Dean Saunders (born 9 January 1981 in London) is a Dutch singer. On 22 January 2011, he won in 2011 the
Dutch version of ''
Popstars
''Popstars'' is an international reality television
Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring unfamiliar people rather than professional actors. Realit ...
'' in its third season in 2010–2011.
Career
He is the older brother of
Ben Saunders who had won on 21 January 2011, just one day prior to Dean's win, the first ever title of the music competition ''
The Voice of Holland''.
Both Dean and his younger brother Ben started applying to talent competitions early on such as for the series ''Daddy's Wish''. They also took part in 1998 in ''Life is like a box of chocolates'' program.
1998–2003: Follow That Dream
In 2000, Dean and Ben Saunders both took part in
RTL 4
RTL 4 (Radio Télévision Luxembourg 4) is a Dutch free-to-air, free-to-cable television channel; it is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. RTL 4 is a general entertainment chan ...
's ''Alles voor de band: Follow that dream''. They were part of the band Follow That Dream (F.T.D.) (that included besides the two brothers Vanessa Eman, Rosa Vuik, Linda van Toornburg and Peter van der Meer. The band was signed to Dino Music record label.
Their debut single the self-titled "Follow That Dream" was released in November 2000 reaching #25 in the Dutch Top 40. 6 months later, the band split after the great popularity of the rival ''Starmaker'' show.
2003: Eurovision Song Contest entry
On 15 February 2003 the Saunders brothers took part in the 2003 Dutch ''
Nationaal Songfestival'', a Dutch national music pre-selection contest for qualification to
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
to be held in
Riga
Riga (; lv, Rīga , liv, Rīgõ) is the capital and largest city of Latvia and is home to 605,802 inhabitants which is a third of Latvia's population. The city lies on the Gulf of Riga at the mouth of the Daugava river where it meets the Ba ...
, Latvia. They performed the song "Stand As One" in the third heat under the name "The Brothers" getting just 10 points and finishing with 3% of the popular vote as seventh out of 8 participants.
2010–present: ''Popstars''
In 2010 he applied for the ''Popstars'' competition winning the title on 22 January 2011 against the runner-up Simone Nijssen. He got 60% of the popular vote. He released his winning song "You and I Both" originally by
Jason Mraz as his debut single.
Personal life
Dean Saunders was born in England in 1981. He moved to the Netherlands in 1986 when he was just 5. He resides in
Hoorn
Hoorn () is a city and municipality in the northwest of the Netherlands, in the province of North Holland. It is the largest town and the traditional capital of the region of West Friesland. Hoorn is located on the Markermeer, 20 kilometers ( ...
.
28 August 2014 Dean Saunders was arrested on suspicion of arson. In October 2015 he was sentenced to prison for eight months, a fine of 400 euros, and community service of 40 hours.
Discography
Albums
;As part of band Follow That Dream:
2000: ''The Album'' on
Dino Music Dino may refer to:
Prefix
* dino-, a common prefix in taxonomy, meaning "terrible", "formidable"
**Dinosaur
People
* Dino (given name), a masculine given name and a nickname
* Dino (surname), a surname found in Albania and Turkey
* Diño, a surn ...
Singles
;As part of band Follow That Dream:
*2000: "Follow That Dream"
*2001: "One Night in Shanghai"
;As The Brothers
*2003: "Stand As One"
;Solo
*2011: "You and I Both"
References
External links
Dean Saunders Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Dean
1981 births
Living people
Dutch male singers
Dutch people of English descent
English emigrants to the Netherlands
English male singers
Popstars winners
Singers from London
21st-century English singers
21st-century Dutch singers
21st-century British male singers