Ben Saunders (singer)

Ben Saunders (born 9 July 1983) 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.[1] Saunders is also a tattoo artist. He is popularly known as "Tattoo Ben".

Ben Saunders
Background information
Also known asTattoo Ben
Born (1983-07-09) 9 July 1983
London, England
OriginEngland
Occupation(s)Singer, tattoo artist
InstrumentsVocals
Years active1998–present
Labels8ball Music
Associated actsDean Saunders
Follow That Dream (band)
The Brothers (band)

Early life

Saunders is of English origin. He is the younger brother of Dean Saunders who on 22 January 2011, won the title of the third season (2010–2011) of the Dutch music competition Popstars, notably only a day after Ben's victory on The Voice.[2]

Brothers Ben and Dean Saunders both started applying to talent competitions early like for the series Daddy's Wish. They also took part in 1998 in Life is like a box of chocolates program.

Career

1998–2003: Follow That Dream
Main article: Follow That Dream (band)

In 2000, Dean and Ben Saunders both took part in RTL 4's Alles voor de band: Follow that dream. They were part of the band Follow That Dream (F.T.D.) (that included besides the two brothers Vanessa Eman, Rosa Vuik, Linda van Toornburg and Peter van der Meer. The band was signed to Dino Music record label.

Their debut single the self-titled "Follow That Dream" was released in November 2000 reaching No. 25 in the Dutch Top 40. 6 months later, the band split after the great popularity of the rival Starmaker show.

2003: Eurovision Song Contest entry

On 15 February 2003 the Saunders brothers took part in the 2003 Dutch Nationaal Songfestival, a Dutch national music pre-selection contest for qualification to Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Riga, Latvia. They performed the song "Stand As One"[3] in the third heat under the name "The Brothers" getting just 10 points and finishing with 3% of the popular vote as seventh out of 8 participants.

2010–present: The Voice of Holland

In 2010, Ben Saunders applied to The Voice of Holland singing competition proving to be very popular with both judges and the voting public, after singing in his audition "Use Somebody" from Kings of Leon. Ben was coached by Roel van Velzen.[4] In the final, he sang his number one single, his cover version rendition of "If You Don't Know Me by Now" and duetted with Welsh singer Duffy on her song "Warwick Avenue" and won by 59% of the votes against runner-up Pearl Jozefzoon.[5]

Saunders has charted with four different songs in the top 15 of the Dutch charts, including attaining No. 1 position with his single "Kill For a Broken Heart".

Personal life

Ben Saunders was born in England in 1983, but moved to the Netherlands in 1986, aged three. He resided in Hoorn, about 35 kilometres north of Amsterdam.

Before applying to the competition, Ben Saunders worked as a tattoo artist. He owned a tattoo parlour in Hoorn.[6] He was popularly nicknamed "Tattoo Ben" because of his extensive tattoos.

In 2014 Saunders joined the notorious Satudarah motor club;[7] club meetings are occasionally hosted in his tattoo parlour since.[8] In May 2015 Saunders was arrested for assaulting a traffic warden.[9][10][11]

Discography

Albums
Year Title Chart positions As
NL
[12]
2000 The Album - Band: Follow That Dream
2011 You Thought You Knew Me By Now 1 Solo: Ben Saunders
2012 Heart & Soul 7

Singles
Year Title Chart positions As
NL 40
[13]		 NL 100
[14]		 TR 100
2000 Follow that dream 25 13 - Band: Follow That Dream
2001 One night in Shanghai - - -
2003 Stand as one - - - Duo: The Brothers
2010 I'm in love with a girl - 19 - Solo: Ben Saunders
If you don't know me by know 11 1 -
Dancing in the street (ft. Alain Clark) - 28 -
When a man loves a woman 43 1 -
2011 I heard it through the grapevine - 6 -
Kill for a broken heart 4 1 -
Dry your eyes 17 8 -
All over 43 72 -
Heart strings (this is love) 58 30 -
2012 Heart strings – International version - 97 -
No cure 33 9 -
2014 What you do (feat. Glowinthedark) - - 1

References
  1. "Die Telegraaf: Ben Saunders wint TVOH". Archived from the original on 10 October 2012. Retrieved 26 February 2011.
  2. "Ben Saunders – Kill For A Broken Heart – The Voice of Holland Winner". Rickey.org. Archived from the original on 10 September 2012.
  3. "Performance during Nationaal Songfestival". YouTube. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  4. "Ben Saunders audition to The Voice of Holland". YouTube. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  5. "404 - Page not found". Rtlgroup.com. Retrieved 25 July 2020. Cite uses generic title (help)
  6. "All the news from Hounslow - getwestlondon". Mylondon.news. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  7. Ben Saunders lid van motorclub Satudarah Nu.nl December 13, 2014
  8. Grimmige sfeer in Hoorn tijdens confrontatie Satudarah en Hells Angels Nu.nl April 13, 2015
  9. Ben Saunders slaat verkeersregelaar tegen de vlakte RTV Noord Holland May 5, 2015
  10. Ben 'Voice of Holland' Saunders opgepakt voor mishandeling NOS May 5, 2015
  11. Ben Saunders opgepakt voor mishandeling Algemeen Dagblad May 5, 2015
  12. "Dutch Charts > Rumer". Dutchcharts.nl/.
  13. "Radio 538". Radio 538. Archived from the original on 28 February 2009. Retrieved 25 July 2020.
  14. "Dutch Mega Single Top 100". Archived from the original on 6 March 2014. Retrieved 22 March 2012.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.