Stella Maessen | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Background information | |
| Born | 6 August 1953 Zandvoort, Netherlands |
| Origin | Harderwijk and Veghel Netherlands |
| Genres | Pop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer |
| Associated acts | Hearts of Soul Dream Express |
Stella Maessen (born 6 August 1953 in Zandvoort, North Holland) is a Dutch singer, best known for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contests of 1970, 1977 and 1982
In 1969 Maessen and her older sisters Patricia and Bianca formed a group, calling themselves Hearts of Soul. Following several single releases, and a No. 11 chart hit with "Fat Jack", [1] they took part in the 1970 Dutch Eurovision selection, where their song "Waterman" ("Aquarius") earned a narrow victory, qualifying them for the 15th Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 21 March on home ground in Amsterdam. [2] Technically, groups of more than two singers were still barred from Eurovision at that time, so to get around this they billed themselves as 'Patricia and the Hearts of Soul', implying that Stella and Bianca were backing singers to Patricia's lead. In a small field of 12, "Waterman" placed seventh. [3]
In 1973, the Maessens moved to Belgium, where they became in-demand backing vocalists. Bianca had married a Belgian singer, Luc Smets, and the four decided to form a group called Dream Express, enjoying immediate success with a single, also called "Dream Express", which reached No. 2 on the Flemish chart in 1976. In 1977, Dream Express entered, and won, the Belgian Eurovision selection with the song "A Million in One, Two, Three". [4] Sung in English, it was a very contemporary track which was widely regarded as one of the favourites for that year's Eurovision, held in London on 7 May. Its seventh-place finish of 17 entrants was therefore considered something of a disappointment. [5] Patricia left Dream Express soon afterwards, and the others carried on as LBS before disbanding in 1981.
In 1981, now billed simply as Stella, Maessen participated in the Belgian selection as a solo artist with the song "Veel te veel" ("Much Too Many"), which reached the final but failed to win. [6] She returned in 1982 with the French language song "Si tu aimes ma musique" ("If You Like My Music"), which was successful and went on to the 27th Eurovision in Harrogate, England on 24 April. [7] Although that year's contest proved to be a one-horse race (with a runaway German victory), Maessen managed a creditable fourth place of 18 entries, also achieving the rare distinction of receiving points from every other participating country. [8]
Maessen continued performing and recording until 1988, when her last single, "Flashlight", was released.
In November 2010 Stella released a new single with her two sisters Bianca and Doreen Maessen as "Hearts of Soul": "Suddenly You".
The Eurovision Song Contest 1977 was the 22nd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in London, United Kingdom, following Brotherhood of Man's win at the 1976 contest in The Hague, Netherlands with the song "Save Your Kisses for Me". It was the sixth time the contest took place in the UK, after 1960, 1963, 1968, 1972, and 1974. The contest was held at the Wembley Conference Centre on Saturday 7 May 1977, marking the first time the event took place in the month of May since 1956. The show was hosted by Angela Rippon.
Gracia Arabella Baur is a German singer and songwriter. She rose to fame as a finalist on the debut season of the television series Deutschland sucht den Superstar, the German Idol series adaptation, placing fifth.
"A Million in One, Two, Three" was the Belgian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1977, performed in English by Dream Express, a band consisting of Luc Smets and the three sisters Maessen; Bianca, Patricia and Stella. In 1970 the Maessen sisters had represented their native Netherlands with "Waterman", then under the group moniker Hearts of Soul.
"Si tu aimes ma musique" was the Belgian entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1982, performed in French by Stella. Stella had previously competed for the Netherlands in 1970 with her sisters in a group called Hearts of Soul, and in 1977 for Belgium in the group Dream Express.
"Waterman" ("Aquarius") was the Dutch entry in the Eurovision Song Contest 1970, performed in Dutch by Hearts of Soul, a trio consisting of the Dutch sisters Patricia, Bianca and Stella Maessen.
Hearts of Soul was formed by three Dutch Indonesian sisters from Harderwijk: Bianca, Stella and Patricia Maessen (1952–1996). They later moved to Veghel, also in the Netherlands.
Tonia is a Belgian singer, best known for her participation in the 1966 Eurovision Song Contest.
Lize Marke is a Belgian singer, best known for her participation in the 1965 Eurovision Song Contest.
Lily Castel is a Belgian singer, best known for her participation with Jacques Raymond in the 1971 Eurovision Song Contest.
Hoffmann & Hoffmann were a German singing duo consisting of brothers Michael Hoffmann and Günter Hoffmann. They had several hits in Germany and are known for their participation in the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest.
Ben Cramer is a Dutch singer who represented the Netherlands in the 1973 Eurovision Song Contest.
Linda Williams is a Dutch singer, best known for her participation in the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest.
Maribelle is a Dutch singer, best known for her participation in the 1984 Eurovision Song Contest.
Joël Prévost is a French singer, best known for his participation in the 1978 Eurovision Song Contest.
Belgium was represented by Dream Express, with the song '"A Million in One, Two, Three", at the 1977 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in London on 7 May.
Belgium was represented by Ann Christy, with the song '"Gelukkig zijn", at the 1975 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 22 March in Stockholm. Christy was the winner of the Belgian national final for the contest, held on 1 March; she had previously taken part in the Belgian preselections of 1970, 1971 and 1973. Future Belgian representative Micha Marah (1979) also took part.
Belgium was represented by Dutch singer Stella Maessen, with the song '"Si tu aimes ma musique", at the 1982 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Harrogate, England on 24 April.
Belgium was represented by Emly Starr, with the song '"Samson", at the 1981 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Dublin on 4 April.
The Netherlands was represented by three-sister group Hearts of Soul, with the song '"Waterman", at the 1970 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place in Amsterdam on 21 March. "Waterman" was the winner of the Dutch national final for the contest, held on 11 February.
Maessen or Maesen is a Dutch patronymic surname, meaning son of Maes, an archaic short form of Thomas. It is most common in Dutch Limburg and surrounding regions. Among variant forms are Maas, Maase(n), Maassen, and Maes. Notable people with the surname include:
| Preceded by Lenny Kuhr with "De troubadour" | Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest (as Hearts of Soul) 1970 | Succeeded by Saskia & Serge with "Tijd" |
| Preceded by Pierre Rapsat with "Judy et Cie" | Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest (as Dream Express) 1977 | Succeeded by Jean Vallée with "L'amour ça fait chanter la vie" |
| Preceded by Emly Starr with "Samson" | Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 1982 | Succeeded by Pas de Deux with "Rendez-vous" |
