Dave Benton facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Dave Benton
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Dave Benton in 2009
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Efrén Eugene Benita |
| Born | 31 January 1951 Oranjestad, Aruba |
| Genres | Pop |
Efrén Eugene Benita (born 31 January 1951), known as Dave Benton, is a pop musician. He was born in Aruba and later became an Estonian citizen. He won the Eurovision Song Contest 2001 with Tanel Padar and 2XL. Their song was called "Everybody". They represented Estonia and brought home the win! Dave Benton also became the oldest singer to ever win the contest.
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Dave Benton's Early Life and Music Career
Dave Benton was born in 1951 on the island of Aruba in the Caribbean. He went to local schools there. He learned to speak many languages, including English, Dutch, Spanish, and Papiamento. Papiamento is a special language spoken on the island.
When he was in his 20s, Dave moved to the United States. He worked as a drummer and a singer for other artists. He performed with famous musicians like The Drifters, Tom Jones, and Billy Ocean.
Moving to Europe and Estonia
In the 1980s, Dave Benton lived in the Netherlands. There, he met his future wife, Maris, who was from Estonia. They met on a cruise ship. In 1997, they decided to move to Estonia. They have two daughters together.
Dave has had a busy music career in many countries in Northern Europe. He is amazing at languages! He can speak eight different ones. These include English, Spanish, Papiamento, Dutch, French, German, Portuguese, and Estonian. He even performed in a musical in Germany called City Lights.
He has released many music albums. One of his albums is sung in his native language, Papiamento. He is mostly known for his live performances.
Winning the Eurovision Song Contest
On 3 February 2001, Dave Benton took part in a music competition in Estonia. It was called Eesti Laul 2001. This show chooses the song that will represent Estonia in the Eurovision Song Contest. Dave performed with a young rock singer named Tanel Padar and a boyband called 2XL.
Their song, "Everybody", won the competition! This meant they would represent Estonia at Eurovision. On 12 May 2001, they performed in Copenhagen, Denmark. They won the contest with 198 points! Dave Benton was 50 years and 101 days old on that day. This made him the oldest singer to ever win Eurovision.
Following in Dad's Footsteps
In 2021, Dave Benton's daughter, Sissi, also tried to represent Estonia at Eurovision. She took part in Eesti Laul 2021 with her song "Time". She made it to the final round and finished in second place.
More About Dave Benton
- In 2010, Dave Benton was a celebrity contestant on Tantsud tähtedega. This is the Estonian version of the TV show Dancing with the Stars. He danced with a professional partner named Valeria Fetissova.
- Dave Benton is also a grandfather!
