Anita Doth (born 28 December 1971) is a Dutch singer and songwriter best known as the former singer of the duo

2 Unlimited 2 Unlimited are a Belgian/Dutch dance music act, founded by Belgian producers/songwriters Jean-Paul De Coster and Phil Wilde in 1991 in Antwerp, Belgium. From 1991 to 1996, Dutch rapper Ray Slijngaard and Dutch vocalist Anita Doth fronted the ...

, along with rapper

Ray Slijngaard Raymond Lothar Slijngaard (born 28 June 1971) is a Dutch rapper and musician best known as one half of the Eurodance duo 2 Unlimited. Music career 2 Unlimited (1991–1996) 2 Unlimited is an electronic music project founded in 1991 by Belgian ...

Personal life

Anita Daniëlle Dels was born 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 ...

to a

Suriname Suriname (; srn, Sranankondre or ), officially the Republic of Suriname ( nl, Republiek Suriname , srn, Ripolik fu Sranan), is a country on the northeastern Atlantic coast of South America. It is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the nor ...

se father, Rolf Dels, and a Dutch mother, Lydia. In 1991 she finished her education and landed her first job in an administrative position at a police station. She has one son. On 11 January 2010, it was announced that Doth was being treated for breast cancer, undergoing

chemotherapy Chemotherapy (often abbreviated to chemo and sometimes CTX or CTx) is a type of cancer treatment that uses one or more anti-cancer drugs (chemotherapeutic agents or alkylating agents) as part of a standardized chemotherapy regimen. Chemother ...

. Doth continued to perform with Ray as much as possible under her treatment regimen. In 2011, Doth was declared breast-cancer-free. On 8 November 2013, Doth announced via Twitter that

would soon be taking a break until April 2014 as she was pregnant. The new arrival was expected in February 2014.

Music career

2 Unlimited (1991–1996)

2 Unlimited is a Eurodance project founded in 1991 by two Belgian producers Jean-Paul DeCoster and Phil Wilde and fronted by Dutch

rapper Rapping (also rhyming, spitting, emceeing or MCing) is a musical form of vocal delivery that incorporates "rhyme, rhythmic speech, and street vernacular". It is performed or chanted, usually over a backing beat or musical accompaniment. The ...

and Anita Doth. In the early 1990s, Slijngaard had been asked to write rap lyrics for a tune written by de Coster and Wilde. He also wrote a chorus to be sung by a female vocalist, for which he asked Doth to sing the lyrics. The demo was presented to de Coster and Wilde, leading to Doth joining 2 Unlimited, and "

Get Ready for This "Get Ready for This" is a song recorded by Belgian/Dutch music group 2 Unlimited. It was released in 1991 as the lead single from their debut album, '' Get Ready!'' (1992). Originally, the single was produced as an instrumental, titled the "Orch ...

" was produced as their first single. Doth sang the choruses for the majority of their songs; however there were some B sides, and one successful single, "

Nothing Like the Rain "Nothing Like the Rain" is a song recorded by Belgian/Dutch Eurodance band 2 Unlimited. It was released on 10 June 1995 as the fourth and final single from their third album, '' Real Things'' (1994). In the US, the song was released as a double ...

", where she sang close to all the lyrics. The band became an instant success in Europe and throughout the world. Their hits included "

Maximum Overdrive ''Maximum Overdrive'' is a 1986 American comedy horror film written and directed by Stephen King. The film stars Emilio Estevez, Pat Hingle, Laura Harrington, and Yeardley Smith. The screenplay was inspired by and loosely based on King's sho ...

", " No Limit", " Tribal Dance", " The Real Thing", " Twilight Zone" and "

Workaholic A workaholic is a person who works compulsively. A workaholic experiences an inability to limit the amount of time they spend on work despite negative consequences such as damage to their relationships or health. There is no generally accepted ...

". After sixteen music videos, forty-five songs, and four albums, the group split up in 1996.

After 2 Unlimited (1996–2009)

After 2 Unlimited broke up in 1996, Doth became a presenter on Dutch music television station TMF (''The Music Factory''), hosting ''Welcome to the Pleasure Zone'', a show featuring both music videos and live performances. She also worked as a DJ on Dutch radio station

Radio 538 Radio 538 () is a Dutch commercial radio station that was founded in Hilversum, Netherlands in 1992. It is the second-most listened to radio station in the Netherlands. Radio 538 refers to the wavelength on which Radio Veronica used to broadcas ...

. Later that year, she sang a duet with popular Dutch singer

René Froger René Froger (born 5 November 1960 in Amsterdam), is a Dutch singer. Froger was born, and spent his first years in the Jordaan, a neighbourhood in Amsterdam. His father, Bolle Jan, had a café where Froger started performing. He started hi ...

titled "That's When I'll Stop Loving You". In 2000, she released her solo album, ''Reality''. Among the singles taken from the album were "Universe", "Lifting up My Life", and "This Is Reality". Doth worked with producers

Todd Terry Todd Norton Terry (born April 18, 1967) is an American DJ, record producer and remixer in the genre of house music. Musical career Todd Terry was influential in moving House music beyond the early Chicago house sound of 1984–86. He crosse ...

and Steve Mac, among others. In 2002, Doth formed Divas of Dance with Linda Estelle (formerly of

T-Spoon T-Spoon is a Dutch Eurodance project founded in 1991 by rapper Shalamon Baskin (aka Shamrock) and co-founder Remy de Groot (aka Prince Peration). The project was offered a recording contract by No More Music. Musical career The debut T-Spoon si ...

) and Desiree "Des'Ray" Manders (formerly of 2 Brothers on the 4th Floor). They performed a variety of disco and dance classics, including the biggest hits from each of their respective bands. In 2006, Divas of Dance released a single entitled "Falling into the Groove". During the later 2000s, Doth toured the UK as part of the 90s Reloaded Adult Weekenders at

Butlin's Butlin's is a chain of large Seaside resort, seaside resorts in the United Kingdom. Butlin's was founded by Billy Butlin to provide affordable holidays for ordinary British families. Between 1936 and 1966, ten camps were built, including one ...

. Billed as "Anita Doth from 2 Unlimited", the performance would include the biggest hits of 2 Unlimited from the 1990s.

2 Unlimited Comeback (2009–2016)

Doth & her former 2 Unlimited colleague, Ray Slijngaard, reunited on 11 April 2009, to perform together for the first time in 13 years at the "I love the 90s" concert in

Hasselt Hasselt (, , ; la, Hasseletum, Hasselatum) is a Belgian city and municipality, and capital and largest city of the province of Limburg in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is known for its former branding as "the city of taste", as well as i ...

, Belgium. Further gigs followed on 30 April at the

Queen's Day concert at Museumplein in Amsterdam, and as support act for

Milk Inc. Milk Inc. is a dance music group that formed in the commercial dance scene in Belgium in 1995. The discography of the group includes a total of seven studio albums and 41 singles. History Milk Inc. released their first hit single "La Vache" i ...

at the

Sportpaleis The Antwerps Sportpaleis ( eng, Antwerp's Sport Palace), also called Sportpaleis Antwerpen, Sportpaleis Merksem or simply the Sportpaleis, is an arena in Antwerp, Belgium. It is a multipurpose hall where concerts, sporting events, festivals and f ...

Antwerp Antwerp (; nl, Antwerpen ; french: Anvers ; es, Amberes) is the largest city in Belgium by area at and the capital of Antwerp Province in the Flemish Region. With a population of 520,504,

on 25 September. Performing under the name Ray & Anita, it was confirmed on 29 December that the duo would release a new single together in 2010 titled "In Da Name Of Love". Jean-Paul de Coster is thought to have denied permission for them to use the name "

", as he still owns the rights to the brand. On 11 July 2012, it was announced that Slijngaard and Doth would be working again with the Belgian producer, de Coster under the name 2 Unlimited.

Departure from 2 Unlimited (2016–)

On 20 April 2016, 2 Unlimited announced that Doth would be leaving the band to embark on a solo career. On 13 August, Kim Vergouwen was announced as Doth's replacement in 2 Unlimited.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles as lead artist

Singles as featured artist

References

External links

*
2 Unlimited Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Doth, Anita 1971 births Living people Dutch keyboardists Dutch police officers Dutch people of Surinamese descent Eurodance musicians Musicians from Amsterdam 21st-century Dutch singers 21st-century Dutch women singers