Udo Mechels, born in
Brussels
Brussels (french: Bruxelles or ; nl, Brussel ), officially the Brussels-Capital Region (All text and all but one graphic show the English name as Brussels-Capital Region.) (french: link=no, Région de Bruxelles-Capitale; nl, link=no, Bruss ...
on 10 May 1976, is a Belgian singer commonly known simply as Udo. He won the first season of the
Belgian version of
''The X Factor'' in 2005.
Biography
In 2003, Udo participated in the first season of ''Belgian Idols'', but lost in the semi-finals to Chris D. Morton and Tom Olaerts. In 2005, he was a contestant on the Belgian edition of ''The X-Factor'', and won in December 2005.
Udo released his debut album ''U-Turn'' and his #1 debut single "
Isn't It Time", a cover of the song by
The Babys, in 2006. He received a
gold record
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile meta ...
for ''U-Turn'' during the TV programme ''Tien Om Te Zien'' on 4 July 2007.
In 2006 Udo also received a
TMF Award
The TMF Awards were an annual television awards show broadcast live on TMF (The Music Factory).
The first Dutch TMF Awards were held in 1995, as a brand extension to the recently launched local Dutch music channel TMF. The show was very small an ...
for "Best New Artist" and the Radio 2 trophy for "Breakthrough of the Year".
Udo recorded a cover of
Clouseau
Inspector Jacques Clouseau (), later granted the rank of Chief Inspector, is a fictional character in Blake Edwards' farcical '' The Pink Panther'' series. He is portrayed by Peter Sellers in the original series, and also by Alan Arkin in ...
's song "
Heb Ik Ooit Gezegd
"Have I Told You Lately" is a song written and recorded by Northern Irish singer and songwriter Van Morrison for his nineteenth studio album ''Avalon Sunset'' (1989). It is a romantic ballad that is often played at weddings, although it was o ...
" (itself a cover based on the
Van Morrison
Sir George Ivan Morrison (born 31 August 1945), known professionally as Van Morrison, is a Northern Irish singer-songwriter and multi-instrumentalist whose recording career spans seven decades. He has won two Grammy Awards.
As a teenager in ...
song "
Have I Told You Lately"), for the album ''Braveau Clouseau'' (2007).
The album, a
tribute
A tribute (; from Latin ''tributum'', "contribution") is wealth, often in kind, that a party gives to another as a sign of submission, allegiance or respect. Various ancient states exacted tribute from the rulers of land which the state conq ...
to Clouseau, topped the Belgium (Flanders)
Ultratop 200 Albums chart in September 2007
and was certified
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au (from la, aurum) and atomic number 79. This makes it one of the higher atomic number elements that occur naturally. It is a bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile ...
in Belgium on 22 September 2007. Udo performed the song live in 2011 at a concert in
Lier, Belgium
Lier (; french: Lierre, ) is a municipality located in the Belgium, Belgian province of Antwerp (province), Antwerp. It is composed of the city of Lier proper and the village of Koningshooikt. The city centre is surrounded by the river ''Nete'', a ...
; Alexandra Soto of ''
Gazet van Antwerpen'' described Udo's performance of "Heb ik ooit gezegd" as "beautiful".
On 30 March 2007, Udo performed "Ik Mis Je Zo" by
Will Tura on the Flemish television show ''
Zo Is Er Maar Één
Zo or ZO may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Kamen Rider ZO'', a 1993 Japanese tokusatsu movie
* ''Zo'' (album), an album by jazz pianist Matthew Shipp
Ethnography
* Zo people, a group of indigenous tribe in Burma and northeast India
** Zo ...
'' and won. Udo released this song on 19 April 2007 with "Tu Me Manques", the French version of this song, accompanying the single. He received a gold record for this song during Tien Om Te Zien on 5 September 2007.
His next album, ''Good Things Coming'' was released in January 2008.
Udo has his own live-band, Udo Live!, which first performed on 28 March 2007 at De Zuiderkroon in Antwerp. The live band consists of
guitarist
A guitarist (or a guitar player) is a person who plays the guitar. Guitarists may play a variety of guitar family instruments such as classical guitars, acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and bass guitars. Some guitarists accompany themselve ...
Chris Van Nauw, Roberto Mercurio playing
bass guitar
The bass guitar, electric bass or simply bass (), is the lowest-pitched member of the string family. It is a plucked string instrument similar in appearance and construction to an electric or an acoustic guitar, but with a longer neck and s ...
, David Demeyere on
drums
A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair of matching drumsticks ...
, Jan Samyn
keyboardist
A keyboardist or keyboard player is a musician who plays keyboard instruments. Until the early 1960s musicians who played keyboards were generally classified as either pianists or organists. Since the mid-1960s, a plethora of new musical ins ...
, and Marva Nielsen and Dany Caen providing backup vocals.
In 2014 he participated in the Belgium national selection for
Eurovision Song Contest 2014
The Eurovision Song Contest 2014 was the 59th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, following the country's victory at the with the song "Only Teardrops" by Emmelie de Forest. Organised by the European B ...
with the song, "Hero (In Flanders Fields)", placing sixth.
Udo wrote and co-wrote many songs for other artists in Belgium and abroad.
[https://songwriterudomechels.wordpress.com/ ]
Discography
Albums
* 2006: ''U-Turn'' (also available as a
limited edition
The terms special edition, limited edition, and variants such as deluxe edition, or collector's edition, are used as a marketing incentive for various kinds of products, originally published products related to the arts, such as books, prints, r ...
)
* 2007: ''U-Turn'' Limited Edition with Ik Mis Je Zo
* 2008: ''Good Things Coming''
* 2010: ''Barrières''
* 2017: ''Over Prinsen, Over Draken''
* 2018: ''Kerst''
Singles
* 2005: "
Isn't It Time"
* 2006: "Winter in July"
* 2006: "Back Against the Wall"
* 2006: "Eyes of a Stranger" (available by download only)
* 2007: "Ik Mis Je Zo / Tu Me Manques A Mourir"
* 2008: "You've Got a Good Thing Comin'"
* 2008: "Beautiful"
* 2008: "Man I Feel Like a Woman!" (titeltrack "LouisLouise")
* 2010: "Voorbij"
* 2010: "Teruggaan in de tijd"
* 2010: "Dansen Op U2"
* 2011: "Verloren hart, verloren droom"
* 2011: "Ik Kom Naar Huis"
* 2012: "You're So Hot"
* 2013: "Magie"
* 2013: "De zon, de zon"
* 2014: "De Prinstepolste"
* 2014: "Hero"
* 2014: "Broken Smile" (Udo & Sil)
* 2014: "Zomer In Je Hart"
* 2015: "Get Outta My Life"
* 2015: "Zielsveel Van Jou"
* 2016: "Flits"
* 2017: "Zomer In Je Hart"
* 2017: "Wat Als Je God Zag"
* 2018: "Hier Niet Ver Vandaan"
* 2018: "Een Witte Kerstmis Dit Jaar"
* 2019: "Kerstmis In De Haan Aan Zee"
* 2020: "Ne Partez Pas Sans Moi"
* 2020: "Au-delà"
* 2020: "Viens Danser"
* 2020: "Hey"
* 2020: "Donne-moi ton coeur"
* 2020: "Fever"
References
External links
Official websitefacebookinstagram
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mechels, Udo
1976 births
Living people
English-language singers from Belgium
Dutch-language singers of Belgium
Musicians from Brussels
Belgian pop singers
The X Factor winners
The X Factor contestants
21st-century Belgian male singers