François (Frans) Bauer (born 30 December 1973 in

Roosendaal Roosendaal () is both a city and a municipality in the southern Netherlands, in the province of North Brabant. Towns/villages of the municipality * Roosendaal (population: 66,760) * Wouw (4,920) * Heerle (1,900) * Nispen (1,440) * Wouwse ...

as François van Dooren) is a Dutch singer of "

levenslied Levenslied (Dutch, literally "life song" or "song about life") is a sentimental Dutch-language subgenre of popular music. ''Levenslied'' lyrics can be sweet or bitter, light and sentimental, but also reflective and dark, about subjects such as love, ...

" (Dutch Schlager).Official site.
/ref>

Biography

Frans Bauer was born as François van Dooren, after his mother Wies van Dooren who wasn't married to his father Chris Bauer (1944-2015) at the time. From an early age, Frans Bauer was determined to become a singer. His great idols are

Julio Iglesias Julio José Iglesias de la Cueva (; born 23 September 1943) is a Spanish singer, songwriter and former professional footballer. Iglesias is recognized as the most commercially successful Spanish singer in the world and one of the top record ...

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

and Koos Alberts. By the latter, he was sometimes brought on stage to sing along with ''Ik verscheurde je foto'' (''I tore up your photo''). Bauer's own musical career was shaped in 1987, when he recorded his first single ''Ben je jong'' (''Are you young'') under the supervision of

producers Producer or producers may refer to: Occupations *Producer (agriculture), a farm operator *A stakeholder of economic production *Film producer, supervises the making of films **Executive producer, contributes to a film's budget and usually does not ...

Riny Schreijenberg and

Emile Hartkamp Emil or Emile may refer to: Literature *''Emile, or On Education'' (1762), a treatise on education by Jean-Jacques Rousseau * ''Émile'' (novel) (1827), an autobiographical novel based on Émile de Girardin's early life *''Emil and the Detective ...

. Bauer grew to be a local celebrity in the vicinity of the town where he lives, Fijnaart. He got his first national celebrity through the television programme ''

All you need is love "All You Need Is Love" is a song by the English rock band the Beatles that was released as a non-album single in July 1967. It was written by John Lennon and credited to the Lennon–McCartney partnership. The song was Britain's contribution t ...

'' (1991), in which, with the permission of his girlfriend Mariska, he got to select two female fans (who both coincidentally are named Diana) to go out with for an evening. The television show made Bauer famous, though, mostly because of the denial of national radio stations, it was only in 1994 that Bauer achieved his first hit called ''Als sterren aan de hemel staan'' (''If stars are in the heavens'') With his German Schlager album, ''Weil Ich Dich Liebe'' (''Because I love you''), Bauer also conquered the German market. In the same year, ''De Regenboog'' (''The Rainbow''), a duet with Dutch singer

Marianne Weber Marianne Weber (born Marianne Schnitger; 2 August 1870 – 12 March 1954) was a German sociologist, women's rights activist and the wife of Max Weber. Life Childhood, 1870–1893 Marianne Schnitger was born on 2 August 1870 in Oerlinghausen ...

reached number 1 in the Dutch charts. The year 1997 for Bauer however ended tragically: two members of his band, returning from a concert, died in a traffic incident. Thanks to his fans Frans Bauer became more and more popular. In March 1998 he gave his first series of concerts in Ahoy. Record companies offered millions for a contract. In 2003 the reality soap ''De Bauers'', about the family life of Frans and Mariska, was a much watched television programme. Bauer is also ambassador of Villa Pardoes, for children with life-threatening diseases. In 2004, Bauer, because of his charity work and singing, was appointed to

Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau The Order of Orange-Nassau ( nl, Orde van Oranje-Nassau, links=no) is a civil and military Dutch order of chivalry founded on 4 April 1892 by the queen regent, Emma of the Netherlands. The order is a chivalric order open to "everyone who has ...

. In the same year, he won the '' Gouden Televizier-ring'', a Dutch television prize, awarded by the public. In 2014 Bauer was the main character in the book 'Heb je even voor mij?' written by Wim Hendrikse. Since 2019, Bauer has been one of the coaches in the Dutch television show ''

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

''.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bauer, Frans 1973 births Living people Dutch levenslied singers English-language singers from the Netherlands German-language singers Knights of the Order of Orange-Nassau Musicians from North Brabant People from Moerdijk People from Roosendaal 21st-century Dutch male singers 21st-century Dutch singers