Anouk Teeuwe was born on 8 April 1975 in The Hague. From a young age, Anouk already had a great love for music, particularly blues. As a teenager, she could express many of her daily adolescent frustrations by singing about them. In 1993, singing became more serious and she joined the rhythm-and-soul band Shot Gun Wedding. With this band, she discovered that she truly wanted to pursue music further, and in 1994 she was accepted into the conservatory in Rotterdam. A year later, she formed her own band.
Golden Earring
When Anouk sang a number of old Golden Earring songs at a festival together with Barry Hay, he was so impressed by her vocal talents that he and George Kooymans decided to write a song for her. This became 'Mood Indigo'. The song was very well received by the Dutch public and Anouk established her name.
Nobody's Wife
When she released the self-written single 'Nobody’s Wife' in 1997, it immediately exploded. The song stayed high in the Mega Top 100 in the Netherlands for many weeks, and also became a huge hit in countries like Italy. Some even call the song the rock anthem of the 1990s. 'Nobody's Wife' comes from the album Together Alone, which sold well both domestically and abroad.
Awards
In the Netherlands, Anouk won various awards, including two TMF Awards and no less than three Edison Awards. Together Alone also contained two successful singles: 'It's So Hard' and 'Sacrifice'. In January 1999, it was time to record a new album. Anouk and her band retreated to the NOB studio Audio 1, directly above the 3FM studios, to record Urban Solitude. The final result was released in November 1999.
Urban Solitude
The modern yet timeless Urban Solitude was mixed by Erwin Musper, known for his work with David Bowie and the rockers of Van Halen. The first single from the album was 'R U Kiddin' Me', which immediately charted high. The following singles 'The Dark' and 'Michel' also quickly climbed to high positions in the Mega Top 50.
Lost Tracks
In the autumn of 2000, Anouk became the first Dutch artist to sign an exclusive promotional deal with a cola brand. The song 'Break Down The Wall' was initially only available after consuming several bottles of cola. But in 2001, the song was included on Lost Tracks, a collection of B-sides and other special tracks.
Graduated Fool
The third album, titled Graduated Fool, was released in November 2002. It was delayed by six months because Anouk 'had to' give birth. 'Everything' was released as a single in October and immediately became a 3FM Megahit. The follow-up was 'I Live For You'.
Hotel New York
In 2003, Anouk gave birth to her second child: Elijah. She and her husband Anonymous Mis of the Postmen toured together, with the Postmen opening for Anouk during her acoustic tour in autumn 2004. It was also time for a new album: Hotel New York, marking a return of the Hague singer to 'songs', with the guitar walls and tough poses gone; Anouk showed her most sensitive side on this album. The first single 'Girl' was released in November 2004, followed by 'Lost' and 'Jerusalem'.
3FM Presents
In collaboration with 3FM, Anouk gave a concert on 8 December 2004 at the Melkweg in Amsterdam. It was also the last concert she gave that year, as she was expecting her third child.
Ahoy
The rock singer took some time for her new baby, resulting in cancelled performances. Only in November 2005 did the next single from Hotel New York, titled 'One Word', appear. Anouk gave four '3FM presents concerts' at Ahoy Rotterdam on 3, 4, 16 and 17 December 2005.
Who's Your Momma
Who's Your Momma was released in November 2007 and had a different sound from its predecessors. For the fifth studio album, she travelled to America in the summer of 2007 and worked with producer Glen Ballard, a well-known name in the music world responsible for the sound of artists like Michael Jackson and Alanis Morissette.
Good God
'Good God' was the first single from the new album and was a 3FM Megahit in October 2007. The album itself sounded different from what we were used to from her. With jazzy influences here and there, it even reminded some of the British Amy Winehouse.
Gelredome concerts
With a grand concert on 28 March 2008 at the Gelredome in Arnhem, it was the first time the Hague singer performed in such a large venue. Due to enormous demand, an extra show was added on 29 March. Not long after, the singer announced she was divorcing her husband Postman after eight years.
3FM Awards
At the 3FM Awards in 2008, Anouk won three awards. She took home awards for Best Female Singer, Best Album (Who's Your Momma), and Best Rock Artist.
Olympic Games
Her song 'Lost' was heard worldwide during the opening ceremony of the Olympic Games in August. It was not Anouk herself who sang the song, but the 17-year-old Norwegian singer Erland Bratland.
For Bitter Or Worse
On 18 September 2009, Anouk's new album For Bitter Or Worse was released. She wrote the music on this album together with Voicst singer/guitarist Tjeert Bomhof. 'For Bitter Or Worse' is also one of the songs on the album. The first single from this album was 'Three Days In A Row'. This former 3FM Megahit reached number one in the Mega Top 50. This was the first time Anouk scored a number one hit.
Woman
The follow-up to 'Three Days In A Row' was 'Woman'. This second single also came from For Bitter Or Worse and clearly showed Anouk's new style. Meanwhile, Anouk sold out Ahoy multiple times, gave amazing concerts, and became pregnant by her boyfriend Dox. Although things were going well, she released the moody title track as the third single from For Bitter Or Worse. This single also became the soundtrack of the film 'De Gelukkige Huisvrouw' starring Carice van Houten, based on the book of the same name by Heleen van Rooyen. The film was released in April 2010.
Lovedrunk
Shortly after giving birth, Anouk won two 3FM Awards and released the single 'Lovedrunk', the fourth single from For Bitter Or Worse.
To Get Her Together
After a difficult period in her personal life, she fortunately wrote her way out of it, resulting in a new album. On 28 February 2011, she uploaded the track 'Killer Bee'. This was the first single from her new album To Get Her Together, which was released in May that year.
Sad Singalong Songs
With the song ‘Stardust’, which was exclusively available on her YouTube channel and could be downloaded for free, Anouk gave her fans an idea at the end of 2012 of what to expect from the new album. Sad Singalong Songs was the first album Anouk released in May 2013 on her own Goldilox label.
Songfestival
The album Sad Singalong Songs also contained the single ‘Birds’, with which the singer represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest. In Malmö, Sweden, Anouk reached the final. During the semi-final, the Netherlands was announced last. Ultimately, Anouk achieved an impressive 9th place.
Collaboration with Afrojack
At the end of 2013, Anouk made a track with Dutch DJ and producer Afrojack. Unexpectedly, she released the song in February 2014. The song was called 'You & I'. Apparently, she enjoyed experimenting with dance music: in June 2014, 'Feet On The Ground' was released, a collaboration with Dutch DJ Nicky Romero.
'Places To Go'
Anouk released new material again: 'Places To Go' came out in September 2014. The song turned out to be the first single from the singer's ninth studio album. That album was released on 21 November 2014. It also included the song 'Hold Me', which the singer recorded with Dutch singer-songwriter Douwe Bob.
New Day
In May 2015, Anouk released the song 'New Day'. A track with summery sounds. Around the same time, she announced she was busy working on new music material.
Top 2000
Anouk has twelve songs in the NPO Radio 2 Top 2000. The highest ranking in 2021 was for Nobody's Wife, which was at number 155.
In the 23rd edition of the Top 2000, Anouk had the following rankings:
Since her debut in 1996, the singer has scored dozens of hits, but what were her five highest chart positions?
1. Three Days In A Row
Although Anouk released her debut single Mood Indigo in 1996, written by fellow townsmen Barry Hay and George Kooymans of Golden Earring, the singer only scored her first number one hit thirteen years later with Three Days In A Row. The song is about her meeting with rapper Unorthadox during the video shoot for Michel in 2000. They dated briefly and had another short relationship in 2009. They have a son together: Jesiah.
2. Birds
Anouk surprised friend and foe when she participated in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2013 with a song that was not typical for the competition. The ballad Birds struck a chord throughout Europe, after Anouk had already had some success abroad in the 1990s. The Netherlands reached the final of the song contest again after nine years, with Birds achieving a top 10 position. In her home country, it was a number one hit.
3. Girl
In the late 1990s, Anouk's success seemed unstoppable. Her first two albums, Together Alone and Urban Solitude, both achieved platinum status (Together Alone four times!), but the follow-up Graduated Fool was not awarded any certifications and none of the singles reached the top 10. On her fourth album Hotel New York, Anouk changed course and earned triple platinum. The cheerful Girl was the first single and one of her most played songs.
4. Nobody’s Wife
Ask people which song they most associate with Anouk and many will name her breakthrough single from 1997: Nobody’s Wife. This is also reflected in the NPO Radio 2 Top 2000. Since 2005, the rock song has consistently been among the top two hundred rankings and in 2010 it even reached seventieth place. It is also Anouk's longest-charting hit ever in the Mega Top 100: the single stayed in the chart for forty weeks, from September 1997 to June 1998, peaking at number 2, just behind Alane by Wes.
5. Lost
We can well imagine that Anouk dislikes the pop group Ch!pz, as she was beaten twice by this quartet in the charts. In December 2004, her single Girl was stuck behind the number one hit 1001 Arabian Nights by Ch!pz. Three months later, she could not surpass the second place with the power ballad Lost because Ch!pz again held the top of the sales chart, this time with One, Two, Three. Anouk took revenge in the Album Top 100 when The World Of Ch!pz entered at number 2 in March 2005 — just below Anouk's Hotel New York.
Sunday Morning Classic: Together Alone
Anouk came, saw, and conquered.
On 17 April 2022, with our Sunday Morning Classic, we went back to 1997, the year the debut album Together Alone was released.
That collaboration, which also involved Golden Earring guitarist George Kooymans, resulted in a first single. Mood Indigo — a track that clearly bore an Earring signature — was released in 1996. Anouk signed a record deal with Dino Music that same year but had not yet broken through. That changed with the release of her second single. Nobody’s Wife enjoyed weeks at number one and brought the Hague singer recognition and top 10 positions in various European countries. The album Together Alone was released a month later (in October 1997) and not only produced more singles but also earned Anouk four times Platinum.
Together with producer John Sonneveld, Hay, Kooymans, composer Bart van Veen, and her then backing band, Anouk managed to deliver a diverse-sounding debut. Although (Dutch) rock formed the main part of Together Alone, the album contained traces of pure pop music (the slightly too slick-sounding Pictures On Your Skin) and blues (on the beautiful Time Is A Jailer). Not all tracks were a good match for the still not fully mature voice of the young woman, who tried hard to profile herself as a ‘rock bitch’. The title track of Together Alone features a — perhaps deliberately — childish voice, while songs like Nobody’s Wife or It’s So Hard suited her vocal range much better at the time. The ballad Sacrifice was fortunately better able to show Anouk’s sensitive side. In any case, Together Alone put Anouk firmly on the map in the Netherlands. The album is not perfectly put together, but for a debut, it was above average. Many people in their thirties and forties today will still appreciate some songs and sing along shamelessly. Of course, Together Alone had to be commercially successful, and both Anouk and her production team succeeded. Sonically, the LP is largely better and more dynamic than the original CD from 19 years ago, which is a plus for the enthusiast. The first 1000 pressings were released on numbered gold vinyl, and Music On Vinyl will press four more Anouk albums on vinyl.
source: NPO and HIFI.nl photo: Albin Olsson License: CC BY-SA 3.0
