Gonny Buurmeester (born 14 October 1970), known professionally as Maxine, is a Dutch singer. She is known for representing the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1996 The Eurovision Song Contest 1996 was the 41st edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, held on 18 May 1996 at the in Oslo, Norway. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcaster (NRK) and presented by Ingvild Bryn and ...

, together with Franklin Brown.

Career

Born in 1970, Maxine grew up in

Rotterdam Rotterdam ( , ; ; ) is the second-largest List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city in the Netherlands after the national capital of Amsterdam. It is in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of South Holland, part of the North S ...

and later moved to

Breda Breda ( , , , ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and List of municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the southern part of the Netherlands, located in the Provinces of the Netherlands, province of North Brabant. ...

. At the age of fifteen, she started taking singing lessons in

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 ...

, Belgium. Her first single was a cover of the song "A Love So Beautiful" by

Roy Orbison Roy Kelton Orbison (April 23, 1936 – December 6, 1988) was an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist known for his distinctive and powerful voice, complex song structures, and dark, emotional ballads. Orbison's most successful periods were ...

. In 1996, she entered the ''

Nationaal Songfestival (; ) was an annual music competition, which was originally organised by the Dutch public broadcaster (NTS), and later by the (NOS) and the (TROS). It was staged almost every year between 1956 and 2012 to determine the country's entry for th ...

'' – the Dutch national selection for the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

– together with Franklin Brown. Their entry " De eerste keer" went on to win the competition, giving them the right to represent the Netherlands in the

held in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

, Norway. They finished in seventh place with 78 points. After the contest, Maxine pursued a solo career. In 2000, she was a contestant in '' Big Brother VIPs''.

Discography

Singles

* " De eerste keer" (1996) – with Franklin Brown * "Als je weet wat je wilt" (1996) * "Nooit meer alleen" (1997) * "Waanzin" (1997) * "African Dream" (1999) * "Free (Let It Be)" (2003) – with

Stuart Stuart may refer to: People *Stuart (name), a given name and surname (and list of people with the name) * Clan Stuart of Bute, a Scottish clan *House of Stuart, a royal house of Scotland and England Places Australia Generally *Stuart Highway, ...

* "Fuel to Fire" (2003) – with Stuart * "Steeds weer" (2007) – with Franklin Brown * "Balsem voor het hart" (2012) – with Franklin Brown

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Maxine 1970 births Living people Musicians from Rotterdam 20th-century Dutch women singers 21st-century Dutch women singers 21st-century Dutch singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants