Eva Maria Simons (born 27 April 1984) is a Dutch singer-songwriter from
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
. She is best known for her song "
Policeman" and collaborations with artists such as
Afrojack
Nick Leonardus van de Wall (; born 9 September 1987), better known as Afrojack, is a Dutch DJ, music producer and remixer from Spijkenisse, South Holland. In 2007, he founded the record label Wall Recordings; his debut album '' Forget the World' ...
; in 2012, Simons broke through internationally after being featured on the
will.i.am single "
This Is Love". During her solo career she has released 12 singles, including "Bludfire" which appeared in November 2015.
Biography
Early life
Raised in
Amsterdam
Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the Capital of the Netherlands, capital and Municipalities of the Netherlands, most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population ...
, Simons grew up in a family of musicians. Her mother is Ingrid Simons, a Dutch backing-singer and vocalist of
Surinamese origin,
who worked with
DJ Paul Elstak and
T-Spoon. Her grandfather was Dutch
accordionist
Accordions (from 19th-century German ''Akkordeon'', from ''Akkord''—"musical chord, concord of sounds") are a family of box-shaped musical instruments of the bellows-driven free-reed aerophone type (producing sound as air flows past a ree ...
Johnny Meijer; her father was a pianist who inspired her to take up the instrument. In her early teens she was part of Jody's Kids, an ensemble that provided vocals for production music. She is a graduate from the
Conservatorium van Amsterdam
The Conservatorium van Amsterdam (CvA) is a Dutch conservatoire of music located in Amsterdam. This school is the music division of the Amsterdam University of the Arts, the city's vocational university of arts. The Conservatorium van Amsterdam ...
. In 2001 she sang on the single "I Believe in Love" by Cooper. After graduating in 2004 she entered the Dutch version of the
Popstars The Rivals competition, where she was selected as one of the five members of the band Raffish. The five-piece had a hit-single with "Plaything" and released the album ''How Raffish Are You?'' in January 2005. Two further singles from the album failed to replicate the success and over the course of the summer of the same year, Simons announced that she was leaving the group.
2009–present
In 2009, a demo of Simons' song "
Silly Boy" was leaked on
YouTube
YouTube is a global online video sharing and social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by Google, and is the second most ...
generating 4 million views. It caused a degree of confusion as some mistook it for an unreleased single by
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
or
Rihanna
Robyn Rihanna Fenty ( ; born February 20, 1988) is a Barbadian singer, actress, and businesswoman. Born in Saint Michael and raised in Bridgetown, Barbados, Rihanna auditioned for American record producer Evan Rogers who invited her to t ...
. Upon confirming her authorship, she signed an initial contract with EMI for the release of the single.
In mid-2010, Eva and Mike Hamilton (also known as the writing team Topline Ink) wrote the song “
Take Over Control”. They played the idea to DJ
Afrojack
Nick Leonardus van de Wall (; born 9 September 1987), better known as Afrojack, is a Dutch DJ, music producer and remixer from Spijkenisse, South Holland. In 2007, he founded the record label Wall Recordings; his debut album '' Forget the World' ...
, who produced the hit single, which spent 6 weeks on the ''
Billboard
A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertis ...
'' Top Dance Airplay Chart, topped iTunes dance charts globally, and gained Platinum status in Australia and certified Gold in the US. The song became a globally dance crossover anthem, propelling the profiles of both Eva and Afrojack worldwide.
In 2011, as well as touring across the globe, Simons went on to sign a major label US deal, and was featured on
LMFAO
LMFAO (an initialism for Laughing My Freaking Ass Off or Laughing My Fucking Ass Off) are an American electronic dance music duo consisting of Redfoo and Sky Blu. Redfoo is the youngest son of Motown Records founder Berry Gordy and Nancy L ...
's track "
Best Night". In addition to this, she also collaborated with
will.i.am on tracks for his solo album ''
#willpower''.
On 20 March 2012 Simons premiered her new single, "
I Don't Like You", which was released in most countries on 26 March under
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture with Atlantic Records of Warner Mu ...
, USA. The track is produced by
Zedd. In May 2012, she joined LMFAO in their North American "Sorry For Party Rocking" tour. On 24 July 2012 Simons released her second single, "Renegade", produced by J.O.B. On 14 May 2012
will.i.am premiered his new single "
This Is Love" which features Simons' vocals. The song went on to become number 1 in multiple countries including the UK, and a top 10 hit in many other countries. In October of the same year Simons received a BMI Songwriting Award for "Take Over Control".
On 21 and 22 April 2013, Simons supported
Beyoncé on
The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour in the Netherlands. Shortly after that was announced in March,
Pepsi
Pepsi is a carbonated soft drink manufactured by PepsiCo. Originally created and developed in 1893 by Caleb Bradham and introduced as Brad's Drink, it was renamed as Pepsi-Cola in 1898, and then shortened to Pepsi in 1961.
History
Pepsi was ...
launched an ad campaign in the Netherlands giving customers a chance to meet Simons when she performed at Beyoncé's tour. A song by Simons named 'Chemistry' used in the advert was released in the Netherlands 22 March 2013.
On 28 January 2014 Simons released a 'bootleg' remix of the
Martin Garrix
Martijn Gerard Garritsen (; born 14 May 1996), known professionally as Martin Garrix and also as Ytram and GRX, is a Dutch disc jockey and music producer who was ranked number one on '' DJ Mag''s Top 100 DJs list for three consecutive years—20 ...
track "
Animals
Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the Kingdom (biology), biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals Heterotroph, consume organic material, Cellular respiration#Aerobic respiration, breathe oxygen, are Motilit ...
". In June 2014 she married her longtime partner Sidney Samson in Amsterdam. That summer Simons also made her acting debut in the Dutch-language film ''Heksen Bestaan Niet'' aimed at the adolescent market.
On 10 April 2015 Simons released the single titled '
Policeman' through Powerhouse Music, a dancehall song produced by Sidney Samson. It was supported by a video directed by Rigel Kilston.
On 23 November 2015 Simons released the single titled Bludfire (feat. Sidney Samson) that received airplay on the Dutch radio stations
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 broadcast ...
and
SLAM!.
Simons released the single "Guaya" via the label Powerhouse Music on 17 July 2017. On 6 April 2018, Simons released her single titled "The One" via 8ball Music, which was produced by
Boaz van de Beatz and Ruud van Schaik. 25 January 2019 saw Simons release her single "Like That" on the dance label
Spinnin' Records
Spinnin' Records is a Dutch electronic music record label founded in 1999 by Eelko van Kooten and Roger de Graaf. In September 2017, Warner Music Group
Warner Music Group Corp. (trade name, d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as ...
. She performed the song live for the first time on
RTL Late Night.
Discography
Albums
Singles
Other appearances
Tours
;Opening act
*''
Sorry For Party Rocking Tour'' (2012)
*''
The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour'' (2013)
*''
Purpose World Tour
The Purpose World Tour was the third concert tour by Canadian singer Justin Bieber, in support of his fourth studio album ''Purpose'' (2015). The tour started on March 9, 2016, in Seattle, Washington, and concluded on July 2, 2017, in London, Un ...
'' (2016)
Awards and nominations
Notes
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Simons, Eva
1984 births
Dutch dance musicians
Dutch people of Surinamese descent
Dutch pop singers
English-language singers from the Netherlands
Living people
Musicians from Amsterdam
21st-century Dutch singers
21st-century Dutch women singers
Women in electronic music
Spanish-language singers of the Netherlands