Marco Borsato facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Marco Borsato
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Borsato in 2016
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Marco Roberto Borsato |
| Born | 21 December 1966 Alkmaar, Netherlands |
| Genres | Nederpop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Years active | 1990–present |
| Associated acts | O'G3NE, Iris Kroes |
Marco Roberto Borsato (born 21 December 1966) is a famous Dutch singer. He was born in Alkmaar, Netherlands. Marco started his music career singing in Italian. But in 1994, he switched to singing in Dutch. For the past 30 years, he has been one of the most successful artists in the Netherlands and Belgium.
Marco Borsato has had 15 songs reach number one in the Netherlands. This is the second-highest number ever, just behind The Beatles who had 16. In 1994, his song "Dromen zijn bedrog" (which means "Dreams Are Deceptive") stayed at number one for 12 weeks. This was a record at the time and lasted for 17 years. It is still the longest-running Dutch language number-one song ever.
Between 2003 and 2008, Marco Borsato made history. He was the first artist to have nine number-one songs in a row on the Dutch charts. He is known as the most successful Dutch artist ever by the Dutch Top 40 chart. He was also the most successful male artist on that chart for over ten years.
Borsato has also had 11 albums reach number one in the Netherlands. All of these albums have sold enough copies to be certified Platinum. Every one of his studio albums released between 1995 and 2013 went straight to number one. He also has six number-one albums in Belgium.
Contents
Early life
Marco Roberto Borsato was born in Alkmaar, Netherlands. His parents are Roberto Borsato and Mary de Graaf. He has a brother named Armando and a sister named Sylvana. Marco's father is Italian. His family moved to Italy when he was young. There, his father opened a restaurant in Garda. Marco spent a lot of time in Italy and can speak Italian very well.
When Marco was twelve, he wanted to become a sushi chef. Even though he grew up with Italian food, he loved sushi. As he got older, he went to school during the week. On weekends, he worked in a restaurant. He also served in the military, where he was a non-commissioned officer in the cavalry.
Career
Marco Borsato started his music career in 1990. He won a Dutch talent show called Soundmixshow. He sang "At This Moment" by Billy Vera. At that time, he was still working as a chef. Winning the show helped him get a record deal. He then released three albums in Italian: Emozioni, Sento, and Giorno per giorno.
Breakthrough
Marco Borsato became much more popular in 1994. His songwriting partner, John Ewbank, suggested he sing in Dutch. His first Dutch song, "Dromen Zijn Bedrog" ("Dreams Are Deceptive"), became a huge hit. It reached number one in the Netherlands and stayed there for 12 weeks. Over 240,000 copies were sold. This broke the record for the longest time at number one on the Dutch chart. Marco held this record until 2011. His second song, "Waarom Nou Jij," also reached number one on the Dutch Top 40.
His fifth album, Als geen ander, came out in 1995. It sold very well and became his first number-one album in the Netherlands. In 1997, Borsato released De waarheid, which also went straight to number one. It stayed there for seven weeks. His seventh album, De bestemming, followed in 1998. It also debuted at number one. The song "De bestemming" became his third number-one single. "Binnen," from his eighth album Luid en duidelijk, reached number one in 1999. The album itself came out in 2000 and was number one for eight weeks. In 2001, "Lopen op het water" became his fifth number-one song.
21st century chart success
From 2003 to 2008, Marco Borsato had an amazing run. He released nine number-one songs in a row on the Dutch charts. No other artist has done this.
Borsato's ninth album, Zien, was released in 2004. It was only available on DVD. It produced three number-one songs. One of these was "Wat zou je doen?" with Dutch rapper Ali B. In 2006, Borsato released a live album called Symphonica in Rosso. All three songs from this album also reached number one. This included a cover of "Because We Believe" with Andrea Bocelli. It also featured "Every Time I Think of You" with British singer-songwriter Lucie Silvas. This album debuted at number one in the Netherlands.
His tenth album, Wit licht, came out in 2008. It also debuted at number one in the Netherlands. All three songs from this album – the title track, "Stop de tijd," and "Dochters" – reached number one. This gave Borsato 14 number-one songs in his career, with nine of them in a row.
In 2009, Marco Borsato faced financial difficulties. His company, The Entertainment Group, went bankrupt. This company organized events and represented Dutch artists.
Borsato's eleventh album, Dromen durven delen, was released in 2010. It also debuted at number one. His album Duizend spiegels in 2013 also debuted at number one. However, his thirteenth studio album, Evenwicht, released in 2015, only reached number two. It was behind Adele's album 25. This was the first time since 1994 that a Borsato studio album did not debut at number one. The first song from his fourteenth album, Thuis, only reached number 27 in 2017. But the album itself became his eleventh number-one album in the Netherlands.
Recent career and break
In 2019, Borsato released the song "Hoe het danst" with Dutch DJ Armin van Buuren and singer Davina Michelle. This became his first number-one song in 11 years. It was his fifteenth number-one song on the Dutch Top 40 chart. It was also his 21st song to reach the top three in the Netherlands. This broke The Beatles' record of 19. "Hoe het danst" was named the biggest hit of 2019 by the Dutch Top 40.
In May and June 2019, Borsato performed five concerts at De Kuip stadium in Rotterdam. It was his first time playing at the stadium in 15 years. With these concerts, he had performed 14 times at De Kuip. This broke The Rolling Stones' record of 10 concerts at that venue. In October 2019, Borsato's song "Lippenstift" became his 40th song to reach the top 40. This made him the seventh artist to achieve this.
In January 2020, Marco Borsato announced he would take a break from his career. He said he was experiencing burnout. This meant canceling several planned concerts and a duets album. He returned in March 2021 with a new song called "Een moment." It featured Rolf Sanchez and John Ewbank.
Other activities
Since 1998, Marco Borsato has been an ambassador for War Child. This is a Dutch organization that helps children in areas affected by war. They help children deal with their experiences. In February 2004, he traveled to Afghanistan as an ambassador. He met with the Afghani president, Hamid Karzai. That year, he also recorded the number-one song "Wat zou je doen" with Dutch rapper Ali B. All the money from this song was given to War Child.
In 2011, he became a judge on the Dutch talent shows The Voice of Holland and The Voice Kids. He stopped being a judge on The Voice of Holland in 2016. In 2018 and 2019, he was a judge on The Voice Senior. In 2020, Borsato announced he would leave The Voice Kids because of his burnout.
Personal life
Marco Borsato married Dutch TV personality Leontine Ruiters in 1998. They have three children: Luca (born 1998), Senna (born 2001), and Jada (born 2002). In February 2020, they announced they were getting a divorce after 22 years of marriage.
Awards and honours
Honours
- 2004: Officer of the Order of Orange-Nassau. He received this for his contributions to Dutch music and his work with War Child Netherlands.
Awards
- 1996 – 2006: Won a TMF Award eleven times for best Dutch singer.
- 1997: Edison Award, twice (Best Singer, Best Single of the Year).
- 1999: Golden Harp (with John Ewbank).
- 2000: Hitkrant Award, for the song Binnen ("Inside").
- 2000: Honorary Award for Best Album (Luid en Duidelijk ("Loud and Clear")) and Best Singer.
- 2001: Edison Award (Best Singer).
- 2010: Twitteraar van het Jaar (Best Twitter user).
Discography
- Emozioni (1990)
- Sento (1991)
- Giorno per giorno (1992)
- Marco (1994)
- Als geen ander (1995)
- De waarheid (1997)
- De bestemming (1998)
- Luid en duidelijk (2000)
- Onderweg (2002)
- Zien (2004)
- Symphonica in Rosso - Live CD (2006)
- Wit licht (2008)
- Dromen durven delen (2010)
- Duizend spiegels (2013)
- Evenwicht (2015)
- Thuis (2017)
See also
In Spanish: Marco Borsato para niños
