Anouk

There are singers, and then there's Anouk. Anouk is truly exceptional. She's a character who has been lighting up the Dutch pop world for over 25 years. She consistently delivers powerful songs and a voice that grabs you by the throat, then moves you. But Anouk is more than that; she's a powerful personality who never hides her honest opinions, a popular TV personality, and the proud mother of six. 

" Nobody 's Wife " set the tone in 1997; an explosive rock anthem about independence that launched Anouk Teeuwe onto the music scene. The single topped the Dutch charts for weeks. The Netherlands was captivated by the way the 22-year-old singer from The Hague poured her heart and soul into it. A rock star was born. 

Two years before her big breakthrough, Anouk was studying at the Rotterdam Conservatory when she met Golden Earring singer Barry Hay. She sang a few songs live with him at a festival in The Hague. Hay was so impressed with her singing that he offered to write material for her. This resulted in the first single, "Mood Indigo ." A little less than a year later, "Nobody's Wife" was released , and she became a household name. 

It quickly became clear that the idiosyncratic Hague native could not only belt out explosive rock songs like "Nobody's Wife" and "R U Kiddin ' Me ," but also craft small, delicate songs like "Lost" and "Michel ." This variety defined the rest of her career. On later albums, she experimented with soul, funk, and hip-hop. But that voice is always the common thread. That voice that's rock solid. That can flatter, breathe fire, move, and blow you away. That's sometimes raw and other times fragile. Anouk's often painfully candid lyrics strike a chord with her fans, who identify with her personal stories. 

In 2013, Anouk represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest with the breathtakingly beautiful "Birds ." It was the first time since 2004 that the Netherlands had reached the finals. "Birds" was also included on "Sad Singalong Songs ," an album full of cinematic ballads, which marked another new direction for her. 

In the years that followed, Anouk continued to surprise with ever-changing projects. First, in 2014, was Symphonica in Rosso , on which she performed her songs in special arrangements with an orchestra. This was followed by the multi-colored Paradise and Back Again , an exciting journey through all the styles the singer loves. Because she hates sitting still, she even released two studio albums in 2016: Queen For A Day , a declaration of love for pure pop songs, and Fake It Till We Die , which had a more underground feel. Two years later, she released her first Dutch-language album, the melancholic Wen D'r Maar Aan . This was followed in 2022 by an English-language mini-album featuring seven heavenly songs in the finest singer-songwriter tradition. 

Whatever style Anouk explored, the consistent quality of her music was consistently rewarded with stellar sales figures. No fewer than 14 of her albums reached number one in the Album Top 100, including her Greatest Hits collection in 2015. She also scored fifteen top 10 hits and effortlessly filled arenas like the Ziggo Dome and the GelreDome . Anouk's trophy cabinet is also well-stocked, including eleven Edisons, the Popprijs, and two MTV Europe Music Awards for Best Dutch Act. 

Anouk's success wasn't limited to the Netherlands. "Nobody's Wife" was a huge hit in Norway and Sweden, she reached number one in Denmark with "Lost ," and "One Word" topped the charts in Albania. Anouk's albums have been released in Belgium, Scandinavia, Israel, Turkey, and Italy, and she has collaborated with renowned international artists such as Glen Ballard (producer of Michael Jackson, Alanis Morissette , Celine Dion), Reggie Perry (Jay Z, John Legend), Ryan Lesie (Mary J. Blige ), and Martin Gjerstad and Torre Johansson (Franz Ferdinand and The Cardigans ). 

Her fourteenth studio album, Deena & Jim , an album with a rich orchestral sound, is most reminiscent of SadSingalong Songs (2013). For The arrangements were made by Martin Gjerstad , Anouk's long-standing writing partner. The 12 compositions, and the accompanying interludes , intros and outros were played by the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. “The What is special is that after the performance the musicians were very curious about when the album is released because they liked the arrangements so much. A huge compliment when you know that these people record the greatest soundtracks . ”

More than a quarter-century after her smashing debut, Anouk remains one of the most popular artists in the Netherlands. Only Anouk herself knows what her next step will be. This fierce woman stubbornly charts her own course, always following her musical intuition.