Cornelis Willem "Gordon" Heuckeroth (; born 6 July 1968), known simply as Gordon, is a Dutch singer and television personality. Internationally, he is best known for his membership of the supergroup the Toppers, which represented the Netherlands in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2009 The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Moscow, Russia, following the country's victory at the with the song "Believe (Dima Bilan song), Believe" by Dima Bilan. Organised by the Euro ...

with the song " Shine". He left the group in 2011.

Career

In 1990, Heuckeroth came third in the ''

Nationaal Songfestival (; ) was an annual music competition, which was originally organised by the Dutch public broadcaster (NTS), and later by the (NOS) and (TROS). It was staged almost every year between 1956 and 2012 to determine the country's entry for the Eu ...

''. In 1991, he had a Dutch number one hit with the single "Kon ik maar even bij je zijn" (''If only I could be with you for just a while''). In 2003, Heuckeroth again participated in the

, finishing second after Esther Hart. Heuckeroth joined Dutch singers

Gerard Joling Gerard Jan Joling (born 29 April 1960) is a Dutch singer and television presenter. Known for his high tenor voice, he rose to fame in the late 1980s and released a string of singles including "Ticket to the Tropics" and "Love Is in Your Eyes". H ...

and

René Froger René Froger (born 5 November 1960 in Amsterdam), is a Dutch singer. Froger was born, and spent his first years in the Jordaan, a neighbourhood in Amsterdam. His father, Bolle Jan, had a café where Froger started performing. He started his ...

in a series of concerts under the name the Toppers. The Toppers represented the Netherlands in the

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, Russia, but did not qualify for the final, finishing in seventeenth place in the semi-final. In 2009, Heuckeroth left the Toppers, but re-joined the group a few weeks later. He permanently left the group in 2011.

Radio and television

From 2007 to 2008, Heuckeroth had his own radio show on

Radio 538 Radio 538 () is a Dutch commercial radio station that was founded in Hilversum, Netherlands in 1992. It is the second-most listened to radio station in the Netherlands. Radio 538 refers to the wavelength on which Radio Veronica used to broadcas ...

. On television, he was part of the jury of '' Idols'' in 2007, ''

X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition franchise created by British producer Simon Cowell and his company Syco Entertainment. It originated in the United Kingdom, where it was devised as a replacement for ''Pop Idol'' (2001–2003 ...

'' from 2009 to 2013, ''

Holland's Got Talent ''Holland's Got Talent'' (often referred to as HGT) is the Dutch version of the ''Got Talent'' series, which was created by Simon Cowell, who also created the series ''The X Factor''. The first season began broadcasting in March 2008 on SBS6. Th ...

'' from 2010 to 2017, and '' The Voice Senior'' in 2018. In 2013, Heuckeroth received widespread criticism for a

viral video A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...

in which he is seen making racist jokes about a

Chinese Chinese can refer to: * Something related to China * Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity **''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation ** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...

''Holland's Got Talent'' contestant.YouTube: Xiao Wang verrast jury en publiek – HOLLAND'S GOT TALENT
/ref>‘Which number are you singing, No. 39 with rice?’ Holland’s Got Talent judge cracks racist jokes at Chinese performer
/ref>Shockingly Racist Got Talent Judge Makes Howard Stern Look Tame

/ref>

Other activities

In March 2021, Heuckeroth presented a petition to

Sander Dekker Sander Dekker (born 9 February 1975) is a Dutch politician who served as Minister for Legal Protection in the Third Rutte cabinet from 2017 to 2022. A member of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (VVD), he previously served as State S ...

, caretaker Minister for Legal Protection, calling for an identification requirement for

social media Social media are interactive media technologies that facilitate the creation and sharing of information, ideas, interests, and other forms of expression through virtual communities and networks. While challenges to the definition of ''social medi ...

accounts. He wanted an end to anonymous threats and homophobia that he and others had received. Dekker called it an interesting proposal that he would take up with European colleagues.

Discography

*''Kon Ik Maar Even Bij Je Zijn'' (CNR Music, 1992) *''Alles Wat Ik Ben'' (1993) *''Now Is The Time'' (CNR Music, 1994) *''Kon Ik Maar Even Bij Je Zijn'' (2 CD; 1995) *''Je Bent Wie Je Bent Schatje ''(1995) *''De Tijd Van Mijn Leven'' (1996) *''Omdat Ik Zo Van Je Hou'' (CNR Music, 1996) *''Gordon & Re-Play'' (Dino Music, 2002) featuring

Re-Play Re-Play is a Dutch R&B group from Rotterdam. The group is composed of singers Alwin Burke, Mark Dakriet, Henk Waarde and Samuel de Wit. In the Netherlands they scored hits like ''Ala day (Ik leef alleen voor jou)'' en ''Never nooit meer''. Histo ...

*''Gordon &'' (Dino Music, 2003) *''A Song For You'' (Rodeo Media, 2008) *''Liefde Overwint Alles'' (Berk Music, 2013) *'' Compleet, Volmaakt, Het Einde'' (Berk Music, 2016) featuring Metropole Orkest

References

External links

Official website

Article about Gordons discriminatory remark '' 'number 39 with rice in BBC China
{{DEFAULTSORT:Heuckeroth, Gordon 1968 births Living people Dutch male singers Dutch television presenters Dutch radio personalities Musicians from Amsterdam Members of the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy Eurovision Song Contest entrants for the Netherlands Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2009 LGBT singers from the Netherlands De Toppers members Nationaal Songfestival contestants