Kate Ryan facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Kate Ryan
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Katrien Verbeeck |
| Also known as | Kate Ryan |
| Born | 22 July 1980 Tessenderlo, Belgium |
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| Years active | 2001–present |
| Labels | EMI (2002–06) ARS Entertainment (2007–12) Nextar Entertainment (2013–present) CNR Music (2015-present) |
Kate Ryan (born Katrien Verbeeck, 22 July 1980) is a Belgian singer and songwriter. She won a World Music Award for being a top-selling artist.
Kate started her singing career in 2001. She became famous with many dance songs. These included cover versions of popular songs by other artists. Some of her famous covers are "Désenchantée", "Libertine", "Ella, elle l'a", and "Voyage Voyage". She also released many original songs. In 2006, Kate Ryan represented Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with her song "Je t'adore".
Contents
Biography
Early Life and Music Start
Kate Ryan was born in a small village called Tessenderlo in Belgium. She grew up in a family that loved music. When she was eight years old, she started learning to play the piano and guitar. Her aunt, who taught at a music school, gave her singing and piano lessons.
Kate also studied at an art school. There, she focused on designing jewellery. As a teenager, she often performed in bars and cafés. One night, she was offered a chance to record her music.
Joining Melt and First Songs
At 16, Kate joined a pop group called Melt. The group was active for two years, but they did not release any songs for sale. Later, she met a music producer named Andy Janssens. Kate left Melt and started writing music with Andy.
Their first song, "Scream for More", came out in 2001. It quickly became a hit song. Later that year, her second song, "UR (My Love)", also did very well in Belgium. This helped her become a well-known singer.
2002–2004: Different Album
Kate Ryan became famous around the world with her cover of "Désenchantée". This song was originally by Mylène Farmer. Kate's version was a big hit in many European countries. She then signed with EMI, a record company in Belgium.
In 2002, she released her first album, Different. This album was sold only in Europe. It was very successful, selling over 250,000 copies. It earned "Gold" and "Platinum" awards in several countries. Two more songs from Different, "Mon cœur résiste encore" and "Libertine", also became popular. "Mon cœur résiste encore" was a French version of "Scream for More". "Libertine" was another cover of a Mylène Farmer song. Kate Ryan's music was also released in the United States by Robbins Entertainment.
2004–2007: Stronger and Alive Albums
In 2004, Kate released her second album in Europe, called Stronger. This album also featured her popular dance-pop style. The first song from the album, "Only If I", was quite successful in Europe.
Her cover of "The Promise You Made" by Cock Robin became the second single. It was even more successful. She also recorded a French version called "La Promesse". The song "Goodbye" was released as the third single and did well. In 2005, Kate Ryan's music became available in North America through Water Music Records.
In 2006, Kate took part in Eurosong '06. This was a competition to choose who would represent Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. She won the final on March 9, 2006. Kate Ryan sang "Je t'adore" at the Eurovision semi-final in Athens on May 18, 2006. She finished 12th and did not make it to the final. However, she was voted the best-dressed performer by a Eurovision website. Her outfit cost €14,000 and was later sold for charity.
The next song she released was "Alive". This song was from her album of the same name, Alive. The album also had French versions of some songs, including "Je t'adore" and "Alive". The third song from the album was "All for You". Even though critics liked the album, it did not sell as well as her first two albums.
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2007–2008: Free and Essential Albums
In 2007, Kate Ryan had success with a double single: "Voyage, voyage" and "We All Belong". "Voyage, voyage" was a cover of a famous 1986 song by Desireless. "We All Belong" was chosen as the official song for the EuroGames 2007 in Antwerp.
In 2008, Kate released two more songs: "L.I.L.Y. (Like I Love You)" and "Ella, elle l'a". "Ella, elle l'a" was a cover of a song by France Gall. Both of these songs, along with "Voyage Voyage" and "We All Belong", were on her album Free. This album came out in the middle of the year. It also included a song with Spanish singer Soraya Arnelas.
Kate's first "best-of" album, Essential, was released in July. It featured songs she recorded while with EMI. In August, she performed at the Polish Sopot Hit Festival. There, she received a Gold award for her Free album in Poland. On November 9, 2008, in Monaco, she won a World Music Award. This award was for being the best-selling artist from the Benelux region (Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg). Two more songs, including "I Surrender", helped promote the Free album.
2009–2011: French Connection Album
The year 2009 saw the release of French Connection. This album was a collection of only French-language songs. It included her previous French hits and some new recordings. "Évidemment" and "Babacar", both originally by France Gall, were released as singles. However, they did not become very popular, and neither did the album.
Kate announced that French Connection marked the end of an era for her. She said that from then on, she would only release songs that she had written herself. She received a Multi-Platinum award from Spain for selling over 300,000 digital songs.
2011–2012: Electroshock Album
Kate Ryan announced on Facebook that her next album, Electroshock, would be released in 2011. The first song from this album was "LoveLife".
Another song, "Broken", came out on October 7, 2011. On December 9, 2011, she performed as a musical guest on The Voice of Romania.
The Electroshock album was delayed but finally released on June 25, 2012. This album only had songs in English and did not include any cover versions. On May 12, 2012, another song called "Robots" was released.
2013–Present: New Singles
After Electroshock was released, Kate Ryan shared on Facebook that she planned to release only single songs, not full albums. She felt that the music industry was changing, and people were buying fewer full albums, especially with online music stores like iTunes.
She started this new approach by releasing "Light in the Dark" on May 24, 2013. Then came "Heart Flow" on August 13, 2013. "Heart Flow" was also the official song for the World Outgames 2013. In December 2013, she recorded "Sé que tu lluitaràs". This was a Catalan-language cover of Bob Sinclar's song "World, Hold On (Children of the Sky)". It was included on a special album called El disc de la Marató 2013 (TV3).
On September 1, 2014, Kate Ryan released a new song called "Not Alone". This song was a mix of French and English.
In August 2015, she released "Runaway (Smalltown Boy)". This was a cover of the song "Smalltown Boy" by the British band Bronski Beat. The song was also on the album MNM Summertime 2015.
In January 2016, Kate released another single, a cover of "Wonderful Life" by British singer Black. In June 2016, she released "Comment te dire adieu". This was a cover of a French song by Françoise Hardy, which was originally an English song called "It Hurts to Say Goodbye" by Margaret Whiting.
Discography
Studio albums
- Different (2002)
- Stronger (2004)
- Alive (2006)
- Free (2008)
- Electroshock (2012)
See also
In Spanish: Kate Ryan para niños
