Dion Cuiper (; born 29 November 1993), known professionally as Dion Cooper, is a Dutch singer-songwriter. He represented the Netherlands in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2023 The Eurovision Song Contest 2023 is the upcoming 67th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It is set to take place in Liverpool, United Kingdom, after , winner of the with the song "Stefania" by Kalush Orchestra, was unable to meet the demand ...

alongside

Mia Nicolai Michaja Nicolaï (; born 7 March 1996), known simply as Mia Nicolai, is a Dutch singer, songwriter and actress. She represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2023 alongside Dion Cooper with the song "Burning Daylight". Earl ...

with the song "

Burning Daylight ''Burning Daylight'' is a novel by Jack London, published in 1910, one of the best-selling books of that year and London's best-selling book in his lifetime. The novel has been adapted for film. Plot The first part of the novel takes place in ...

".'

Early life and education

Cuiper was born on 29 November 1993 and grew up in Wassenaar,

South Holland South Holland ( nl, Zuid-Holland ) is a province of the Netherlands with a population of over 3.7 million as of October 2021 and a population density of about , making it the country's most populous province and one of the world's most densely ...

, a suburb of

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

. His father, who used to be a drummer in a

funk Funk is a music genre that originated in African American communities in the mid-1960s when musicians created a rhythmic, danceable new form of music through a mixture of various music genres that were popular among African Americans in the m ...

band, introduced him to the music of, among others,

Toto Toto may refer to: Arts and entertainment Fictional characters Pets * Toto (Oz), Toto (''Oz''), a dog in the novel and film ''The Wonderful Wizard of Oz'' * Toto, in Japanese ''The Cat Returns#Plot, The Cat Returns'' Characters of agency * a ...

the Police The Police were an English rock band formed in London in 1977. For most of their history the line-up consisted of primary songwriter Sting (lead vocals, bass guitar), Andy Summers (guitar) and Stewart Copeland (drums, percussion). The Police ...

, Earth, Wind & Fire,

the Beatles The Beatles were an English Rock music, rock band, formed in Liverpool in 1960, that comprised John Lennon, Paul McCartney, George Harrison and Ringo Starr. They are regarded as the Cultural impact of the Beatles, most influential band of al ...

and

Jimi Hendrix James Marshall "Jimi" Hendrix (born Johnny Allen Hendrix; November 27, 1942September 18, 1970) was an American guitarist, singer and songwriter. Although his mainstream career spanned only four years, he is widely regarded as one of the most ...

. Cuiper developed an interest for music and began playing the guitar at the age of 15. He later started writing and singing his own songs. After completing his secondary education, Cuiper began studying international business and management, but dropped out at the age of 21 to focus on his musical career. He has cited Shawn Mendes,

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...

and

Harry Styles Harry Edward Styles (born 1 February 1994) is an English singer, songwriter, and actor. His musical career began in 2010 as a solo contestant on the British music competition series ''The X Factor (UK TV series), The X Factor''. Following hi ...

as his musical inspirations.

Career

2015–2022: ''The Voice of Holland'' and ''Too Young Too Dumb''

In 2015, Cuiper took part in the sixth season of '' The Voice of Holland''. He advanced to the Battles, joining the team of rapper Ali B. He was eliminated after losing the Battle to

Brace Brace(s) or bracing may refer to: Medical * Orthopaedic brace, a device used to restrict or assist body movement ** Back brace, a device limiting motion of the spine *** Milwaukee brace, a kind of back brace used in the treatment of spinal cur ...

. In 2021, Cuiper released his debut extended play ''Too Young Too Dumb''. Later that year, he was a support act for

Duncan Laurence Duncan de Moor (; born 11 April 1994), known professionally as Duncan Laurence, is a Dutch singer and songwriter. He represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with his song "Arcade" and went on to win the competition, giv ...

during his 2021 club tour. In 2022, he released the singles "Know" and "Blue Jeans", which were co-written with Laurence.

2023: Eurovision Song Contest

On 1 November 2022, the Dutch broadcaster AVROTROS announced that Cuiper had been selected to represent the Netherlands in the

, alongside

. Their entry "

" was released on 1 March 2023. Nicolai and Cooper performed in the first semi-final, but failed to qualify for the final.

Discography

Extended plays

* ''Too Young Too Dumb'' (2021)

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cooper, Dion Living people 1993 births 21st-century Dutch male singers Dutch male singer-songwriters Dutch singer-songwriters Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the Netherlands Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2023 The Voice (franchise) contestants