Sharon den Adel
Sharon den Adel | |
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Sharon den Adel on backstage at the 2016 Hellfest in Clisson, France | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Sharon Janny den Adel |
Also known as | Sharon den Adel |
Born | 12 July 1974 |
Origin | Waddinxveen, Netherlands |
Genres | |
Occupations |
|
Instrument | Vocals |
Years active | 1988–present |
Labels | |
Website | Within Temptation official |
Sharon Janny den Adel (born 12 July 1974) is a Dutch singer, songwriter and fashion designer, best known as the lead vocalist and one of the main songwriters in the Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. She has been a performing musician since the age of 14, and was a founding member of Within Temptation, along with Robert Westerholt, in 1996.
Personal life
Sharon Janny den Adel was born on 12 July 1974 in Waddinxveen, Netherlands. She traveled extensively in her youth,[1] living in at least ten different countries, including Indonesia, where she lived between ages one and six.[2] From the age of 14, she performed with various bands, including a blues rock band called Kashiro.[3] During high school den Adel met Robert Westerholt who introduced her to Paradise Lost.[4] As their partnership grew, in 1996 they came to form a band called The Portal, though the name was changed to Within Temptation before their debut recording.[1][5] She has a bachelor's degree in fashion design.[4]
Den Adel and long-term partner Robert Westerholt have three children together (daughter Eva Luna, sons Robin Aiden and Logan Arwin),[2] and they currently live near Hilversum. Den Adel was pregnant with their first child, Eva Luna (born 7 December 2005), during The Silent Force tour. On 22 February 2009, den Adel announced that she was pregnant with her second child,[6] Robin Aiden Westerholt, whose birth was announced on the band's official website on 1 June 2009. Going by the name of Aiden, he was born premature at 32 weeks and 6 days.[7] On 26 November 2010, den Adel announced that she was expecting another child which, due to complications with her previous pregnancies, meant that the band's 2011 tour dates would be rescheduled from spring till autumn. The birth of her son, Logan Arwin, was announced on 31 March 2011.[8]
Training and vocal profile
Den Adel never formally studied singing and stated in a 2006 interview that she had sung a short while in a choir and was mostly self-taught.[9] She used to practice alone three or four hours per day.[10] Sharon has a mezzo-soprano range, though she has a light and lyric vocal quality for that range.[1][11] Her highest note is found on the song "Jane Doe" Netherlands/Australia/Japan release and her lowest on "Empty Eyes".[citation needed] On Stand My Ground, one of Within Temptation signature songs, Den Adel vocal range spans from C4 to A♭5.[12]
Within Temptation
Together with her partner, Robert Westerholt, den Adel formed Within Temptation (initially called The Portal, though the name was changed before their first recording)[1] in 1996. She has defined their work as epic and cinematic.[13] Her vocals play a major role in the band's sound, despite having never received formal vocal training.[14]
Before Within Temptation became famous, she worked for a fashion company, leaving after the band found success with their hit single "Ice Queen". She utilises her fashion expertise by designing her stage costumes and the band's merchandise.[15] About.com described den Adel as a "versatile and skilled singer who is equally adept at singing powerfully with a full orchestra and choir as she is at singing quietly and emotionally with just a piano."[16] When asked if she prefers to sing in Dutch or English, den Adel said that she favours the latter because "Dutch just doesn't fit to our music style. It is also not the nicest language to sing in. Italian or Spanish would then be better options."[17]
Collaborations with other artists
Sharon den Adel has performed on-stage and in the studio with several notable artists, including Tarja Turunen, Armin van Buuren, After Forever, De Heideroosjes, Oomph!, Delain, Agua de Annique and Anneke van Giersbergen. She sang the part of Anna Held in Tobias Sammet's Avantasia projects, and the part of the Indian on Ayreon's rock opera Into the Electric Castle. She sang the vocals of one Timo Tolkki song, "Are You The One?", co-wrote and provided the vocals for the track "In And Out Of Love" from Armin van Buuren's 2008 album Imagine, and sang on the track "No Compliance" for Delain's album Lucidity, as well as working with the band Voyage on the track "Frozen" (not to be confused with the Within Temptation song of the same title). At the 2009 edition of the Night of the Proms festival, den Adel made a guest appearance during John Miles' performance of "Stairway to Heaven".[18] At the end of 2012, Sharon made an appearance on a charity campaign made by a Belgian radio station to raise money for children singing the chorus of the song het Meneer Konijn lied among other Belgian celebrities[19] The song also peaked #1 at the Belgium Charts.[20]
Discography
Within Temptation
Guest appearances
Year | Title | Main or other artist(s) | Album |
---|---|---|---|
1996 | "Frozen" | Voyage | Embrace |
1997 | "Hear" | Silicon Head | Bash |
1998 | "Isis & Osiris" | Ayreon | Into the Electric Castle |
"Amazing Flight" | |||
"The Decision Tree" | |||
"Tunnel of Light" | |||
"The Garden of Emotions" | |||
"Cosmic Fusion" | |||
"Another Time, Another Space" | |||
1999 | "Regular Day in Bosnia" | De Heideroosjes | Schizo |
2000 | "Beyond Me" | After Forever | Prison of Desire |
"Farewell" | Avantasia | The Metal Opera The Metal Opera: Pt 1 & 2 - Gold Edition[A] | |
"Behold" | Orphanage | Inside | |
"Fly" | Paralysis | Architecture of the Imagination | |
"Architecture of the Imagination" | |||
2001 | "Last Call to Humanity" | De Heideroosjes | Fast Forward |
2002 | "Time" | Aemen | Fooly Dressed |
"Waltz" | |||
"Into the Unknown" | Avantasia | The Metal Opera Part II The Metal Opera: Pt 1 & 2 - Gold Edition[A] | |
"Are You the One?" | Timo Tolkki | Hymn to Life | |
2005 | "Candy" | De Heideroosjes | —[B] |
2006 | "No Compliance" | Delain (also featuring Marco Hietala) | Lucidity |
2008 | "In and Out of Love" | Armin van Buuren | Imagine |
2009 | "Somewhere"[C] | Agua de Annique | Pure Air |
"Stairway to Heaven" | John Miles, Katona Twins | Night of the Proms[D] | |
2010 | "Land Ahead" | Oomph! | Truth Or Dare |
2011 | "Keep Breathing" | Ruud Jolie | For All We Know |
2012 | "Nostradamus" | Coeverduh | Wesley Against Society |
"Between Two Worlds And I" | Leander Rising | Heart Tamer | |
"Het Meneer Konijn Lied" | Various artists | De Vrienden Van Meneer Konijn | |
2013 | "Shine" | Avalon | The Land of New Hope |
"No Compliance" | Delain | Metal Female Voices Fest 2013[E] | |
"Restless" | |||
2014 | "Hier" | Ali B | Ali B en de Muziekkaravaan |
2016 | "Isle of Evermore" | Avantasia | Ghostlights |
"Paradise (What About Us?)" (new mix) | Tarja Turunen | The Brightest Void |
- A^ Special edition later released.
- B^ Special appearance at the Pinkpop Festival.
- C^ Cover of the Within Temptation song, from The Silent Force.
- D^ Special rendition of the song for the 2009 Night of the Proms in the Netherlands.
- E^ Special appearance at the Metal Female Voices Fest.
Videography
Within Temptation
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Guest appearances
|
Awards
- Sharon den Adel was named Rock Goddess of the Year in the 2011 and 2014 Loudwire Music Awards.[2][21]
Notes
- ^ a b c d "Sharon den Adel". Within Temptation. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
- ^ a b c "Biography for Sharon den Adel". IMDb. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
- ^ "My Life Story: Sharon den Adel". Metal Hammer (176): 65. 2008-03-01.
{{cite journal}}
: Italic or bold markup not allowed in:|journal=
(help) - ^ a b http://heavymetal.about.com/od/interviews/a/withintemptatio_2.htm
- ^ "About WT". Retrieved 2011-10-09.
- ^ A new kid on the block
- ^ Alive and Kicking!
- ^ "Sharon: Important News". Retrieved 2011-10-09.
- ^ Tup (2006-07-10). "Interview with Sharon den Adel". Buzznet. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
- ^ Bowar, Chad. "Within Temptation Interview: A Conversation With Vocalist Sharon Den Adel". About.com. Retrieved 2012-12-15.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
http://loudwire.com/sharon-den-adel-rock-goddesses/
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ http://www.musicnotes.com/sheetmusic/mtd.asp?ppn=MN0080959
- ^ FYE: Within Temptation III
- ^ Roadrunner Records UK
- ^ "About.com: Sharon den adel interview". Retrieved 2011-10-09.
- ^ About.com- An Acoustic Night at the Theatre
- ^ "Interview with Sharon Den Adel from Within Temptation". Buzznet. 10 July 2006. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
- ^ "Stairway to Heaven - John Miles, Sharon den Adel & Katona Twins". YouTube. Retrieved 2012-08-14.
- ^ WTofficial (2012-11-30). "Sharon records song for Meneer Konijn". Within Temptation. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
- ^ "De Vrienden Van Meneer Konijn - Het Meneer Konijn lied". ultratop.be. Retrieved 2013-10-28.
- ^ "Within Temptation's Sharon den Adel Voted Loudwire's 2011 Rock Goddess of the Year". Loudwire. 2012-01-02. Retrieved 2012-06-08.
External links
- Sharon den Adel on the website of Within Temptation
- Sharon den Adel on Discogs
- [1] on Fan site Dresses Sharon del Adel
- 1974 births
- Living people
- 20th-century singers
- 21st-century singers
- Dutch expatriates in Indonesia
- Dutch fashion designers
- Dutch female singer-songwriters
- Dutch heavy metal singers
- Dutch mezzo-sopranos
- English-language singers of the Netherlands
- Female heavy metal singers
- People from Waddinxveen
- Within Temptation members