The Ladies of Soul is a Dutch supergroup consisting of

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'' ...

, Berget Lewis,

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

and

Edsilia Rombley Edsilia Francisca Rombley (; born 13 February 1978) is a Dutch singer and television presenter. She began her career in 1995, as a member of the Dutch girl group Dignity. Rombley began her solo career in 1996, after winning the Dutch talent show ...

Glennis Grace Glenda Hulita Elisabeth Batta (born 19 June 1978), known professionally as Glennis Grace, is a Dutch singer. In 2005, she represented the Netherlands in the 50th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, and in 2018 she appeared on the 13th seas ...

, another founding member, left in 2024.

History

Origins

The Ladies of Soul are a group of childhood-friends and sister-in-laws. have shared childhoods; Oosterhuis and Lewis were neighbours, Rombley, and Lewis became best friends and Oosterhuis and Dulfer were connected through relatives. They ended up pursuing careers in music and making guest appearances at each other's performances. They got together in 2012 for a successful series of

Whitney Houston Whitney Elizabeth Houston (August 9, 1963 – February 11, 2012) was an American singer, actress, film producer, model, and philanthropist. Commonly referred to as "Honorific nicknames in popular music, the Voice", she is List of awards and no ...

memorial concerts, which was organized by Oosterhuis' brother Tjeerd (Rombley's husband). Other singers to appear in "In remembrance of Whitney Houston" were Do,

Leona Philippo Leona Philippo (born 6 September 1979 in Toronto) is a Canadian-born Dutch singer-songwriter of Jamaican origin. ...

and Tania Kross. By popular demand, the Ladies continued their collaboration with Tjeerd Oosterhuis for a bigger event. This resulted in 2014, in a Valentine Day's concert at

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , ; ; ) is the capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, largest city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands. It has a population of 933,680 in June 2024 within the city proper, 1,457,018 in the City Re ...

Ziggo Dome The Ziggo Dome ( ) 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 ...

, dubbed Ladies of Soul. Do was to join as a sixth member but it never happened; on 21 January 2017, she revealed on the ''

RTL Boulevard ''RTL Boulevard'' is a daily television programme on the Netherlands, Dutch TV channel RTL 4. It was set up as a television equivalent of a tabloid, with a lot of airy subjects, news items and gossip about the stars, fashion and criminality. ...

''-show that she was recovering from her first pregnancy while the others endured tight rehearsing schedules. It has never been explained why Kross didn't join. Only Philippo, winning contester of ''

The Voice of Holland ''The Voice of Holland'', also known by its acronym ''TVOH'', is a Dutch singing reality competition television series that became a global TV format franchise, created by media tycoon John de Mol Jr. and musician Roel van Velzen in the Net ...

'', was invited as a special guest at the first edition.

Success

In November 2013, the Ladies issued a single, ''I'll Carry You'', as a teaser for their two sold-out concerts on 13 and 14 February 2014. These concerts were successfully recorded for cd- and DVD release. In 2015 and 2016, the Ladies played four shows each year; three in Amsterdam and one in Belgium at

Antwerp Antwerp (; ; ) is a City status in Belgium, city and a Municipalities of Belgium, municipality in the Flemish Region of Belgium. It is the capital and largest city of Antwerp Province, and the third-largest city in Belgium by area at , after ...

's Lotto Arena, featuring

Natalia Druyts Natalia may refer to: People * Natalia (given name), list of people with this name * Natalia (Belgian singer) (born 1980) * Natalia (Greek singer) (born 1983) * Natalia (Spanish singer) (born 1982) Music and film * ''Natalia'' (film), a 198 ...

as a special guest. The 2015 shows were promoted by the single ''Up Till Now''. Oosterhuis was unavailable for the 2016 show in Antwerp because of her pregnancy. In 2017, the Ladies finally sold out all three nights at the Ziggo Dome. Four months later in June, Oosterhuis announced her departure; she wanted to focus on her solo-career. Oosterhuis made a guest appearance at the 5th anniversary shows on 23 and 24 March 2018.Trijntje stopt met Ladies of Soul (nl)
7 June 2017. The remaining Ladies appeared in an

NPO 2 NPO 2 (known as Nederland 2 until 2014) is a Dutch television channel, the sister channel of NPO 1 and NPO 3. It was established on 1 October 1964 at 20:00, initially with a 2.5-hour schedule until 22:30. NPO 2 tends to broadcast arts, culture ...

documentary following their preparations for the 2019 leg, as well as their solo careers.

Further developments

On 12 February 2021 the Ladies released a cover-version of

Leo Sayer Leo Sayer (born Gerard Hugh Sayer, 21 May 1948) is an English-Australian singer and songwriter who has been active since the early 1970s. He has been an Australian citizen and resident since 2009. Sayer launched his career in the United Kingd ...

's ''

When I Need You "When I Need You" is a popular song written by Albert Hammond and Carole Bayer Sager. Its first appearance was as the title track of Hammond's 1976 album ''When I Need You''. Leo Sayer's version, produced by Richard Perry, was a massive hit wor ...

''. It was recorded at their homes due to the corona pandemic. A show was planned for 2 July 2021 (originally 20 November 2020) but rescheduled two more times; to 29 November with an extra date added and to 23 and 24 September 2022. Both shows were ultimately cancelled in July 2022 after Grace got arrested for violent behaviour because of an incident at a supermarket; she was sentenced to community-service. The future looked uncertain till 2 April 2024; the Ladies of Soul staged a press-conference at Amsterdam's Club Dauphine to announce their eagerly-awaited comeback. A brand new show is scheduled for 4 April 2025 at the Ziggo Dome with guest-appearances by

Sister Sledge Sister Sledge was an American musical vocal group from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Formed in 1971, the group consists of sisters Joni, Kim, Debbie, and Kathy Sledge. The siblings achieved international success at the height of the disco era. I ...

Robin S Robin Jackson Maynard (''née'' Stone; born April 27, 1962) is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known for her 1992 debut single " Show Me Love", which peaked at number five on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, as well as its follow-up, " ...

, Shirma Rouse and Giovanca. Grace is not involved after the supermarket-incident, to some fans' dismay. Oosterhuis will rejoin the group after eight years.

Members

(''aka Lady E'') *

(''aka Lady C'') * Berget Lewis (''aka Lady B'') *

(''aka Lady T''; 2012–2017, 2024–)

Former member

(''aka Lady G''; 2012–2024)

Discography

Live albums: * 2014 ''Ziggo Presents: Ladies of Soul Live At The Ziggo Dome'' * 2015 ''Ziggo Presents: Ladies of Soul Live At The Ziggo Dome'' * 2016 ''Ziggo Presents: Ladies of Soul Live At The Ziggo Dome'' * 2017 ''Ziggo Presents: Ladies of Soul Live At The Ziggo Dome'' Singles: * ''I'll Carry You'' - 2013 * ''Up Till Now'' - 2014 * ''Feel Good'' - 2015 * ''Higher'' - 2015 Video/DVD: * 2014 ''Ziggo Presents: Ladies of Soul Live At The Ziggo Dome'' * 2015 ''Ziggo Presents: Ladies of Soul Live At The Ziggo Dome'' * 2016 ''Ziggo Presents: Ladies of Soul Live At The Ziggo Dome'' * 2017 ''Ziggo Presents: Ladies of Soul Live At The Ziggo Dome'' * 2018 ''Ziggo Presents: Ladies of Soul Live At The Ziggo Dome''

References

External links

Official site
{{authority control Dutch girl groups