VanVelzen
Encyclopedia
Roel van Velzen better known as VanVelzen, is a Dutch
singer-songwriter
. Besides being known for his short stature, standing at a mere 4'11", he and his band enjoy a huge live reputation; they have played at virtually every festival in the Netherlands, shared the stage with Queen's Brian May, and supported Kelly Clarkson
, Bon Jovi
and German magastars Reamonn.
, The Netherlands. His father was a musician, and had a large influence on him as a child; on his sixth birthday, he was given a piano
and a guitar
from his father and a drum kit
from his mother. He was actively involved in several bands at school and wrote music for the annual Christmas musical on several occasions. He went on to study Creative Communications at the Inholland University of Applied Sciences in Rotterdam, and won the Heineken Student Music Award in 1999 with his band The Goldfish.
He went on to play with Crazy Pianos and during a concert at the GelreDome
, he met his current manager, Ruud H. Vinke. Between 2002 and 2005, he was part of the improvisational theatre group Op Sterk Water, with whom he performed twice at the Lowlands Festival
.
In early 2005, VanVelzen was noted by Dutch music producers Holger Schwedt, Nando Eweg and John Ewbank, and together they decided to work on an album.
's moderate 2003 hit and peaked at #17 on the Dutch Top 40
and was a huge airplay hit.
His second single, "Burn" was released in January 2007 and was a top 10 hit in The Netherlands. His debut album, Unwind, followed shortly afterwards on 16 March and was a phenomenal all-round hit, debuting at number one on the Dutch charts and remained in the charts for over a year. It won several awards, including the 3FM Award for Best Newcomer, and Best Album at the 2007 TMF Awards.
There were two more singles from the album; "Deep" and "Shine A Little Light" were both released in May 2007.
and is VanVelzen's highest chart hit to date, peaking at #6. The song was nominated for an Edison Award in 2009.
Aside from his own tour, VanVelzen opened for various large acts throughout 2008, including Kelly Clarkson
at the Heineken Music Hall
and Bon Jovi
at the Amsterdam ArenA
, as well as several smaller festivals throughout the Netherlands. That year, 3FM gave him the award for Best Live Act.
Towards the end of 2008, several German radio stations began to pick up on VanVelzen's music, particularly "Baby Get Higher", which was used for a TV commercial and peaked at #30 on the German airplay charts. He recorded a new video especially for the German market at the end of 2008.
2009 saw the release of the second single from the forthcoming second album. "On My Way" was released on 15 January 2009 and peaked at #29. The second album was released in two parts; Take Me In was released in May and Hear Me Out followed in September. The two-part was eventually certified Gold in 2010. "Love Song" became the third single from the album and was a huge summer hit in the Netherlands that year.
In the autumn of 2009, DJ Armin van Buuren remixed and released "Broken Tonight", one of the songs from the new album, and the track became a hit in several countries outside of the Netherlands, including making #18 in the United States
' Hot Dance Chart.
, a new style of talent show with 'Blind Auditions', where the judges hear the voice of the artist without seeing their face, a concept that was thought up by VanVelzen himself. VanVelzen went on to mentor the 2010 winner, Ben Saunders
.
Towards the end of 2010, VanVelzen embarked on a 34-date Hear Me Out theatre tour of the Netherlands, and every date sold out.
On 3 March, VanVelzen received the prestigious Dutch music award, the Golden Harp
, becoming one of only 42 artists to have done so.
In May, VanVelzen released the first single from his forthcoming unnamed album called Too Good To Lose.
account, he claimed the marriage occurred in the first minute of the new year.
Dutch people
The Dutch people are an ethnic group native to the Netherlands. They share a common culture and speak the Dutch language. Dutch people and their descendants are found in migrant communities worldwide, notably in Suriname, Chile, Brazil, Canada, Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, and the United...
singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriter
Singer-songwriters are musicians who write, compose and sing their own musical material including lyrics and melodies. As opposed to contemporary popular music singers who write their own songs, the term singer-songwriter describes a distinct form of artistry, closely associated with the...
. Besides being known for his short stature, standing at a mere 4'11", he and his band enjoy a huge live reputation; they have played at virtually every festival in the Netherlands, shared the stage with Queen's Brian May, and supported Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...
, Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
and German magastars Reamonn.
Early Life
VanVelzen was born in DelftDelft
Delft is a city and municipality in the province of South Holland , the Netherlands. It is located between Rotterdam and The Hague....
, The Netherlands. His father was a musician, and had a large influence on him as a child; on his sixth birthday, he was given a piano
Piano
The piano is a musical instrument played by means of a keyboard. It is one of the most popular instruments in the world. Widely used in classical and jazz music for solo performances, ensemble use, chamber music and accompaniment, the piano is also very popular as an aid to composing and rehearsal...
and a guitar
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
from his father and a drum kit
Drum kit
A drum kit is a collection of drums, cymbals and often other percussion instruments, such as cowbells, wood blocks, triangles, chimes, or tambourines, arranged for convenient playing by a single person ....
from his mother. He was actively involved in several bands at school and wrote music for the annual Christmas musical on several occasions. He went on to study Creative Communications at the Inholland University of Applied Sciences in Rotterdam, and won the Heineken Student Music Award in 1999 with his band The Goldfish.
He went on to play with Crazy Pianos and during a concert at the GelreDome
Gelredome
The GelreDome is a football stadium in the city of Arnhem, in the Netherlands. It serves as the home of the football club Vitesse. It was opened on 25 March 1998, featuring a retractable roof, as well as a convertible pitch, that can be retracted, when unused during concerts or other events held at...
, he met his current manager, Ruud H. Vinke. Between 2002 and 2005, he was part of the improvisational theatre group Op Sterk Water, with whom he performed twice at the Lowlands Festival
A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise
A Campingflight to Lowlands Paradise, also known as simply Lowlands, is a music festival, held annually in the Netherlands in August. Lowlands has about 55,000 visitors, over 200 acts and more than ten stages every year which are named according to the NATO phonetic alphabet apart from the Grolsch...
.
In early 2005, VanVelzen was noted by Dutch music producers Holger Schwedt, Nando Eweg and John Ewbank, and together they decided to work on an album.
2006-2007: Breakthrough and Unwind
VanVelzen's first single, "Baby Get Higher", was a cover of David SneddonDavid Sneddon
David Sneddon is a Scottish musician and singer-songwriter.He has performed on British television, radio and theatre. Sneddon won the first BBC UK series of Fame Academy in 2002...
's moderate 2003 hit and peaked at #17 on the Dutch Top 40
Dutch Top 40
The Dutch Top 40 is a weekly music chart, which started as the "Veronica Top 40", because the offshore radio station Radio Veronica was the first to introduce it. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, when the station was forced to stop broadcasting...
and was a huge airplay hit.
His second single, "Burn" was released in January 2007 and was a top 10 hit in The Netherlands. His debut album, Unwind, followed shortly afterwards on 16 March and was a phenomenal all-round hit, debuting at number one on the Dutch charts and remained in the charts for over a year. It won several awards, including the 3FM Award for Best Newcomer, and Best Album at the 2007 TMF Awards.
There were two more singles from the album; "Deep" and "Shine A Little Light" were both released in May 2007.
2008-2009: Take Me In and Hear Me Out
VanVelzen went on to have a sell-out tour in The Netherlands in 2008 and introduced fans to his new single, "When Summer Ends". The song, which was released in January 2008, VanVelzen wrote with John Ewbank, was the theme song for the summer movie ZomerhitteZomerhitte
Zomerhitte is a 2008 film directed by Monique van de Ven. Her first feature-length film, it is based on the 2005 book-week giveaway novella by Jan Wolkers...
and is VanVelzen's highest chart hit to date, peaking at #6. The song was nominated for an Edison Award in 2009.
Aside from his own tour, VanVelzen opened for various large acts throughout 2008, including Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson is an American pop rock singer-songwriter and actress. Clarkson came into prominence after becoming the winner of the inaugural season of the television series American Idol in 2002 and would later become the runner-up in the television special World Idol in 2003.In 2003,...
at the Heineken Music Hall
Heineken Music Hall
Heineken Music Hall is a concert hall in Amsterdam, Netherlands, near the Amsterdam ArenA .The big hall is used for concerts, has a capacity of 5500 and is 3000 m²...
and Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi
Bon Jovi is an American rock band from Sayreville, New Jersey. Formed in 1983, Bon Jovi consists of lead singer and namesake Jon Bon Jovi , guitarist Richie Sambora, keyboardist David Bryan, drummer Tico Torres, as well as current bassist Hugh McDonald...
at the Amsterdam ArenA
Amsterdam ArenA
Amsterdam Arena is a stadium in Amsterdam, Netherlands. It is the largest stadium in the nation and it was built from 1993 to 1996 at a cost of €140 million, and was officially opened on 14 August 1996. It has been used for association football, American football, concerts, and other events...
, as well as several smaller festivals throughout the Netherlands. That year, 3FM gave him the award for Best Live Act.
Towards the end of 2008, several German radio stations began to pick up on VanVelzen's music, particularly "Baby Get Higher", which was used for a TV commercial and peaked at #30 on the German airplay charts. He recorded a new video especially for the German market at the end of 2008.
2009 saw the release of the second single from the forthcoming second album. "On My Way" was released on 15 January 2009 and peaked at #29. The second album was released in two parts; Take Me In was released in May and Hear Me Out followed in September. The two-part was eventually certified Gold in 2010. "Love Song" became the third single from the album and was a huge summer hit in the Netherlands that year.
In the autumn of 2009, DJ Armin van Buuren remixed and released "Broken Tonight", one of the songs from the new album, and the track became a hit in several countries outside of the Netherlands, including making #18 in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
' Hot Dance Chart.
2010-2011: The Voice of Holland and Third Studio Album
In 2010, VanVelzen was invited to be a judge on The Voice of HollandThe Voice of Holland
The Voice of Holland is a Dutch reality singing competition, created by media tycoon John de Mol, and currently airing on RTL4 in the Netherlands. Hosted by Martijn Krabbé and Wendy van Dijk it is currently the number 1 show in the Netherlands, with increasing ratings from 1.6 to 3.0 million viewers...
, a new style of talent show with 'Blind Auditions', where the judges hear the voice of the artist without seeing their face, a concept that was thought up by VanVelzen himself. VanVelzen went on to mentor the 2010 winner, Ben Saunders
Ben Saunders (singer)
Ben Saunders is a Dutch singer who won the first-ever title of the Dutch singing competition series The Voice of Holland broadcast on RTL 4. The final of 2010-2011 season was held live on 21 January 2011. Saunders is also a tattoo artist and a Mixed martial arts fighter. He is popularly known as...
.
Towards the end of 2010, VanVelzen embarked on a 34-date Hear Me Out theatre tour of the Netherlands, and every date sold out.
On 3 March, VanVelzen received the prestigious Dutch music award, the Golden Harp
Golden Harp
The Golden Harp is awarded annually to Dutch musicians for their entire oeuvre. Golden Harps have been awarded 42 times...
, becoming one of only 42 artists to have done so.
In May, VanVelzen released the first single from his forthcoming unnamed album called Too Good To Lose.
Personal Life
VanVelzen married his girlfriend Marloes on January 1, 2011. On his TwitterTwitter
Twitter is an online social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read text-based posts of up to 140 characters, informally known as "tweets".Twitter was created in March 2006 by Jack Dorsey and launched that July...
account, he claimed the marriage occurred in the first minute of the new year.
Singles
| Year | Single | Album | Peak position | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Dutch Top 40 | Dutch Top 100 | |||
| 2006 | "Baby Get Higher Baby Get Higher Baby Get Higher is a song written by Scottish musician, singer and songwriter David Sneddon. This song was his fourth single release and it was not featured on his debut album Seven Years - Ten Weeks... " |
Unwind | 17 | 26 |
| "Burn" | 7 | 14 | ||
| 2007 | "Deep" | 17 | 42 | |
| "Shine A Little Light" | 46 | 72 | ||
| 2008 | "When Summer Ends" | Hear Me Out | 6 | 6 |
| 2009 | "On My Way" | Take Me In | 29 | 16 |
| "Love Song" | 20 | 9 | ||
| "Other Side Of Me" | Hear Me Out | 44 | 8 | |
| "Broken Tonight" | 33 | 63 | ||
| 2010 | "Take Me In" | Take Me In | 25 | 68 |
| 2011 | "Follow Me, Follow You" | - | - | |