Heinz Carl Heinrich Winckler (born 22 March 1978) is a South African singer and the winner of the first series of South African ''
Idols'' and is also an actor.
Born the eldest of three children in
, South Africa, he went on to study law at
Stellenbosch University
Stellenbosch University ( af, Universiteit Stellenbosch) is a public research university situated in Stellenbosch, a town in the Western Cape province of South Africa. Stellenbosch is the oldest university in South Africa and the oldest extant ...
. After winning the Idols competition in June 2002, he discontinued his studies to devote time to a music career.
Idols
Idols was the South African version of the British ''
Pop Idol
''Pop Idol'' is a British music competition television series created by Simon Fuller which ran on ITV from 2001 to 2003. The aim of the show was to decide the best new young pop singer (or "pop idol") in the UK based on viewer voting and par ...
'' show, and was presented as a talent search competition with successive elimination rounds narrowing the number of contestants. Throughout the show, Winckler was referred to as "Hunky Heinz" because of his good looks.
Songs performed on ''Idols''
* Audition: "
I'm a Believer
"I'm a Believer" is a song written by Neil Diamond and recorded by the Monkees in 1966 with the lead vocals by Micky Dolenz. The single, produced by Jeff Barry, hit the number-one spot on the U.S. ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart for the week endi ...
", by
Smash Mouth
Smash Mouth is an American rock band from San Jose, California. The band was formed in 1994, and was originally composed of Steve Harwell (lead vocals), Kevin Coleman (drums), Greg Camp (guitar), and Paul De Lisle (bass). With Harwell's depa ...
* Top 50: "
Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)
"Drops of Jupiter", initially released as "Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me)", is a song written and recorded by American rock band Train. It was released on January 29, 2001, as the lead single from their second studio album, '' Drops of Jupiter'' (200 ...
", by
Train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
* Top 11: "
I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing", by
Aerosmith
* Top 8: "
Higher", by
Creed
* Top 6: "Shallow Waters", by
Just Jinger
* Top 4: "
Every Breath You Take
"Every Breath You Take" is a song by the English rock band the Police from their album ''Synchronicity'' (1983). Written by Sting, the single was the biggest US and Canadian hit of 1983, topping the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 singles chart for eig ...
", by
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 Polic ...
* Top 4: "
Soledad", by
Westlife
Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...
* Finale: "Once in a Lifetime" (original song); Drops of Jupiter (Tell Me), by
Train
In rail transport, a train (from Old French , from Latin , "to pull, to draw") is a series of connected vehicles that run along a railway track and transport people or freight. Trains are typically pulled or pushed by locomotives (often ...
; ''Soledad'', by
Westlife
Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...
Post-''Idols'' career
Winckler's debut single, ''Once In A Lifetime'', went
double platinum
Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...
in South Africa for having sold over 100,000 copies. His subsequent debut album, ''One Step Closer'', included this song as well as ''Soledad'', a
cover
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
of the
Westlife
Westlife is an Irish pop vocal group formed in Dublin, Ireland in 1998. The group currently consists of members Shane Filan, Mark Feehily, Kian Egan, and Nicky Byrne. Brian McFadden was a member, until he left in 2004. The group temporarily di ...
song which he performed during ''Idols'', and ''Next Stop Happiness'', which became a single as well.
He was nominated for two
South African Music Awards
The South African Music Awards (often simply the SAMAs) are the Recording Industry of South Africa's music industry awards, established in 1995. The ceremony is held annually, usually in late April or May, with the judging process starting in N ...
, including best single for "Once in a Lifetime" and best pop album for ''One Step Closer''.
In 2003, with the inaugural ''
World Idol
''World Idol'' (Germany: ''SuperStar Weltweit'', Arab World: ''SuperStar El Alaam'') is a one-off international version of the singing competition television show ''Pop Idol'', featuring winners of the various national ''Idol'' shows around t ...
'' competition, Winckler came fourth behind
Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. The country is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeast, France to th ...
's
Peter Evrard
Peter Evrard (born 19 October 1974) is the winner of the first season of '' Idool 2003'', the Belgian version of ''Pop Idol''.
Evrard defied the traditional rules of the Idols series by singing rock music instead of the expected pop. Regardless ...
(3rd), the US's
Kelly Clarkson
Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of ''American Idol'' in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debu ...
(2nd), and
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the ...
's
Kurt Nilsen
Kurt Erik Nilsen () (born 29 September 1978) is a Norwegian pop/country singer. He won the first season of the Norwegian reality show ''Idol'', which aired on TV 2 in May 2003. He then won a one-off international version of ''Pop Idol'' called ...
(Winner).
His second album, ''Come Alive'', was released via BMG, and features more ballads and rhythmic songs. It includes the singles "Can't Lose With You" and "Thank You", as well as "I Don't Wanna Miss A Thing". Also included are songs written by himself; "Drowning Me" is a track co-written by him.
He performed "Chasing Shadows", the theme song for the South African release of the 2003
Disney
The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios complex in Burbank, California. Disney was originally founded on October ...
movie ''
Treasure Planet
''Treasure Planet'' is a 2002 American animated science fiction action-adventure film produced by Walt Disney Feature Animation and distributed by Walt Disney Pictures. The 43rd Disney animated feature film, it is a science fiction adaptat ...
''.
Heinz married Alette De Klerk on 25 September 2006 in South Africa. They have three sons and a baby girl.
In 2006, Heinz released his third studio album, ''Moment of Truth''.
He has twice appeared on the music game show ''
Noot vir Noot
''Noot vir Noot'' (Afrikaans for "Note for Note", i.e. music-note for a cash-note) is an Afrikaans language musical quiz show broadcast on SABC 2 on South African television. It is the longest continually running television game show in South Afri ...
'' as a guest artist, in seasons 36 and 39. He also appeared as a coach on the Afrikaans music reality show ''Supersterre''.
Discography
Albums
* ''
Idols: The Album'' (2002)
* ''
One Step Closer'' (November 2002)
* ''Come Alive'' (September 2004)
* ''
Moment Of Truth'' (September 2006)
* ''
Ek kan weer in liefde glo'' (October 2009)
* ''24/7/365'' (2011)
* ''
Jy's bonatuurlik'' (2014)
Singles
* ''Once in a Lifetime'' (June 2002)
* ''Next Stop Happiness'' (March 2004)
* ''One Step Closer''
* ''The Way It Is''
* ''Can't Lose With You''
* ''Drowning Me''
* ''Only For You''
* ''Thank You''
* ''Another Day''
* ''Love's Supposed To Be''
* ''Who You Really Are'' (2011, for the Eurovision contest)
Acting career
He performed in the role of Roger Davis in the touring production of the musical ''
Rent
Rent may refer to:
Economics
*Renting, an agreement where a payment is made for the temporary use of a good, service or property
*Economic rent, any payment in excess of the cost of production
*Rent-seeking, attempting to increase one's share of e ...
'' from the 2007–2008 season.
In 2015, Winckler starred in the romantic comedy ''Mooirivier'' playing a singer performing at an Easter music festival.
References
External links
Heinz Winckler– official site.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Winckler, Heinz
1978 births
Living people
Idols South Africa winners
21st-century South African male singers
Stellenbosch University alumni
White South African people
South African people of German descent
Alumni of Paul Roos Gymnasium