Douwe Bob Posthuma (born 12 December 1992), professionally known by only his first and middle names Douwe Bob, is a Dutch singer-songwriter. He won the Dutch talent show ''

De beste singer-songwriter van Nederland ''De beste singer-songwriter van Nederland'' (meaning ''The best singer-songwriter of the Netherlands''), was a launching pioneer programme of the series ''De beste singer-songwriter'' abbreviated as ''DBSSW''. It was a music contest program in Du ...

''. He specializes in

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Folk Plus or Fo ...

and

country music Country (also called country and western) is a genre of popular music that originated in the Southern and Southwestern United States in the early 1920s. It primarily derives from blues, church music such as Southern gospel and spirituals, ...

and has released four albums. He represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.

Early life

Douwe Bob Posthuma was born on 12 December 1992 in

Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...

in the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. He was born into a Frisian family. His father, Simon Posthuma, is known for being a member of The Fool design collective. Douwe Bob started playing piano at the age of 6, initially concentrating on classical music and

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with its roots in blues and ragtime. Since the 1920s Jazz Age, it has been recognized as a m ...

. He took up the guitar at age 14. As a singer he was inspired by country, folk and pop music from the 1950s to the mid-1970s.

Career

2012–13: ''Born in a Storm''

In 2012, he competed in the Dutch TV talent show ''

'' (The Best Singer-Songwriter of the Netherlands). He played the songs "Standing Here Helpless", "Icarus", and in the finale, " Multicoloured Angels". In the finale, he was joined by Dutch singer

Tim Knol Tim Knol (born 12 September 1989 in Hoorn) is a Dutch singer-songwriter. Biography Knol was born and raised in Hoorn, where he started making music at the age of 10. Locally, he made an impression with the band ''Be Right Back'' in which he sang ...

and the latter's band. He won the finals and "Multicoloured Angels" reached number 17 in the weekly music chart Dutch Top 40. His debut album, ''

Born in a Storm ''Born In a Storm'' is the debut studio album by Dutch singer-songwriter Douwe Bob. It was released in the Netherlands on 3 May 2013, through Rodeomedia.nl. The album has peaked to number 7 on the Dutch Albums Chart. The album includes the singles ...

'', was released on 3 May 2013. The bulk of the songs were written during a holiday in Morocco with . In June 2013, Douwe Bob played at the

Pinkpop Festival The Pinkpop Festival is an annual music festival held at Landgraaf, Netherlands. It is usually held on the Pentecost weekend (''Pinksteren'' in Dutch, hence the name). If Pentecost falls on an early date in May, the festival is held later in Jun ...

. At the end of 2013, he appeared in the documentary ''Whatever Forever: Douwe Bob'' to talk about his relationship with his father Simon Posthuma, during IDFA.

2014–15: ''Pass It On''

In 2014, Douwe Bob became one of the Ambassadors of Freedom for the . In January 2015, he released the single " Hold Me", produced in collaboration with Anouk. In February 2015, Douwe Bob announced his new album '' Pass It On''. The album was released on 15 May 2015 by record company

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Dutch– American multinational music corporation under Dutch law. UMG's corporate headquarters are located in Hilversum, Netherlands and its ...

2016–2017: Eurovision Song Contest and ''Fool Bar''

On 6 May 2016, he released his third studio album ''

Fool Bar ''Fool Bar'' is the third studio album by Dutch singer-songwriter Douwe Bob. It was released in the Netherlands on 6 May 2016, through Universal Music Group. The album peaked at number 2 on the Dutch Albums Chart. The album includes the single "Sl ...

'' by record company Universal Music Group. The album peaked at number four on the

Dutch Albums Chart The Dutch Album Top 100 or Album Top 100 is a weekly hit list of music albums, compiled by Dutch Charts. List shows the 100 best-selling music albums of the moment in the Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = ...

. Douwe Bob represented his country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, where he performed the song "

Slow Down Slow Down or slowdown may refer to: Music * ''Slow Down'' (album), by Keb' Mo', 1998 Songs * "Slow Down" (Bobby Valentino song), 2005 * "Slow Down" (Brand Nubian song), 1991 * "Slow Down" (Douwe Bob song), representing the Netherlands at Euro ...

" in the semi-finals and finals on 10 and 14 May 2016. He placed eleventh in the final, racking up a total of 153 points. He was the Dutch spokesperson for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2017 The Eurovision Song Contest 2017 was the 62nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Kyiv, Ukraine, following the country's victory at the with the song "1944" by Jamala. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and ...

2018–present: ''The Shape I'm In'' and ''Singel 39''

On 21 April 2017, Douwe Bob was announced as the fourth coach of the seventh season of

The Voice Kids ''The Voice Kids'' is a version of ''The Voice'' TV series franchise in which children participate. Versions The first such variation was '' The Voice Kids'' from the Netherlands, which was followed by other international variants: : Franchise wi ...

, which started on 23 February 2018. In the following season, he did not return and was replaced by Anouk. On 9 November 2018, Douwe Bob released his fourth studio album ''The Shape I'm In'', which he described as being a break-up record. In 2019 he composed the title song for the Dutch feature film '' Singel 39''. He also played a small role in the film. The film won the

Golden Film The Golden Film ( nl, Gouden Film) is a film award recognizing domestic box office achievements in the Netherlands. The Golden Film is awarded to films from the Netherlands once they have sold . The award is an initiative by the Netherlands Fil ...

award after having sold 100,000 tickets.

Personal life

On 10 March 2016, in an interview with

OutTV OutTV (stylized OUTtv) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language specialty channel that was launched in September 2001. It broadcasts general entertainment and lifestyle programming aimed at the LGBT community. The network is owned b ...

, Douwe Bob revealed that he identifies as

bisexual Bisexuality is a romantic or sexual attraction or behavior toward both males and females, or to more than one gender. It may also be defined to include romantic or sexual attraction to people regardless of their sex or gender identity, whi ...

. He has two children with two different women, and he and his ex-partner Anouk welcomed a third child in May 2022.Douwe Bob expecting third child (DUTCH)
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Discography

Albums

Singles

Music videos

Notes

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Bob, Douwe 1992 births Bisexual men Bisexual singers Bisexual songwriters Dutch country singers Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the Netherlands Dutch folk singers Dutch people of Frisian descent Dutch singer-songwriters English-language singers from the Netherlands Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2016 Dutch LGBT singers Dutch LGBT songwriters Living people Musicians from Amsterdam 21st-century Dutch male singers 21st-century Dutch singers