Claude Kiambe (born 16 September 2003), known simply as Claude (; ), is a Congolese-born Dutch singer-songwriter. His debut single " Ladada (Mon dernier mot)" topped the

Dutch Singles Chart The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, w ...

in 2022, followed by a further four charting singles. His debut album, , was released in 2024. He represented the Netherlands in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2025 The Eurovision Song Contest 2025 was the 69th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Basel, Switzerland, following the country's victory at the with the song "The Code (Nemo song), The Code" by Nemo (singer), Nemo. Organised ...

with the song " C'est la vie".

Early life and education

Kiambe was born on 16 September 2003 in Boma,

Democratic Republic of the Congo The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), also known as the DR Congo, Congo-Kinshasa, or simply the Congo (the last ambiguously also referring to the neighbouring Republic of the Congo), is a country in Central Africa. By land area, it is t ...

. His mother fled to the Netherlands with him and his siblings when he was nine years old, first living in an asylum center in

Alkmaar Alkmaar () is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Holland. Alkmaar is well known fo ...

. The family later moved to

Enkhuizen Enkhuizen () is a municipality and a city in the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland and the region of West-Frisia. History Enkhuizen, like Hoorn and Amsterdam, was one of the harbour-towns of the VOC, from where overseas trade ...

, where he obtained his HAVO high school diploma. He later studied hotel management, but discontinued the studies. He speaks Dutch, French and English.

Career

In 2019, Kiambe took part in the eighth season of ''

The Voice Kids ''The Voice Kids'' is a version of '' The Voice'' TV series franchise in which children participate. Versions The first such variation was '' The Voice Kids'' from the Netherlands, which was followed by other international variants: : Franchise ...

'', where he was eliminated in the battle stage. The following year, he won the casting show ''Are You Next?'', signing a contract with the record label Cloud 9. Kiambe released his debut single " Ladada (Mon dernier mot)" in 2022, which topped the

Dutch Top 40 The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore radio, offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" ...

. The song earned him multiple awards, such as the 3FM Award for Best Newcomer and the Qmusic Artist of the Year award. He has cited

Stromae Paul Van Haver (; born 12 March 1985), better known by his stage name Stromae (), is a Belgian singer, rapper, songwriter and record producer. He is best known for his music, which is a blend of hip-hop and electronic music styles. Stromae came ...

and

Lewis Capaldi Lewis Marc Capaldi (born 7 October 1996) is a Scottish singer-songwriter and musician. In March 2019, his single "Someone You Loved" (2018) topped the UK Singles Chart where it remained for seven weeks, and in November 2019, it reached number ...

as inspirations for his music. He was scheduled to open

's 2023 concerts at the

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 ...

before they were cancelled due to Stromae's health problems. On 19 December 2024, Dutch broadcaster

AVROTROS AVROTROS () is a Dutch radio and television broadcaster that is part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. It was founded in 2014 as the result of a merger between the Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep (AVRO) and the TROS, Televisie Radio Omro ...

announced that Kiambe would be representing the Netherlands in the

. His entry, "", was released on 27 February 2025.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

Awards and nominations

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Claude 2003 births 21st-century Dutch male singers 21st-century Dutch singer-songwriters Living people Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to the Netherlands Dutch pop singers English-language singers from the Netherlands French-language singers of the Netherlands Musicians from North Holland People from Enkhuizen Eurovision Song Contest entrants