Judith Katrijntje "Trijntje" Oosterhuis (; born 5 February 1973) is a Dutch singer and songwriter. She formed the band Total Touch in 1990 with her brother

Tjeerd Oosterhuis Tjeerd-Pieter David Oosterhuis (; born 25 December 1971), also known as TJ Oosterhuis, is a Dutch musician, songwriter and producer known internationally for his chart topping work with Madcon, Kelly Rowland and Estelle. His production of Fr ...

before she started as a solo singer. She represented the Netherlands in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2015 The Eurovision Song Contest 2015 was the 60th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Vienna, Austria, following the country's victory at the with the song "Rise Like a Phoenix" by Conchita Wurst. Organised by the European Broa ...

with the song " Walk Along", placing fourteen in the first semi-final with 33 points and winning the

Barbara Dex Award The Barbara Dex Award was a fan-voted accolade awarded annually to the worst-dressed contestant in the Eurovision Song Contest. The award was created by the fansite The House of Eurovision in 1997, which hosted it until the site's closure in 20 ...

of the year.

Early life

Judith Katrijntje Oosterhuis was born on 5 February 1973 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 ...

, Netherlands. She is the daughter of

theologian Theology is the systematic study of the nature of the divine and, more broadly, of religious belief. It is taught as an academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itself with the unique content of analyzing the ...

and former

Catholic The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...

priest A priest is a religious leader authorized to perform the sacred rituals of a religion, especially as a mediatory agent between humans and one or more deities. They also have the authority or power to administer religious rites; in partic ...

Huub Oosterhuis Hubertus Gerardus Josephus Henricus "Huub" Oosterhuis (; 1 November 19339 April 2023) was a Dutch theologian and poet. He is mainly known for his contribution to Christian music and liturgy in Dutch and also in German, used in both Protestant a ...

and

violin The violin, sometimes known as a '' fiddle'', is a wooden chordophone ( string instrument) in the violin family. Most violins have a hollow wooden body. It is the smallest and thus highest-pitched instrument ( soprano) in the family in regu ...

ist Jozefien Melief of the Amsterdam Promenade Orchestra. Her older brother is

(born 1971).

Total Touch

In 1990, Oosterhuis formed the band Total Touch with her brother Tjeerd and, in 1991, they participated in the Grote Prijs van Nederland, the most important amateur musician contest in the Netherlands.Stand By Productions (booking agency)
Biography Trijntje Oosterhuis. (Dutch) Retrieved: September 15, 2006 Trijntje got the opportunity to tour with

Candy Dulfer Candy Dulfer (born 19 September 1969) is a Dutch jazz and pop saxophonist. She is the daughter of jazz saxophonist Hans Dulfer. She began playing at age six and founded her band Funky Stuff when she was fourteen. Her debut album '' Saxuality'' ...

in 1994 after collaborating with her on the album '' Big Girl''. Originally the tour was supposed to last six weeks; however, it became a two-year tour around the world. Total Touch was offered a record deal in 1995 and their debut album ''Total Touch'' was released in 1997. The first single, "Touch Me There", became a summer hit and went Platinum, selling over 100,000 copies in its first month - despite only peaking the Dutch charts at number 14. The next album ''This Way'' became their first number-one album and was equally successful, although the album was not well known internationally. In 1999, they took a small break, and Trijntje Oosterhuis released a live album with covers of

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, pop, s ...

Solo career

In 2001, Total Touch decided to go their separate ways, with Tjeerd wanting to focus on production and

songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

and Trijntje wanting to launch her solo career. Oosterhuis's debut solo album, ''Trijntje Oosterhuis'', consisted mainly of ballads and presented her as a

diva Diva (; ) is the Latin word for a goddess. It has often been used to refer to a celebrated woman of outstanding talent in the world of opera, theatre, cinema, fashion and popular music. If referring to an actress, the meaning of ''diva'' is cl ...

. Trijntje personally has a fondness for

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

instead of pop ballads, and, in 2004, she therefore signed a record deal with

Blue Note In jazz and blues, a blue note is a note that—for expressive purposes—is sung or played at a slightly different pitch from standard. Typically the alteration is between a quartertone and a semitone, but this varies depending on the musical c ...

and released the live album ''

Strange Fruit "Strange Fruit" is a song written and composed by Abel Meeropol (under his pseudonym Lewis Allan) and recorded by Billie Holiday in 1939. The lyrics were drawn from a poem by Meeropol published in 1937. The song protests the lynching of Black ...

'', consisting of

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

George Gershwin George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...

covers.PopInstituut.nl
Biography Trijntje Oosterhuis. Retrieved: 15 September 2006 The album received critical acclaim, and Trijntje finally managed to achieve fame beyond her home country. In September 2004, Trijntje gave birth to her son Jonas. On 31 July 2006, she gave birth to a second son, Marijn Benjamin van den Eeden. Her second jazz album called '' The Look of Love (Burt Bacharach Songbook)'' was recorded with

Burt Bacharach Burt Freeman Bacharach ( ; born May 12, 1928) is an American composer, songwriter, record producer and pianist who composed hundreds of pop songs from the late 1950s through the 1980s, many in collaboration with lyricist Hal David. A six-time Gr ...

, who plays the piano on two tracks and was released on 20 November 2006. The new album was certified Platinum on the day of release, for having shipped more than 70,000 copies.EMImusic.nl
Trijntje Oosterhuis page, "20-11-2006 - Trijntje ontvangt Platina Award tijdens The Look of Love première" Retrieved: 23 November 2006 In December 2006 Trijntje toured with the Metropole Orchestra performing covers of

and Christmas songs. In 2007, she released a second volume of her collaboration with Burt Bacharach entitled ''Who'll Speak for Love'', with Bacharach again playing piano on three tracks. In 2008, she released a CD and DVD of an acoustic concert performance with guitarist Leonardo Amuedo, entitled ''Ken Je Mij'' (''Do You Know Me''). In September 2008, she was one of the special guests at the Symphonica in Rosso concert in

Arnhem Arnhem ( or ; german: Arnheim; South Guelderish: ''Èrnem'') is a city and municipality situated in the eastern part of the Netherlands about 55 km south east of Utrecht. It is the capital of the province of Gelderland, located on both ban ...

, starring

Lionel Richie Lionel Brockman Richie Jr. (born June 20, 1949) is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and television personality. He rose to fame in the 1970s as a songwriter and the co-lead singer of funk band the Commodores; writing and recor ...

. During this concert she sang the duet "Face in the Crowd" with Richie, which performance is included in Richie's album ''Just Go''. In 2009 and 2010, her song "What the World Needs Now" was the theme for Brazilian soap opera ''

Viver a Vida ''Viver a Vida'' (literally: Living Life, English title: ''Seize the Day'') is a Brazilian telenovela broadcast by Globo from September 14, 2009 to May 14, 2010. It is written by Manoel Carlos in collaboration with Ângela Chaves, Cláudia Lage, ...

'' made by

Rede Globo TV Globo (, "Globe TV", or simply Globo), formerly known as Rede Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto Marinho on 26 April 1965. It is owned by media conglomerate Grupo Globo. The TV stati ...

In early 2011, Oosterhuis released the album ''Sundays in New York''. The CD was given away free to lucky readers of the Saturday 15 January 2011 edition of the Dutch newspaper ''AD''. A year later, in January 2012, Dutch singer Anouk made two videos of her and Trijntje working together in a studio, available through Twitter and Facebook. Initial assumptions were made that Anouk and Trijntje were recording a duet for Trijntje's next album. Soon after, it was announced that Anouk was writing songs for the album and producing it. The new album, named ''Wrecks We Adore'', was officially released on 13 April 2012. In 2012, Oosterhuis replaced

Angela Groothuizen Angela Groothuizen (born 28 September 1959) is a Dutch singer, artist and television personality. Her initial fame came as a member of the Dolly Dots. Biography Angela Groothuizen was born in Alkmaar, and has four brothers and sisters. She join ...

as a coach on the third season of ''

The Voice of Holland ''The Voice of Holland'', also known as ''TVOH'', is a Dutch reality TV singing competition, that became a near global TV format franchise, created by media tycoon John de Mol and musician Roel van Velzen, in the Netherlands airing on RTL 4. ...

'' alongside

Nick & Simon Nick & Simon are a Dutch singer-songwriter duo composed of Simon Keizer and Nick Schilder. They became popular in their home country the Netherlands in 2006. Their album ''Luister'' (''Listen'') reached double platinum status in four months. In ...

Roel van Velzen Roel van Velzen (; born 20 March 1978), better known as VanVelzen, is a Dutch singer-songwriter. Besides being known for his short stature, he and his band enjoy a huge live reputation; they have played at virtually every festival in the Nether ...

and

Marco Borsato Marco Roberto Borsato (; born 21 December 1966) is a Dutch singer. Born in Alkmaar, North Holland, he started performing in Italian before switching to Dutch in 1994. He has consistently been one of the most successful and biggest grossing arti ...

. Her final contestant,

Leona Philippo Leona Philippo (born 6 May 1979 in Toronto) is a Canadian-born Dutch singer-songwriter of Jamaican origin. On 14 December 2012, she won the title for The Voice of Holland (season 3), season 3 of the Dutch reality television music competition ''T ...

, reached the final and won. Oosterhuis remained on the show until the end of the fifth season in 2014. Trijntje Oosterhuis represented the Netherlands at the

with the song " Walk Along"."Trijntje naar Songfestival"
/ref> However, Oosterhuis failed to qualify for the final. On 8 December 2015, she gave birth to her third child, a baby girl named Maël Joni. Between 2012 and 2017, Oosterhuis was a member of Ladies of Soul, a supergroup completed by

, Glennis Grace and sisters-in-law

Berget Lewis The Ladies of Soul is a Dutch supergroup that was founded by Candy Dulfer, Berget Lewis, Glennis Grace and Edsilia Rombley. Trijntje Oosterhuis, a former founding member, left in 2017 to focus on hesolo-career History Origins The Ladies of Soul ...

and Edsilia Rombley. They staged annual arena-shows since February 2014 performing collective and solo-tracks as well as cover-versions. In June 2017 Oosterhuis announced her departure from the Ladies of Soul to focus on her solo-career; she did return as a special guest during the 5th anniversary-shows on March 23 and 24, 2018. In September 2017, Oosterhuis released the Dutch-language covers-album ''Leven van de liefde'' (''Living off love''). In September 2018, Oosterhuis was part of the Dutch television programme "Beste Zangers". In March 2019, Oosterhuis released the first single from her forthcoming album ''Dit is voor mij'' (''This is for me''); the same month she played a 25th anniversary-concert in a sold out

Ziggo Dome The Ziggo Dome ( or ) is an indoor arena in Amsterdam, Netherlands, located next to the Johan Cruijff ArenA. It is named after the Dutch cable TV provider Ziggo. In 2014, the Ziggo Dome Awards were announced, recognizing artists who performed at ...

. Amidst a summer-tour of festivals and special concerts, Oosterhuis appeared at North Sea Jazz Festival. These dates were followed by a club tour. In 2020, Oosterhuis was to play the role of

Mary Mary may refer to: People * Mary (name), a feminine given name (includes a list of people with the name) Religious contexts * New Testament people named Mary, overview article linking to many of those below * Mary, mother of Jesus, also calle ...

in that year's edition of The Passion; it was cancelled due to the

coronavirus Coronaviruses are a group of related RNA viruses that cause diseases in mammals and birds. In humans and birds, they cause respiratory tract infections that can range from mild to lethal. Mild illnesses in humans include some cases of the co ...

. In the summer of 2020 she appeared as a panel-judge on the SBS6 talent-show '' We Want More''; the selection-rounds were taped beforehand.

Discography

As solo artist * ''For Once in My Life'' (1999) * ''Trijntje Oosterhuis'' (2003) * ''

'' (2004) * '' See You as I Do'' (2005) * '' The Look of Love'' (2006) * ''Sundays in New York'' (2011) * ''We've Only Just Begun'' (2011) * ''Wrecks We Adore'' (2012) * ''Walk Along'' (2015) * ''Wonderful Christmastime'' (2020) * ''EVERCHANGING TIMES'' (2021) With Total Touch * ''Total Touch'' (1997) * ''This Way'' (1998)

References

External links

Official websiteTrijntje Oosterhuis
at EMI * {{DEFAULTSORT:Oosterhuis, Trijntje 1973 births Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the Netherlands Dutch jazz singers Dutch pop singers Dutch Roman Catholics English-language singers from the Netherlands Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2015 Living people Musicians from Amsterdam 21st-century Dutch singers 21st-century Dutch women singers