Amira Willighagen facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Amira Willighagen
Willighagen in 2023
Background information
Born	(2004-03-27) 27 March 2004 (age 21) Nijmegen, Netherlands
Genres	Classical crossover
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	2013–present

Amira Willighagen is a talented singer from the Netherlands. She was born on March 27, 2004. Amira became famous when she was just nine years old. In 2013, she won the TV show Holland's Got Talent with her amazing opera singing. She is known for her beautiful soprano voice.

Amira's Early Life and Discovery of Music

Amira Willighagen grew up in Nijmegen, Netherlands. Her father is Dutch, and her mother is from South Africa. Classical music was always around her home.

When she was seven, Amira went on a holiday to the United Kingdom. There, she heard a famous opera song called "Nessun dorma". It was sung by a legendary singer named Luciano Pavarotti. This song really inspired her.

Amira's brother played the violin, and her mother also played the violin. Her father played the piano. Amira didn't play an instrument, so she decided to try singing. She taught herself how to sing opera songs. She used online videos and tutorials from YouTube. This is how she found her special talent and her love for music. Even her own mother was surprised when she first heard Amira sing!

Amira first sang in public in 2012. She performed at a festival with her family. She also sang by herself in a children's choir. She sang a Dutch version of "Nella Fantasia". After two years of practicing and getting better, she was ready for Holland's Got Talent.

Amira's Singing Career

Winning Holland's Got Talent

Amira auditioned for Holland's Got Talent. She sang "O Mio Babbino Caro" from an opera by Giacomo Puccini. The judges were so impressed that they stared in disbelief. Her performance quickly became a huge hit online. It has been watched over 150 million times!

In the semi-finals, she sang "Ave Maria". One of the judges, Dan Karaty, told her, "You're a star who belongs on stage!" In the final competition, Amira sang "Nessun dorma" again. She won the show with more than half of the votes from the TV viewers.

Life After Holland's Got Talent

Amira in Lelystad, Netherlands, November 19, 2014 (age 10)

After winning Holland's Got Talent, Amira became very popular. In 2014, she was invited to many TV shows. She appeared on shows in the Netherlands, Germany, and Argentina.

In February 2014, Amira recorded her first album, called Amira. She sang with the City of Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. The album had 10 songs, including the ones she sang on Holland's Got Talent. Other songs on the album were "Nella Fantasia" and "Pie Jesu". The album was released in the Netherlands in March 2014. It became a Gold record in just two weeks!

The famous violinist André Rieu invited Amira to a special music class in London. This happened after someone from his orchestra saw her audition online. In July 2014, Amira performed with André Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra in Maastricht.

Amira started performing internationally in 2014. Her first international concerts were in South Africa. She also performed in Las Vegas as part of her prize for winning Holland's Got Talent. Amira has performed in many countries around the world. These include Belgium, the USA, Germany, the UK, Italy, Spain, France, Poland, and Argentina.

In November 2014, Amira received an award in Rome, Italy. It was called the International Giuseppe Sciacca Award.

In November 2015, Amira released her second album, Merry Christmas. This album had popular Christmas carols like "O Holy Night" and "Silent Night". It also included famous opera songs. Both of Amira's first albums were produced by Sony Masterworks. She also held many Christmas concerts.

Amira continued to perform in various shows and concerts. In 2015, she participated in a festival in Malta. She also appeared on a German TV show called "Superkids". In 2016, she sang in Italy and South Africa. She performed "Nella Fantasia" at the Afrikaans Is Groot concert. In 2017, she sang at concerts in the Netherlands.

Willighagen, Lecce, Italy, May 2016 (age 12)

Amira performed at the Classics Is Groot concerts in South Africa. In 2016, she sang "O Mio Babbino Caro" and "Nella Fantasia". She also sang "O sole mio" as a duet. In 2017, she performed "Nessun dorma" and "Amazing Grace". In 2018, she sang "Gabriellas sång" and "Hallelujah". In 2019, she performed songs from the musical The Sound of Music.

In March 2018, Amira released her album With All My Heart in South Africa. This album showed a change in her music style. She moved from pure opera to classical crossover. This means she mixed classical music with other styles. Some songs on the album were written just for her. She also sang duets with other artists.

Amira has worked with many other singers. These include Paul Potts and Patrizio Buanne.

In January 2018, Amira moved to South Africa with her brother and mother. They said the Dutch school system did not give Amira enough time for her performances. Her new manager planned fewer, but longer, tours. Amira has said she misses her friends in Nijmegen, where she was born.

Amira has a YouTube channel where she shares her music videos and concert recordings. Some of her popular videos include "Ave Maria (Vavilov)" and "In The Stars". Her most watched video is from her concert with André Rieu in Maastricht. She has also appeared on several DVDs and CDs.

In 2019, Amira performed in many concerts. She sang with Helmut Lotti in Pretoria. She also performed in Botswana and Belgium. In November 2019, Amira received an award in Naples, Italy. It was called "International Mediterranean best female opera star 2019".

In July 2020, a set of DVDs called Five Years Gelukskinders was released. It included concerts and a documentary about her charity. In August 2020, Amira held an online concert called This is my Dream. She sang new songs she had not recorded before. In October 2020, a live CD called Classics Live was released. She also had an online Christmas concert in 2020.

In August 2021, her online shows from 2020 were released on DVD and USB. In September 2021, she performed in a virtual concert broadcast on YouTube. A double CD of her 2020 streaming concerts was released in December 2021.

In March 2022, Amira held a concert called On My Own. She sang songs from musicals like "The Phantom of the Opera" and "The Sound of Music". In May 2022, she released a music video for the song "How Does a Moment Last Forever". Her On My Own concert was released on CD in October 2022. In December 2022, Amira performed in a concert in the Netherlands.

In July 2023, Amira performed at Pop Classics in Pretoria. A CD of her December 2022 Christmas concert was released in September 2023. In November 2023, the Christmas concert and On My Own concert were released on DVD and USB. Amira also had a tour in the USA in December 2023. In October 2023, Amira performed in a concert called "Mimi sing Mimi". This concert was released on CD in June 2024.

An online concert called "Cadeautjes" ("Gifts") was available in December 2024. A concert celebrating Amira's 21st birthday and her charity's 10th anniversary took place in April 2025.

Amira's Charity Work

Amira uses half of the money she earns from her performances and album sales to help others. She supports her own charity project called Stichting Gelukskinders. This means "Lucky Children Foundation" in Dutch. The foundation builds playgrounds for children in poor areas of South Africa. Many donations also help her foundation.

The idea for building playgrounds came to Amira when she was seven. She visited her grandmother in South Africa. She went outside to play, but the children there did not have a proper playground. They just ran around and threw stones. Amira was sad and told her mother, "If I ever get any money, I'd like to come back here and help these children have something to play."

And that's exactly what she did! Just three years later, in March 2014, she opened the first playground. It was in Ikageng, a township near Potchefstroom, South Africa. To make sure the playgrounds were built and kept well, Amira's Gelukskinders Foundation was officially started in November 2014.

Amira opened her second playground in Ikageng in August 2016. The third playground, Amira Park – Sarafina, was finished in January 2017. She opened her fourth playground in Promosa in June 2017. In June 2018, Amira opened her fifth playground at Lesego Primary School. It had a carousel, swings, a slide, and a sandbox. By July and August 2019, six new playgrounds were opened near Potchefstroom. This brought the total number of playgrounds to 13!

Amira has also helped with other charity efforts. In November 2013, she helped raise money for victims of a typhoon in the Philippines. In July 2014, she helped UNICEF. In June 2017, she performed in a concert to support victims of bush fires in South Africa. In August 2020, Amira donated money to help children get food and juice.

Amira's Music Albums

Here are some of the albums Amira Willighagen has released:

See also

In Spanish: Amira Willighagen para niños