Floortje Smit

Floortje Smit (born July 16, 1983, in Amsterdam) is a singer from the Netherlands.

Career

Smit's career started in season three of the Dutch TV talent show Idols, the Dutch spin-off of Pop Idol. In a surprising twist, Smit, a big audience favorite with her girl-nextdoor image and very popular[1] (she even performed on Koninginnedag for the Dutch queen[2]) lost in the final to Raffaëla Paton. That she was an early favorite and that her name was already trademarked before the competition started led to allegations that the show's outcome was predetermined.[3] Despite losing the competition, she went on to start a music career; her first single, "Wake Up," was performed live for the first time in the municipality of Wijchen where, according to the local paper, she transformed herself from a run-off-the-mill singer into a diva, who gave the audience and the reviewer goosebumps.[4]

She signed with the label The Entertainment Group in May 2006 after being turned down by BMG/Sony, which had an option to sign the runner-up in the competition.[5] Her debut album, Fearless, was released in 2007 and peaked at #43 and stayed on the charts for six weeks. A single from the album, "Starts With Goodbye," was a modest success; another song on the album, "All Over Again," is a duet with boyband singer Ronan Keating.[1]

A multi-talented artist, Smit announced after Idols that she would compete in an ice dancing show on TV, "Sterren Dansen op het IJs,"[6][7] in which she reached the final,[8] but again failed to win.[9] Recently, she sang and danced in front of 1700 people, at an emotional ceremony where De Kindercompagnie, a baby store, received the 2008 ING Retail Award.[10] More of her talents were revealed when she posed nude for the English men's magazine FHM in 2008.[11]

References

  1. ^ a b Raatgever, Stefan (2007-03-29). "'Ik sta heus wel eens dronken op de bar'". AD.nl. http://www.ad.nl/cultuurenshow/article1230172.ece. Retrieved 2009-01-10. 
  2. ^ "Floortje zingt koningin toe". Nieuws.nl. 2006-04-29. http://www.nieuws.nl/218181/Floortje_zingt_koningin_toe. Retrieved 2009-01-10. 
  3. ^ "Deponeren merknamen Idols is dom en ondoordacht". Radio.nl. 2006-02-27. http://www.radio.nl/2003/home/medianieuws/010.archief/2006/02/104407.html. Retrieved 2009-01-10. 
  4. ^ Hoeven, Bas van der (2006-09-18). "Floortje Smit bezorgt Wijchen een primeur". De Gelderlander. http://www.gelderlander.nl/voorpagina/maasenwaal/article661450.ece. Retrieved 2009-01-10. 
  5. ^ "Floortje tekent platencontract bij haar management". Trouw. 2006-05-05. http://www.trouw.nl/novum/article1279791.ece. Retrieved 2009-01-10. 
  6. ^ "Ex-Idol Floortje Smit gaat ijsdansen". AD.nl. 2007-09-07. http://www.ad.nl/cultuurenshow/article1645179.ece. Retrieved 2009-01-10. 
  7. ^ "Nieuwe deelnemers SBS6-ijsdansshow bekend". Trouw. 2007-09-27. http://www.trouw.nl/novum/article1692173.ece. Retrieved 2009-01-10. 
  8. ^ "Floortje in finale 'Sterren dansen op het ijs'". Trouw. 2007-12-16. http://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/laatstenieuws/article1528206.ece. Retrieved 2009-01-10. 
  9. ^ "Sander Foppele wint 'Sterren dansen op het ijs'". Trouw. 2007-12-22. http://www.trouw.nl/nieuws/laatstenieuws/article1532414.ece. Retrieved 2009-01-10. 
  10. ^ "Ondernemerspaar trots op 'Beste Winkel'". Brabants Dagblad. 2008-12-30. http://www.deondernemer.nl/artikel/1138362/Ondernemerspaar-trots-op-%27Beste-Winkel%27. Retrieved 2009-01-10. 
  11. ^ "Floortje houdt pikante foto's verborgen". Trouw. 2008-03-30. http://www.trouw.nl/novum/article1805385.ece. Retrieved 2009-01-10. 

External links