Sharon den Adel | |
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![]() Den Adel at Wacken Open Air 2019 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Sharon Janny den Adel |
Born | Waddinxveen, South Holland, Netherlands | 12 July 1974
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Occupations |
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Years active | 1996–present |
Labels | |
Member of | |
Partner(s) | Robert Westerholt |
Sharon Janny den Adel (born 12 July 1974) is a Dutch singer who is the lead vocalist of the symphonic metal band Within Temptation. She has been performing since age 14, and co-founded Within Temptation with partner Robert Westerholt in 1996. She was also elected to be the Dutch chairperson of the jury for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018. [1]
Sharon Janny den Adel was born on 12 July 1974 in Waddinxveen. [2] She lived in Indonesia for five years as a child. The Balinese dancers that she saw during that time inspired her dance movements on stage. [3] After returning from Suriname to the Netherlands, she was bullied by classmates because of her different clothing style, hairstyle, and darkened skin. [4] From the age of 14, she performed with various bands, including a blues rock band called Kashiro. [5] As their partnership grew, in 1996 they came to form a band called The Portal, though the name was changed to Within Temptation before their debut recording. [2] [6] Den Adel has a bachelor's degree in fashion design. [7]
Sharon never formally studied singing and stated in a 2006 interview that she had sung a short while in a choir and was mostly self-taught. [8] She used to practice alone three or four hours per day. [9] She has been described as possessing a mezzo-soprano voice. [10] [11] [12]
Robert Westerholt and den Adel formed Within Temptation (initially called The Portal, though the name was changed before their first recording) in 1996. Westerholt had introduced den Adel to his music when he performed with the band The Circle, which was sonically similar to the music that Within Temptation would make. [13] [2] She has defined their work as epic and cinematic. [14] Her vocals play a major role in the band's sound, despite having never received formal vocal training. [13]
Before Within Temptation became famous, she worked for a fashion company, leaving after the band found success with their hit single "Ice Queen". She utilizes her fashion expertise by designing her stage costumes and the band's merchandise. [15] About.com described den Adel as a "versatile and skilled singer who is equally adept at singing powerfully with a full orchestra and choir as she is at singing quietly and emotionally with just a piano." [16] When asked if she prefers to sing in Dutch or English, den Adel said that she favors the latter because "Dutch just doesn't fit to our music style. It is also not the nicest language to sing in. Italian or Spanish would then be better options." [17]
The band were invited several times to compete at the Eurovision Song Contest as the Dutch representatives, but they have declined every time since they find it not the best place for a metal band to present themselves. In 2018, den Adel was then selected as a juror for that year's edition. [1] [18]
On 9 November 2017, den Adel announced on the Dutch TV-show RTL Late Night, that on the following day 10 November 2017, the first single for her solo project My Indigo, also entitled "My Indigo", would be released. [19] [20] According to den Adel, the project was originally not intended to be released to the general public as it was for her a form to deal with personal problems, and also due to a writer's block for composing for Within Temptation. After two years composing for herself and with regained inspiration to write for Within Temptation, den Adel decided to share the project publicly as a separate project named "My Indigo". [21] [22] The self titled first album was released on 20 April 2018.
Besides her main work on Within Temptation, den Adel has performed on-stage and in the studio with several notable artists from varied musical genres, including Tarja Turunen, Armin van Buuren, After Forever, De Heideroosjes, Oomph!, Delain, Agua de Annique, Anneke van Giersbergen and Evanescence. Before forming Within Temptation, den Adel worked together with Voyage, formed by some of the future Within Temptation members, on the track "Frozen" (not to be confused with the Within Temptation song of the same title).
The vocalist took part in several rock and metal opera projects, singing the part of Anna Held in two of Tobias Sammet's Avantasia releases, The Metal Opera and The Metal Opera Part II , later also singing the part of the "Muse" in the 2016 album Ghostlights . She also took the part of the "Indian" on Ayreon's rock opera Into the Electric Castle . Den Adel then collaborated on two of Timo Tolkki's projects, being a guest vocalist on Timo Tolkki's Avalon track "Shine", for the work The Land of New Hope , and was featured in his solo project track "Are You the One?".
Within the symphonic metal scene, den Adel collaborated with After Forever on the track "Beyond Me", released on the album Prison of Desire , performing the song live with the band at selected concerts. [23] She was part of a duet with Marko Hietala on the track "No Compliance" for Delain's album Lucidity , also joining the band on selected live performances of the song. [24] Den Adel was one of the guest vocalists invited for Tarja Turunen's rendition of Feliz Navidad, which featured an ensemble of names from the heavy metal scene and was released as a benefit single. [25]
Also venturing on other musical genres, den Adel co-wrote and recorded the vocals for the track "In and Out of Love" on Armin van Buuren's 2008 trance album Imagine , which earned them awards for "Best Progressive House/Trance Track" and "Best video" on the International Dance Music Awards. [26] They performed a special version of the song alongside the Metropole Orchestra at the 2010 edition of the Golden Harp gala ceremony, where van Buuren was awarded for his musical work. [27] At the 2009 edition of the Night of the Proms, den Adel made a guest appearance during John Miles' performance of "Stairway to Heaven". [28] At the end of 2012, den Adel made an appearance on a charity campaign made by a Belgian radio station to raise money for children singing the chorus of the song het Meneer Konijn lied among other Belgian celebrities. [29] The song later topped the Belgian charts. [30] In 2014, den Adel collaborated with Dutch rapper Ali B on the track "Hier". [31]
In 2020, Sharon was asked by American metal band Evanescence to collaborate with them for their single "Use My Voice". Along with lead singer Amy Lee, other musicians joined in on the song such as rock vocalists Lzzy Hale, Taylor Momsen, Deena Jakoub and many more as well as Lindsey Stirling. [32] During the co-headlining Worlds Collide tour, den Adel joined the band on stage to perform the song at selected dates. [33]
Den Adel and long-term partner and bandmate Robert Westerholt have three children together. Their first child was born in December 2005.[ citation needed ] In February 2009, Den Adel announced that she was pregnant with her second child, [34] who was born in June 2009. [35] In November 2010, she announced that she was expecting her third child. The birth of her third son was announced in March 2011. [36] Den Adel and Westerholt eventually married in 2018.
Year | Title | Main or other artist(s) | Album |
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1996 | "Frozen" | Voyage | Embrace |
1997 | "Hear" | Silicon Head | Bash |
1998 | "Isis & Osiris" | Ayreon | Into the Electric Castle |
"Amazing Flight" | |||
"The Decision Tree" | |||
"Tunnel of Light" | |||
"The Garden of Emotions" | |||
"Cosmic Fusion" | |||
"Another Time, Another Space" | |||
1999 | "Regular Day in Bosnia" | De Heideroosjes | Schizo |
2000 | "Beyond Me" | After Forever | Prison of Desire |
"Farewell" | Avantasia | The Metal Opera The Metal Opera: Pt 1 & 2 – Gold Edition [A] | |
"Behold" | Orphanage | Inside | |
"Fly" | Paralysis | Architecture of the Imagination | |
"Architecture of the Imagination" | |||
2001 | "Last Call to Humanity" | De Heideroosjes | Fast Forward |
2002 | "Time" | Aemen | Fooly Dressed |
"Waltz" | |||
"Into the Unknown" | Avantasia | The Metal Opera Part II The Metal Opera: Pt 1 & 2 – Gold Edition [A] | |
"Are You the One?" | Timo Tolkki | Hymn to Life | |
2005 | "Candy" | De Heideroosjes | — [B] |
2006 | "No Compliance" | Delain (also featuring Marko Hietala) | Lucidity |
2008 | "In and Out of Love" | Armin van Buuren | Imagine |
2009 | "Somewhere" [C] | Agua de Annique | Pure Air |
"Stupid" | Chris Jones | — | |
"Stairway to Heaven" | John Miles, Katona Twins | — [D] | |
2010 | "Land Ahead" | Oomph! | Truth Or Dare |
2011 | "Keep Breathing" | Ruud Jolie | For All We Know |
2012 | "Nostradamus" | Coeverduh | Wesley Against Society |
"Between Two Worlds And I" | Leander Rising | Heart Tamer | |
"Het Meneer Konijn Lied" | Various artists | De Vrienden Van Meneer Konijn | |
2013 | "Shine" | Avalon | The Land of New Hope |
"No Compliance" | Delain | — [E] | |
"Restless" | — [E] | ||
2014 | "Hier" | Ali B | Ali B en de Muziekkaravaan |
2016 | "Isle of Evermore" | Avantasia | Ghostlights |
"Paradise (What About Us?)" (new mix) | Tarja Turunen | The Brightest Void | |
2017 | "Feliz Navidad" | Feliz Navidad | |
2019 | "Sirens" | Saint Asonia | Flawed Design |
2020 | "Use My Voice" | Evanescence | The Bitter Truth |
2022 | "Faded Out" | Asking Alexandria | The Retaliators (Music from the Motion Picture) and See What's on the Inside (Deluxe edition) |
Year | Title | Album |
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2018 | "Just What I Need Tonight" | Liefde Voor Muziek (Live) |
"Virgin State Of Mind" | ||
"Things That I Should Have Done" | ||
Within TemptationGuest appearances
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Awards | ||||
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Year | Award | Category | Nominated Work | Result [26] [39] [40] |
2009 | International Dance Music Awards | Best Progressive House/Trance Track | In and Out of Love (Armin van Buuren feat. Sharon den Adel) | Won |
Best video | Won | |||
2011 | Loudwire Music Awards | Rock Goddess of the Year | Sharon den Adel | Won |
2014 | Won |
Within Temptation is a Dutch symphonic metal band founded in April 1996 by vocalist Sharon den Adel and guitarist Robert Westerholt. They have been classified by critics as gothic metal and symphonic metal, although each album contains other influences outside these genres. Critics have noticed the band's experimentation and musical versatility. In an interview, den Adel said they fell into a symphonic rock genre with various influences. In another interview, den Adel stated that "We consider ourselves more an atmospheric melodic symphonic metal/rock band... In my opinion, we are not a gothic band but we have gothic elements".
Enter is the debut studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation, released by DSFA Records in 1997. After the band became more widely known in foreign markets, it was re-released by the independent label Season of Mist in North America in 2007, and by Nuclear Blast in 2014. It was produced by Lex Vogelaar, founder of the Dutch death metal band Orphanage, and had to recorded, completed and mixed within three weeks.
Robert Westerholt is a Dutch musician, known as the guitarist and co-founder of the symphonic metal band Within Temptation. He writes music for the band, which is fronted by his partner and band vocalist Sharon den Adel. Westerholt used to work in human resource management before his career with Within Temptation.
The Silent Force is the third studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation, released on 15 November 2004, by GUN Records. On 5 August 2008, The Silent Force along with Mother Earth were released in the United States by Roadrunner Records. This album is the first to feature Ruud Jolie on lead guitar, as well as Martijn Spierenburg on keyboards, after Martijn Westerholt had to leave the band due to illness. It is also the first to feature Daniel Gibson as their producer. The album deepened the band symphonic approach, this time featuring more atmospheric songs that resemble the predominant fantasistic lyrics, inspired both by literature and the band members personal lives.
The Unforgiving is the fifth studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation, released by Roadrunner Records on 29 March 2011. It was a concept album as one part of a transmedia storytelling project, which accompanied the release of three short films and a series of six comic books. The album followed the band's pattern of incorporating new musical elements on each release, this time marking a major transition point for the band and featuring more pop and 80s influences. Lyrically, the band focused on telling a story with specific characters, also present in the films and comic books.
"Paradise " is a single and studio EP by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation from their sixth studio album Hydra. It was released on 27 September 2013 with three songs from the upcoming album in their demo versions and also accompanying a music video. The song features former Nightwish singer Tarja Turunen. Beside its digital release, the EP was also released as a physical CD in Japan. A new mix of the song was later released in Turunen's album The Brightest Void.
Hydra is the sixth studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released on January 31, 2014 in Europe and on February 4, 2014 in North America. The album contains guest appearances by singer Howard Jones, rapper Xzibit, metal vocalist Tarja Turunen (ex-Nightwish) and alternative rock singer Dave Pirner. The first single, "Paradise ", was released on September 27, 2013, and featured Turunen as guest vocalist. The second single, "Dangerous", was released on December 20, in which Jones provided the male vocals.
My Indigo is a musical project by Dutch singer and songwriter Sharon den Adel. The project was announced in late 2017.
"My Indigo" is the first single of Dutch singer and songwriter Sharon den Adel musical project My Indigo. The song was announced on 9 November 2017, by den Adel at the Dutch talkshow RTL Late Night, and officially released on 10 November 2017, via a Facebook announcement.
My Indigo is the debut studio album by Dutch singer and songwriter Sharon den Adel with her solo musical project My Indigo. It was released on 20 April 2018. The track listing of the debut album was released on 31 January 2018 by Within Temptation fansite DontTearMeDown.
Resist is the seventh studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was scheduled to be released worldwide on 14 December 2018, but later postponed to 1 February 2019. The album contains guest appearances by singers Jacoby Shaddix, Anders Fridén and Jasper Steverlinck (Arid) and was produced by their longtime producer Daniel Gibson. It marks the longest time gap between the band's studio releases, the last one being issued in 2014. The album followed the band's pattern of incorporating new musical elements on each release, this time featuring more electronic, pop, and industrial influences. Lyrically, the band opted to focus more on political themes, a subject not explicitly approached by them on previous records.
The Resist Tour was a concert tour by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation, in support of their seventh album Resist which was released on 1 February 2019. The tour began on 11 October 2018 in Krasnoyarsk, Russia, and visited seventeen countries in Europe. The supporting acts for the first leg were bands Beyond the Black and Ego Kill Talent. For 2019, the band toured North America alongside In Flames and performed at both select European summer festivals and special open air shows with selected guests. The band was scheduled to perform a second round of summer festivals in 2020, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic the festivals had to be cancelled.
"The Reckoning" is the first single from Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation's seventh studio album Resist, and features guest vocals from Jacoby Shaddix of Papa Roach. It was released worldwide via digital download and streaming on 14 September 2018. A promotional lyric video accompanied the release. The official music video for the song was released on September 24. The video was nominated for an Edison Award for Best Video.
Worlds Collide was a concert tour co-headlined by American rock band Evanescence and Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. The tour was originally scheduled to begin in spring 2020, however, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the safety measures that had to be subsequently undertaken, including the restriction of concerts, the tour had to be postponed. The first postponement occurred on March 13, 2020 and, as the pandemic persisted, a second occurred on June 22, 2020, a third on April 13, 2021, and a fourth on February 11, 2022. With the safety measures lifted, the tour was able to start on November 9, 2022, in Munich, and concluded on December 8, 2022, in Berlin.
"Entertain You" is a song recorded by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was self-released as a single worldwide via digital download and streaming on 8 May 2020, and later added to the tracklist of their eighth studio album, Bleed Out. The song was produced by Within Temptation, their longtime producer Daniel Gibson, who also provided vocals for the song, and Mathijs Tieken.
"Shed My Skin" is a song recorded by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation in collaboration with German metalcore band annisokay. It was released as a single worldwide via digital download and streaming on 25 June 2021. The song was produced by their longtime producer Daniel Gibson, with Mathijs Tieken and Within Temptation serving as additional producers.
"Don't Pray for Me" is a song recorded by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released worldwide as a single on 8 July 2022 via digital download and streaming and as part of an EP containing the previous three independent singles released by the band and their respective instrumental versions. A limited edition on vinyl was also released on 15 July. The song was produced by their long-time producer Daniel Gibson, with Mathijs Tieken and Within Temptation serving as additional producers.
Bleed Out is the eighth studio album by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released on 20 October 2023. It is produced by their longtime producer Daniel Gibson, alongside Mathijs Tieken and Within Temptation. The album marks the first time the band opted for releasing a full record without the support of a major record label. Musically, the record incorporates elements from symphonic metal, gothic metal, metalcore, and djent. Lyrically, the band approached themes related to freedom. They addressed subjects such as war, oppression, women's rights, religion, bullying, and inner-struggles.
"Ritual" is a song recorded by Dutch symphonic metal band Within Temptation. It was released worldwide as a single on 29 September 2023 via digital download and streaming to promote their eight studio album, Bleed Out, and as part of an EP containing all the previous independent singles released by the band that also comprised the album. A limited edition of 666 individually numbered copies was also released on vinyl. The song was produced by their long-time producer Daniel Gibson, with Mathijs Tieken and Within Temptation serving as additional producers.