Kate Ryan

For other people named Kate Ryan, seeKate Ryan (disambiguation).

Kate Ryan(bornKatrien Verbeeck,22 July 1980) is a Belgian singer and songwriter, and the winner of aWorld Music Award.She began her singing career in 2001 and later found fame with a string of dance hits. These included covers, mostly ofMylène FarmerandFrance Gall,such as "Désenchantée","Libertine",and"Ella, elle l'a",andDesireless' "Voyage Voyage",as well as new material. Ryan represented Belgium in theEurovision Song Contest 2006with "Je t'adore"coming in 12th place in the semi-final.

Kate Ryan
Background information
Birth name	Katrien Verbeeck
Also known as	Kate Ryan
Born	(1980-07-22)22 July 1980 Tessenderlo,Belgium
Genres	Dance-pop Eurodance house vocal trance
Occupations	Singer songwriter
Instruments	Vocals guitar piano
Years active	2001–present
Labels	EMI(2002–06) ARS Entertainment (2007–12) Nextar Entertainment(2013–present) CNR Music(2015-present)
Website	www.kateryan.be

Biography

2001–2004:Different

Ryan was born in the small village ofTessenderlo,Belgium, and grew up in a musical family. At eight years old she learned to play piano and guitar. She received singing and piano lessons from her aunt who teaches at aconservatory.She studied at an art school, specialising injewellerydesign. Ryan played frequently in bars and cafés as a teenager, and one night she was offered a recording deal. She became a member of a pop group called Melt at the age of 16.The group was active for two years, but they did not release any material commercially. When she met producer Andy Janssens, she left Melt and the pair began to write music together. Their debut single "Scream for More"was released in 2001, and it became a chart success. Later that year Ryan's second single,"UR (My Love)",cemented her position in Belgian charts.

She gained international prominence with a cover ofMylène Farmer's "Désenchantée",which was a hit in various European pop music charts. She signed in with Belgian department ofEMIand released her first albumDifferentin 2002 exclusively in Europe.The album went Gold and Platinum in a number of countries, selling more than 250.000 copies throughout Europe. Two final singles offDifferent,"Mon cœur résiste encore"and"Libertine"(the first one being a French version of" Scream for More ", the latter a second cover of Farmer's number) also turned out a chart success. Ryan's records were released in the United States underRobbins Entertainmentlabel.

2004–2007:StrongerandAlive

In 2004, Ryan released a second album in Europe, titledStronger,that also contained her remarkable dance-pop style. The album's lead single, "Only If I",met with a modest success across Europe. A cover ofCock Robin's "The Promise You Made"became the second single, earning even greater success. It was also recorded in French as" La Promesse ". Pop ballad"Goodbye"was released as the third single, meeting with considerable success. In 2005 Kate Ryan's music appeared in North America on Water Music Records.

In 2006, the singer participated inEurosong '06,the national final to select the entrant forBelgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006.She was selected as the entrant after placing first in the Eurosong final on 9 March 2006. Ryan represented Belgium at theEurovisionsemi-final held on 18 May 2006 inAthenssinging "Je t'adore".However, she did not qualify for the final, finishing two places outside the advancing Top 10 (12th) with 69 points. She was later voted best dressed performer by Eurovision's independent website esctoday.com for her €14,000 outfit, later sold to raise charity funds.The following single was "Alive",taken from thealbum of the same name,which also featured French versions of several tracks including "Je t'adore", "Alive", and the third single, "All for You".The album, although critically acclaimed, did not repeat the success of the two previous ones.

Kate Ryan performing at the Eurogames 2007

2007–2008:FreeandEssential

In 2007, Ryan had some success with the double-sided single "Voyage, voyage"/" We All Belong ". The track" Voyage, voyage "was a cover of the 1986 European smash hit byDesireless,and "We All Belong" was selected as the official anthem for theEuroGames2007 inAntwerp.In 2008, Ryan released two singles: "L.I.L.Y. (Like I Love You)"and then"Ella, elle l'a",a cover ofFrance Gall's song.

Both tracks (as well as "Voyage Voyage" and "We All Belong" ) were included on her albumFree,which was released in the middle of the year. The album included a duet with Spanish singerSoraya Arnelas.Ryan's first best-of album,Essential,was released in July. It included songs recorded throughout her EMI period. In August she took part in PolishSopot Hit Festival.During the show she received a Gold award for theFreealbum in Poland. On 9 November 2008 in Monaco, she won theWorld Music Awardfor Best Selling Benelux Artist. Two more singles promotedFree,including "I Surrender".

2009–2011:French Connection

2009 saw the release of theconcept albumFrench Connection.It was a compilation consisting of only French-language material, including Ryan's previous hits, and adding some new recordings. "Évidemment"and"Babacar",both from France Gall's repertoire, were released as singles, but met with limited success, as did the album. The singer announced thatFrench Connectionwas the end of an era, and from now on she will only release material written by her. She received a Multi-Platinum award from Spain for selling more than 300.000 digital songs.

2011–2012:Electroshock

Ryan announced via Facebook that her next album,Electroshock,would be released in 2011, preceded by a single "LoveLife".

Another single, "Broken",was released on 7 October 2011. On 9 December 2011, she appeared as musical guest onThe Voice of Romania.

The album, which was delayed, was released on 25 June 2012.The album is entirely containing songs in English and has no cover version included. On 12 May 2012, another single, entitled "Robots",was released.

2013–present: non-album singles

AfterElectroshockwas released, Ryan expressed via Facebook her intention to only release non-album singles, as she feels that the music industry is changing, by the fact that almost nobody buys full albums anymore, withiTunes.She started this purpose releasing the non-album singles "Light in the Dark",released viaiTuneson 24 May 2013, and "Heart Flow",released on 13 August 2013." Heart Flow "was also the anthem of theWorld Outgames 2013.In December 2013, she recorded "Sé que tu lluitaràs", a Catalan-language cover ofBob Sinclar's song "World, Hold On (Children of the Sky)".It was included on the various artists compilationEl disc de la Marató 2013 (TV3).

On 1 September 2014, Ryan released a new song via iTunes, "Not Alone", which is aFranco-English song.

In August 2015, Ryan released a new single via iTunes, "Runaway (Smalltown Boy)",which is a cover of British bandBronski Beat's song "Smalltown Boy". The song is also included on the various artists compilationMNM Summertime 2015.

In January 2016, Ryan released another single via iTunes, this time a cover of British singerBlack's song "Wonderful Life".In June 2016, she released a new single via iTunes,"Comment te dire adieu",a cover of the song by French singerFrançoise Hardy,which is also a French-language cover of the song "It Hurts to Say Goodbye", originally performed by American singerMargaret Whiting.

Discography

Main article:Kate Ryan discography

Studio albums

• Different(2002)
• Stronger(2004)
• Alive(2006)
• Free(2008)
• Electroshock(2012)

External links

• Official website
• Kate Ryan Music's channelonYouTube