Marco Borsato

Marco Roberto Borsato (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈmɑrkoː roːˈbɛrtoː bɔrˈsaːtoː]; born 21 December 1966) is a Dutch singer. Born in Alkmaar, North Holland, he started performing in Italian before switching to Dutch in 1994. He has consistently been one of the most successful and biggest grossing artists in the Netherlands for the past thirty years.[1]

Marco Borsato
Marco Borsato in 2016
Background information
Birth nameMarco Roberto Borsato
Born (1966-12-21) 21 December 1966
Alkmaar, Netherlands
GenresPop, Nederpop
Occupation(s)Singer, actor
Years active1990–present
Associated actsO'G3NE, Iris Kroes
Websitewww.borsato.nl

Biography

Marco Roberto Borsato was born in the Wilhelmina Hospital in Alkmaar as the son of Roberto Borsato and Mary de Graaf. He has a brother, Armando, and a sister, Sylvana. His father is Italian and the family moved to Italy, where the father started a restaurant in Garda. Borsato spent a significant amount of time in Italy and speaks fluent Italian.

When Borsato was 12 years old he decided he wanted to be a sushi chef. Borsato, though brought up with Italian cuisine, felt a great love for this cuisine. When he was older he went to school during the week and worked in a restaurant during the weekends. During his conscription he was bound to the cavalry, where he was conscripted as a NCO. Success did not come over night after winning the Dutch Soundmixshow on 6 April 1990 with his rendition of Billy Vera's "At This Moment." During that time he was indeed working as a chef.

Borsato was one of the artists who recorded the song Shalom from Holland (written by Simon Hammelburg and Ron Klipstein) as a token of solidarity to the Israeli people, threatened by missiles from Iraq, during the first Gulf War in 1991.

Borsato released 3 albums with Italian songs, before gaining popularity in 1994 with his first Dutch single "Dromen Zijn Bedrog" ("Dreams Are Deceptive”) which reached number one and stayed there for 12 weeks. His second single "Waarom Nou Jij" also reached the first place in the Dutch "Top 40." [2]

Many of his songs are Dutch covers or adaptations of Italian songs (by Riccardo Fogli, Giorgia, Riccardo Cocciante, Claudio Baglioni, Marco Masini and Zucchero among others). In particular, Borsato gained a lot of success in 1996 with an adaptation of Riccardo Cocciante's Margherita. After deciding to keep singing in Dutch, Borsato's career really took off.

In 2009, Borsato was dealt a financial blow when his company The Entertainment Group, a major events organiser and Dutch artists representer, was declared bankrupt by a Dutch court.

In 2011 he became a judge on the Dutch talent show The Voice of Holland and The Voice Kids. He is currently tied with Blake Shelton of The Voice as the highest-times winning coach in any The Voice version throughout the world, with 4 winners in The Voice of Holland and 3 winners in The Voice Kids.

Borsato married Dutch TV personality Leontine Ruiters and they have 3 children together: Luca (1998), Senna (2001), and Jada (2002). In February 2020 the couple announced their divorce.[3]

In 2019, he released a song with Davina Michelle and Armin van Buuren called "Hoe het Danst" it broke records across The Netherlands and Belgium and managed to receive international coverage

Other functions

Borsato is an ambassador of the Dutch NGO War Child, which helps children in (post-)conflict areas to cope with their war experiences.[4][5]

Awards and honours

Honours

Awards
  • 1996 – 2006: Won a TMF Award, 11 times for best Dutch singer (In 2006, he joined Anouk in announcing their withdrawal from future TMF Awards-nominations. "Every year the same faces can get boring".)
  • 1997: Edison Award, 2 times (Best Singer, Best Single of the Year)
  • 1999: Golden Harp (with John Ewbank)
  • 2000: Hitkrant Award, for the song Binnen ("Inside")
  • 2000: Honorary Award for Best Album (Luid en Duidelijk ("Loud and Clear")) and Best Singer
  • 2001: Edison Award (Best Singer)
  • 2010: Twitteraar van het Jaar (Best Twitter user)

Discography
Main article: Marco Borsato discography
  • Emozioni (1990)
  • Sento (1991)
  • Giorno per giorno (1992)
  • Marco (1994)
  • Als geen ander (1995)
  • De waarheid (1997)
  • De bestemming (1998)
  • Luid en duidelijk (2000)
  • Onderweg (2002)
  • Zien (2004)
  • Symphonica in Rosso - Live CD (2006)
  • Wit licht (2008)
  • Dromen durven delen (2010)
  • Duizend spiegels (2013)
  • Evenwicht (2015)
  • Thuis (2017)

References
  1. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2014-08-09. Retrieved 2014-08-08.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  2. Biografie – Borsato. Borsato.nl. Retrieved on 2014-03-20.
  3. "Leontine and Marco Borsato separated". De Telegraaf. Retrieved 4 February 2020.
  4. "Woensdag: Marco Borsato in vluchtelingenkampen Libanon". Nederlandse Omroep Stichting. 23 May 2012. Archived from the original on 4 March 2016. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
  5. "Ambassadeurs". War Child. Retrieved 12 June 2012.
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