Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw (born 26 April 1981), known for the project Caro Emerald, is a Dutch pop and jazz singer who mainly performs in English. Active since 2007, she rose to prominence in 2009 with the debut single, " Back It Up". The follow-up single, " A Night Like This", topped charts in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The debut Caro Emerald album, '' Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor,'' was released on 29 January 2010. By August 2010, the album had spent its 30th week at number one in the Dutch album charts, setting an all-time record and beating

Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...

's ''Thriller'' by one week. ''Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor'' became the biggest selling album of 2010 in the Netherlands with over 350,000 copies to date. Worldwide, approximately 2 million copies have been sold to date. On 3 October 2010, Emerald was awarded the Dutch music prize

Edison Award The Edison Award is an annual Dutch music prize awarded for outstanding achievements in the music industry. It is comparable to the American Grammy Award. The Edison award itself is a bronze replica of a statuette of Thomas Edison, designed b ...

for Best Female Artist. In 2013, she released a second studio album titled ''

The Shocking Miss Emerald ''The Shocking Miss Emerald'' is the second studio album by Caro Emerald. The album was written and produced by David Schreurs, Vincent Degiorgio, Jan van Wieringen and Emerald, with contributions from Wieger Hoogendorp, Robin Veldman and Guy Ch ...

''. The album entered at number one in the Dutch and

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

album charts and sold over 600,000 copies.

Early and personal life

Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw was born on 26 April 1981, in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

, the Netherlands to a

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

father and an Aruban mother. She started singing lessons at age 12 with James Gilloffo in Amsterdam and joined a girl vocal group, Les Elles, under his guidance. Following high school, she trained as a jazz vocalist at the Amsterdam Conservatory, graduating in 2005. In March 2014 Emerald gave birth to a girl. then gave birth to a second daughter in August 2017.

Career

2007–2008: Career beginnings

In early 2007, Dutch producer Jan van Wieringen invited van der Leeuw to sing the vocal on a track he was producing with producer/songwriter David Schreurs. The song, " Back It Up", had been written by Schreurs and Canadian songwriter Vince Degiorgio and was based around a hip-hop beat created by Robin Veldman and Jan van Wieringen. Van der Leeuw's jazzy vocal was considered a "perfect match" for the new song. The demo was pitched to various publishers and labels but without result. The demo then reached public notice around the world online and radio stations started playing the song. Degiorgio, Schreurs, van Wieringen and van der Leeuw realised their sound had potential and started working on a conceptual studio album with van der Leeuw as "starring artist". Writing began in the summer of 2008 using the mix of "Back It Up", 1940s to 1950s jazz,

easy listening Easy listening (including mood music) is a popular music genre and radio format that was most popular during the 1950s to 1970s. It is related to middle-of-the-road (MOR) music and encompasses instrumental recordings of standards, hit songs, n ...

, orchestral Latin, combined with infectious beats as a model. Adopting a sample based approach but with live instrumentation, the writing sessions drew from a wide range of influences including jazz organist Jackie Davis, exotica composer

Martin Denny Martin Denny (April 10, 1911 – March 2, 2005) was an American pianist and composer best known as the "father of exotica." In a long career that saw him performing up to 3 weeks prior to his death, he toured the world popularizing his brand of l ...

mambo Mambo most often refers to: * Mambo (music), a Cuban musical form *Mambo (dance), a dance corresponding to mambo music Mambo may also refer to: Music * Mambo section, a section in arrangements of some types of Afro-Caribbean music, particul ...

king Perez Prado, 1920s to 1930s jazz, and van der Leeuw's own vocal inspirations of

The Andrews Sisters The Andrews Sisters were an American close harmony singing group of the swing and boogie-woogie eras. The group consisted of three sisters: contralto LaVerne Sophia Andrews (July 6, 1911 – May 8, 1967), soprano Maxene Anglyn Andrews (January ...

Billie Holiday Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...

and Sarah Vaughan. Their usual method would be for Schreurs to create the ideas and backing tracks, and then get together with top line writer and lyricist Degiorgio to write the songs. Van der Leeuw co-wrote several songs on the album, and van Wieringen co-created the tracks for "The Other Woman" and "Dr Wanna Do". Schreurs and Degiorgio are credited as "Creative Directors".

2009–2012: ''Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor''

After record labels either refused or failed to sign the project, Schreurs set up their own label, Grandmono. "Back It Up" was released as debut single on 6 July 2009. The song gained airplay and popularity overnight and listed in the Dutch Top 40 for 12 weeks, peaking at No. 12. It became the most played song on 3FM in 2009. Emerald's debut album, '' Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor,'' was released on 28 January 2010 in The Netherlands by Grandmono. It entered at #1 in the Album Charts and stayed there for weeks. By August 2010, the album had been #1 for 27 weeks, beating

's chart record for '' Thriller'' (26 weeks #1 in 1983). The album returned to #1, spending a total of 30 non-consecutive weeks on top spot of the Dutch Albums Chart. The album reached double platinum (>100,000 copies) status in the Netherlands on 5 July 2010. It reached triple platinum in August 2010, four times platinum (200,000) in November 2010, and sextuple platinum (>300,000 copies) in December 2011. ''Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor'' was removed from the Dutch charts after 104 weeks due to a rule providing albums can't spend >2 years on the charts. Upon re-entry, the album climbed back to #8. The album's second single, " A Night Like This", was released in December 2009. It was listed in the Dutch Charts for 26 weeks peaking at #1 in January 2010. It was the most played song in The Netherlands in 2010. In 2011, ''Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor'' was released throughout Europe with great commercial success. It became a hit in the UK (1× platinum with sales exceeding 360,000, 8 weeks top 10 peaking at No. 4), Germany (1× platinum with sales exceeding 280,000, peaking at No. 5 and Platinum single for "A Night Like This" with sales exceeding 340,000), Poland (6× platinum with sales exceeding 60,000), Italy (Gold Single for "Back it Up"), and Austria (No. 1 with "A Night Like This"). In the UK, all six singles and the entire album were A-listed by BBC Radio 2. Over 1,400,000 albums have been sold in Europe. The cinematic sound of the project resulted in frequent use in TV series, movies and advertising. Selected credits include '' The Playboy Club'', a brand campaign by

Martini Martini may refer to: * Martini (cocktail) * Martini (vermouth), a brand of vermouth * Martini (surname), an Italian surname * Martini (automobile company), a Swiss automobile company * Automobiles Martini, a French manufacturer of racing cars * M ...

, ''

2 Days in New York ''2 Days in New York'' is a 2012 romantic comedy film co-written and directed by Julie Delpy. It is a sequel to Delpy's 2007 film ''2 Days in Paris''. Synopsis Parisian Marion is living in New York with her son, in order to be closer to Jack, t ...

'', '' The Secret Circle'',

Wind Mobile Freedom Mobile Inc. is a Canadian wireless telecommunications provider owned by Shaw Communications. It has 6% market share of Canada, mostly in urban areas of Ontario, British Columbia and Alberta. Freedom Mobile is the fourth-largest wirele ...

, '' Strictly Come Dancing'', '' Dancing with the Stars'', ''

The Vampire Diaries ''The Vampire Diaries'' is an American supernatural teen drama television series developed by Kevin Williamson and Julie Plec, based on the book series of the same name written by L. J. Smith. The series premiered on The CW on September 10, ...

'', '' Agent Carter'', Nestlé, Ferrero Rocher, Wrigley and Disney Nature film '' Chimpanzee''. Due to its exceptional success, the album was included in an episode of the Dutch version of ''

Classic Albums ''Classic Albums'' is a British documentary series about pop, rock and heavy metal albums that are considered the best or most distinctive of a well-known band or musician or that exemplify a stage in the history of music. Format The TV ser ...

'' in April 2012. On New Year's Eve 2011, Caro appeared on Jools Holland's ''

Hootenanny A hootenanny is a party involving music in the United States. It is particularly associated with folk music. Etymology Placeholder Hootenanny is an Appalachian colloquialism that was used in the early twentieth century U.S. as a placeholder nam ...

.'' In January 2011, Emerald won the Popprijs 2010 for Best Dutch Pop Act of 2010. In early 2012, Emerald won a

Goldene Kamera The Goldene Kamera ("Golden Camera") is an annual German film and television award, awarded by the Funke Mediengruppe. The award show is usually held in early February in Hamburg, but has also taken place in Berlin in the past. The gold-plat ...

for Best Musik International and an

Echo Award Echo Music Prize (stylised as ECHO, ) was an accolade by the , an association of recording companies of Germany to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The first ECHO Awards ceremony was held in 1992, and it was set up to hono ...

for Best Newcomer International.

2013–2014: ''The Shocking Miss Emerald''

In April 2013, the second Caro Emerald studio album ''

'' was released. It included the singles " Tangled Up" and "

Liquid Lunch "Liquid Lunch" is a song by Caro Emerald. The song was released as a digital download on 21 May 2013 as the second single from the album ''The Shocking Miss Emerald ''The Shocking Miss Emerald'' is the second studio album by Caro Emerald. The a ...

". The album went to #1 in the UK album chart. She performed in the UK at The

BBC Radio Theatre The BBC Radio Theatre (originally named The Concert Hall) is a theatre situated within the BBC's Broadcasting House complex. It is used for live broadcast and audio recordings. History Originally named The Concert Hall, the theatre was desi ...

; it was broadcast on BBC Radio 2 and

BBC Red Button BBC Red Button is a brand used for digital interactive television services provided by the BBC, and broadcast in the United Kingdom. The services replaced Ceefax, the BBC's analogue teletext service. BBC Red Button's text services were due to c ...

. On 29 June 2014, she played the opening music set on the pyramid stage at the

Glastonbury Festival 2014 The 2014 Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts was held between 25 and 29 June 2014. Ticket sales Initially a small selection of tickets were sold for people who wished to travel by coach. A few days later the standard tickets we ...

2015–2020: ''Emerald Island''

In April 2015, Emerald released a single, "

Quicksand Quicksand is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil that los ...

". In March 2017, Emerald released an

exotica Exotica is a musical genre, named after the 1957 Martin Denny Exotica (Martin Denny album), album of the same name that was popular during the 1950s to mid-1960s with Americans who came of age during World War II. The term was coined by Simon Wa ...

inspired EP, ''Emerald Island''. It was released to accompany the Emerald Island Tour. In June 2020, Emerald released "Wake Up Romeo," her first single in three years.

2022-present: The Jordan

On 23 August 2022, Caro was revealed as the voice behind new act ''The Jordan''. Her debut album, ''‘Nowhere Near The Sky’'', will be released on February 10, 2023 via Cooking Vinyl. The first three singles from the album are ''’You Don’t Even Know Me’'', ''’Dancing Naked in the Sun’'', and ''’The Room’''.

Awards

* 11 April 2010: 3FM Serious Talent Award * 15 April 2010: * 26 April 2010: De Eerste Prijs * 3 October 2010:

, Best Female Singer *

MTV Europe Music Award The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an a ...

, Best Dutch and Belgian Act * 12 January 2011:

European Border Breakers Award The European Border Breakers Award (EBBA) was an annual prize awarded to recognise the success of ten emerging artists or groups who reached audiences outside their own countries with their first internationally released album in the past year. ...

2011 * 15 January 2011: 3FM Mega Award 2010 * 15 January 2011: Popprijs 2010 * 3 March 2011:

Zilveren Harp The Zilveren Harp (Silver Harp) is a Dutch award given annually to promising musical talent. The award is very prestigious and winners are chosen by a different jury each year. The Zilveren Harp is given by the foundation "Buma Cultuur The Buma C ...

2010 * 3 March 2011: Het Beste Nederlandse lied 2010 (Best Song of the Year 2010) * 14 March 2011:

NPO 3FM NPO 3FM is a Dutch rhythmic CHR radio station controlled by public broadcaster NPO. The vast majority of the songs played on-air are rock, alternative, indie and pop, though dance and Mega Top 30 tracks may also air at times. History As R ...

, Best Album and Best Female Singer * 12 June 2011: TMF Award for Best Female Singer * 4 February 2012:

2012, Best Music International * March 2012:

Echo Music Prize Echo Music Prize (stylised as ECHO, ) was an accolade by the , an association of recording companies of Germany to recognize outstanding achievement in the music industry. The first ECHO Awards ceremony was held in 1992, and it was set up to hono ...

, Best International Newcomer

Discography

Studio albums

Live albums

Extended plays

Singles

References

External links

*
Official Uvumi Profile

o
This is Vintage Now
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Emerald, Caro 1981 births 21st-century Dutch singers Conservatorium van Amsterdam alumni Dutch jazz singers Dutch pop singers Dutch people of Aruban descent Electro swing musicians English-language singers from the Netherlands Living people Musicians from Amsterdam 21st-century Dutch women singers MTV Europe Music Award winners