| Trijntje
Oosterhuis has been one of the finest Dutch vocalists for years. She has
been very successful both as the voice of Total Touch and as a solo artist.
The list of international stars she has performed with over the years
is long and includes Al Jarreau, Andrea Bocelli, Marco Borsato, Herbie
Hancock, Lionel Ritchie, Coolio, Herman Brood, Incognito, Khaled, Salomon
Burke, Candy Dulfer and Jean "Toots" Thielemans. Below is a
summary of her impressive career so far.
1988-1991
Trijntje and her brother Tjeerd establish pop act Total Touch. Their music
is a mix of 80's soul, 90's R&B, funk, pop and dance.
1994
Dutch saxophone player Candy Dulfer invites Trijntje to join her band.
The
two ensuing years, Trijntje performs all over the world with Candy. She
is
also a guest vocalist on Candy's album Big Girl.
1996
In the summer of 1996, Total Touch releases debut single "Touch Me
There".
It is the first introduction of the band to a larger audience. "Touch
Me
There" peaks at number 14 in the charts and is only a taste of things
to
come. The band's final breakthrough comes with the release of their
self-titled debut album in June.
On August 14th, Trijntje performs
for an audience of 50.000 people and millions of TV viewers during the
opening of the Amsterdam ArenA.
Her solo rendition of "De Zee", a hymn written by Dutch composer
John
Ewbank, results in massive media attention and a Top 10 hit.
Later that year, Trijntje once more
performs at a sold-out Amsterdam ArenA,
this time with Total Touch, supporting mega star Michael Jackson during
his
three sold out concerts.
In October, second single "Somebody
Else's Lover" is released. It is a big
Top 3 hit and soon becomes gold.
The debut album, including all the
hit singles, soon becomes platinum with
sales exceeding 100.000 units. Ultimately, the album sells no less than
450.000 units in Holland, which makes it the best selling Dutch debut
album
ever. Third single "One Moment Your Mind" also becomes a huge
hit.
Total Touch wins TMF awards for Best
Album (Total Touch) and Best Single
("Somebody Else's Lover"), the Veronica Dance award for Best
Group and the
Mega Top 50 award for Best Artist. Trijntje will win a TMF award for Best
Dutch Singer for four consecutive years.
1997
Trijntje records the duet "Wereld
Zonder Jou" with Dutch singer Marco
Borsato, featured on his album De Waarheid. It is her second Dutch-language
song and another Top 3 hit.
Trijntje receives a TMF award for
Best Singer for her role in Total Touch
and an Edison award for her duet with Marco Borsato. Once again, Total
Touch
wins TMF awards for Best Pop group and Best Album. They also win the Pall
Mall Export Award, the Radio Noordzee award and a Silver Harp.
1998
Total Touch second album This Way is released on May 28th, preceded by
the
Top 10 hit "I'll Say Goodbye". This Way soon becomes triple
platinum,
whereas the debut album has by now reached five times platinum. In august,
second single "Love Me In Slow-motion" is released.
"Forgive, Won't Forget"
is the third and final single from This Way. It is
initially only released as a promo, but after many requests it is released
commercially as well and becomes a modest hit.
Tjeerd writes the song "Vlieg
Met Me Mee" for the Dutch family-film Abeltje,
with lyrics by Doe Maar-singer Henny Vrienten. The song, performed by
Trijntje, is released as a single and is her third Dutch-language hit.
Again, Trijntje receives a TMF award
for Best Singer.
1999
Early this year, Trijntje is featured on "We've Only Just Begun",
a track on
the New Cool Collective album Big.
In the spring, Trijntje and Tjeerd
decide to take a break from Total Touch,
which permits Trijntje to focus on several solo projects. She sings with
jazz pianist Herbie Hancock at the 24th North Sea Jazz festival and embarks
on a Marlboro Flashback tour, during which she performs the works of Stevie
Wonder. From this tour a CD is released, called For Once In My Life.
Total Touch receives the Alcas award
for Most Popular Artist.
2000
Trijntje performs with no less than three different artists during the
North
Sea Jazz festival in The Hague: with singer Al Jarreau, jazz pianist Michiel
Borstlap and with the New Cool Collective big band. Later that summer
she is
special guest at the New Cool Collective show at the Swingin Groningen
festival.
The Stevie Wonder tribute album For
Once In My Life turns gold. Trijntje
wins a Hitkrant award and a Rembrandt award for Best Singer.
2001
In the fall, Trijntje and her band start a theater tour, which brings
them
to venues like Carre in Amsterdam and Luxor in Rotterdam.
2002
Again, Trijntje performs in the Dutch theaters, this time together with
Michiel Borstlap.
On February 1st, Trijntje performs
Joe Cocker's "You Are So Beautiful" for
Prince Willem Alexander and Princess Maxima during the National Wedding
celebration at a packed ArenA. She is accompanied by Brazilian guitarist
Leonardo Amuedo
Trijntje signs a multiple album recording
deal with EMI and starts preparing
for her first solo studio album. She travels back and forth to Milan,
London, Sheffield and New York, where she writes new, English songs with
a
number of international composers. In the meantime, back home, she works
on a number of songs with brother Tjeerd, John Ewbank and Ferdi Lancee.
While still working on songs for
her new album, she also keeps performing
regularly. On Queen's Day, she sings "We Are The Champions"
with Queen, who performs together for the first time in ten years. In
June, she is a special
guest at Marco Borsato's three sold-out concerts in the Kuip stadium,
where
they perform "Wereld Zonder Jou" together.
On December 23rd, Trijntje gives a one-off Christmas Concert in the large
hall of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw. During this concert she is accompanied
by 82-year-old harmonica legend Jean "Toots" Thielemans and
the
Concertgebouw Jazz Orchestra.
2003
Since she got herself involved with jazz music, Trijntje is often invited
for guest performances. She takes part in a mini-tour with the New Amsterdam
Sinfonietta Orchestra and the Houdini's, during which she sings the works
of
Billie Holiday and Gershwin.
In February, BMG releases The Best
Of Total Touch & Trijntje Oosterhuis,
including the hits of the band and some of Trijntje's solo projects (such
as
the ArenA hymn "De Zee","Wereld Zonder Jou" with Marco
Borsato, "Vlieg Met
Me Mee" of the Abeltje soundtrack and several Stevie Wonder-covers
from her
tribute album).
Trijntje starts a new theater tour,
and releases "Free", the first single of
her new solo album. She travels to Berlin to shoot the video clip for
" Free".
The self-titled album Trijntje Oosterhuis
is released on March 10. It is
largely produced by brother Tjeerd Oosterhuis and English composer/producer
James Hallawell. The album is recorded in Amsterdam, London and partly
at
the renowned Steelworks studio in Sheffield.
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