built herself a loyal following. But from the beginning, this 28 year old singer-songwriter from the Netherlands had bigger things in mind; those covers were the key to opening bigger doors. Today Michelle is an established artist in her own right: her third album, Higher is set for release on September 27. Ahead of that release, Michelle has debuted an irresistible and high-energy single, “All is Ours.”

Even though Michelle is a very intentional artist, she admits surprise at the level of success she has already earned. When it’s pointed out that she has landed nearly 20 of her songs on the Top 40 charts in the Netherlands, she’s caught a bit off guard: “I didn’t know about that statistic; I’m very thankful,” she says. Blushing with modesty, Michelle quickly adds, “Holland is a pretty small country. It’s not nearly as big as America, for example.”

Davina Michelle’s co-writer is boyfriend/producer/multi-instrumentalist Sebastiaan Browuer; he can be found behind the drum kit on live dates as well. Michelle’s busy summer – high profile opening dates for Robbie Williams and James Blunt – will be followed in autumn 2024 with a run of concerts in the Netherlands and Germany, capped by a special hometown performance at Rotterdam Ahoy on November 2.

Let’s talk about “All is Ours.” What does the song mean to you?

Well, I wrote the lyrics myself. And I wanted to write about love – not stuff, not having things – being the most important thing. You can have the whole world, but if you don’t have anyone to share it with, you don’t need any of that stuff. And that’s something I really experienced myself the past few years; I have a partner that I really love. We’re having a great time, we’re doing good. We have cars, and we have a big backyard. But we were like, “My goodness, if we lose all the stuff, we would just spend time with each other!” And that’s actually where the idea came from to write “All is Ours.” I hope everyone can identify with it; I hope that everyone has love in their life. And I’m pretty sure that if they do, they know that’s more important than having a nice car or a lot of money.

The single also includes an acoustic version, which is radically different. Sometimes an acoustic version is simply a remix; this feels like a completely different recording.

Yeah, it is. Sebastiaan is my boyfriend, and we write everything together. When we wrote “All is Ours,” we wrote it on acoustic guitar, in our backyard. And we really loved that vibe. Of course, Sebastiaan also did production, and we were like, “We need a little more uptempo, a little more fun in this song.” But I still love that first very honest, very pure acoustic vibe. When the full-on produced song was finished, I really loved that version, but I kept thinking of the first acoustic version. I have a lot of different vibes throughout the day. Sometimes I want an acoustic song; I really chill out. When I’m a little more energetic, I want a more “up” song. That’s when I decided, “Let’s release both.”

So we recorded both versions. We recorded different vocals in a different key, and the acoustic guitar was recorded separately. So it’s the same lyrics, but they are two very different versions. Whatever vibe you are [experiencing], you can play that song.

You have a tour of the Netherlands and Germany coming up. Is there any chance you’ll perform the acoustic version?

Well, I played the acoustic version of “All is Ours” on a Dutch radio station last week. I just felt like it; it was very early in the morning, and I was like, “Let’s do a chill, easy session. And it was really fun. I must say that doing a very intimate acoustic song on a large commercial radio station is a little scary, but I liked it. And I’d love to do it more often. But [on the tour] I do really want to play the full-on, full band, rocking version.

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