10 Most Famous Dutch Singers    

Anouk. A Dutch Singer. Photo By Dotblend – Wikimedia Commons

10 Most Famous Dutch Singers    

The Netherlands is home to one of Europe’s most famous cities, Amsterdam. It is a small country that is very densely populated with over 17 million people.

It may not be Europe’s most admired music scene, but it is certainly one of the most gifted with amazingly great singers.

Most of these singers are all at the top of their game. They make tracks that appeal to a large spectrum of musical preferences. 

Here are the 10 most famous Dutch singers. 

1. Natalie La Rose 

Natalie Monica La Rose is a Dutch–Surinamese singer, songwriter, and dancer. She was born on 11th July 1988 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. 

Before moving to Los Angeles, she studied singing and dancing at the Lucia Martha’s Dance Academy in Amsterdam. 

Her popular songs include “Somebody” and “Around the World.” She has also collaborated with big names in the music industry, such as Flo Rida, Fetty Wap, Fifth Harmony, Jeremih, and Tiesto. 

La Rose has performed at the Latin American Music Awards and the Disney Music Awards as well. She has been nominated for 2 MTV Europe Music Awards and has been recognized by the Dutch EBBA Awards as part of the Top 10 Emerging Artists in 2017. 

She says her music is influenced by Aaliyah, Beyoncé, Shakira, Selena, Janet Jackson, Mariah Carey, Michael Jackson, Jennifer Lopez, Musiq Soulchild, Stevie Wonder, and Whitney Houston. 

2. Trijntje Oosterhuis 

Singer Trijntje Oosterhuis with the Clayton Hamilton Jazz Orchestra in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. Photo By Henk Bezemer – Wikimedia Commons

Judith Katrijntje “Trijntje” Oosterhuis is a Dutch singer and songwriter. She was born on 5th February 1973 in Amsterdam, Netherlands. She formed the band Total Touch’ in 1990 with her brother Tjeerd Oosterhuis. 

In 2001, Total Touch broke the band and went their separate ways. Tjeerd focused on production and songwriting while Trijntje launched her solo career. 

Throughout her career, she has collaborated with artists such as Lionel Richie, Burt Bacharach, Candy Dulfer, and Anouk. She was also a member of the group ‘Ladies of Soul’. 

She represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015 with the song “Walk Along”, placing fourteen in the first semi-final with 33 points and winning the Barbara Dex Award of the year.   

3. Anouk 

Anouk Teeuwe is a Dutch singer-songwriter. She was born on 8th April 1975, in The Hague, Netherlands.

This singer has had numerous hit records on the Dutch and Belgian charts.  Anouk has released twelve studio albums to date, mostly a mix of Anglophonic rock, pop, and adult contemporary.

In recent years, she has expanded into Dutch, with more folky lyrics. Her most recent album, called “Wen d’r maar aan” (“Get Used to It”), was released on 12th October 2018.

4. Jan Smit 

Jan Smit is a Dutch singer who mostly sings songs in the Dutch language, in a genre known as Volendam music. He was previously known as ‘Jantje Smit’ before changing his name to ‘Jan Smit’ in 2005.  

Smit, who was born on 31st December 1985, has always had a successful solo career but in 2015, he joined the singing group KLUBBB3. Then in 2017, he became part of The Toppers, another singing trio. 

Smit has also worked as an actor and has hosted music television shows in the Netherlands. In 2006, he won an Edison Award for Best National Singer 

5. Waylon 

Waylon. Photo By Rob Feber – Wikimedia Commons

Willem Bijkerk professionally as Waylon is a Dutch singer whose stage name came from the name of his idol Waylon Jennings. He lived and worked for a year in the United States where he also performed with his idol, Waylon Jennings.

After Jennings died in 2002, Waylon returned to the Netherlands. He was the first male Dutch artist to be signed to Universal Music’s Motown label. His debut album ‘Wicked Ways’ came out in 2009 and included the hit single that is the title of the album. 

Waylon has released a total of six albums to date, featuring songs like “The Escapist,” “Outlaw In ‘Em,” and “Grasping Song.” He has collaborated with other big names in the music scene such as Bruce Gaitsch, Rachel Kramer, and Ilse Delange. 

6. Marco Borsato 

Marco Roberto Borsato was born on 21st December 1966 in Alkmaar – North Holland. He started performing in Italian before switching to Dutch in 1994.  

This singer has consistently been one of the most successful and biggest grossing artists in the Netherlands and Belgium for the past thirty years. 

Borsato’s hit songs include “Because We Believe,” “Every Time I Think of You,” “De Bestemming” (The Destination), “Binnen” (Within), and “Lopen Op Het Water” (Walking on The Water) 

7. Eva Simons 

Eva Simons. Photo By RenegadeSimons – Wikimedia Commons

Eva is a Dutch singer-songwriter, music producer, and pianist. She was born on 27th April 1984 in Amsterdam and she was raised in a family of musicians. Her mother is Ingrid Simons, a Dutch backup singer, and vocalist of Surinamese origin. 

Her grandfather was Dutch accordionist Johnny Meijer while her father was a pianist who inspired her to take up the instrument.  

Some of her hit songs include “Policeman,” “Silly Boy,” “I Don’t Like You,” and “Celebrate the Rain.” She has also worked with artists such as Beyoncé, Will. i.am, LMFAO, Afrojack, and Chris Brown. 

8. Sharon den Adel 

Sharon Janny den Adel is a Dutch singer who is the lead vocalist and one of the main songwriters of the symphonic metal band ‘Within Temptation.  

Sharon was born on 12th July 1974 in Waddinxvee – Netherlands. She has been a performing musician since the age of 14. Her vocal range is mezzo-soprano. 

Sharon has performed on-stage and in the studio with several notable artists from varied musical genres and has taken part in several rock and metal opera projects.

9. Charlotte Wessels 

Johanna Charlotte Wessels is a Dutch singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist. She was born on 13th May 1987 in Zwolle, Netherlands. She is best known as the former lead vocalist for the Dutch symphonic metal band ‘Delain’.

Charlotte released an album in 2021 that has a collection of multiple genres ranging from indie pop to synth-infused rock. All of the songs in the album were made in her home studio, where she wrote, produced, and performed all the instruments on the record.

She has been trained in both jazz singing and classical singing. She plays clarinet, keyboard, and ukulele. Wessels has an art history degree and also has a master’s degree in gender studies.

10. Floor Jansen 

Singer Floor Jansen performs live on stage. Photo By LUIS BLANCO – Wikimedia Commons

Floor Jansen is a Dutch singer, songwriter, and vocal coach. She was born on 21st February 1981 in Goirle, Netherlands. She is a soprano with a range of more than three octaves and can sing from classical to the belting and raspy vocals. 

She won the “Popprijs 2019” – a prestigious Dutch award for the singer with an important contribution to Dutch pop music in the past year. Jansen has completed several years of music studies and plays the guitar, piano, and flute.