Ian Thomas Hoelen (born April 30, 1997) is a

Belgian Belgian may refer to: * Something of, or related to, Belgium * Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent * Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German *Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...

singer-songwriter, musician, actor and model currently based in Antwerp.

Career

2011–13: ''More Than a Game'' and ''Diversity''

Ian Thomas was discovered in 2011 after the video for his

Dutch Dutch commonly refers to: * Something of, from, or related to the Netherlands * Dutch people () * Dutch language () Dutch may also refer to: Places * Dutch, West Virginia, a community in the United States * Pennsylvania Dutch Country People E ...

cover version of

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Bieber is recognized for his genre-melding musicianship and has played an influential role in modern-day popular music. He was discovered by American record executive Scooter ...

's "

Baby An infant or baby is the very young offspring of human beings. ''Infant'' (from the Latin word ''infans'', meaning 'unable to speak' or 'speechless') is a formal or specialised synonym for the common term ''baby''. The terms may also be used to ...

" was posted by his parents on YouTube and became a viral sensation. The video came to the attention of

Universal Music 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 ...

who subsequently signed a contract with him and the song was released as a single soon afterwards, reaching number 1 in the

Ultratop Ultratop is an organization which generates and publishes the official record charts in Belgium. Ultratop is a non-profit organization, created on the initiative of the Belgian Entertainment Association (BEA), the Belgian member organization ...

top 10

Flemish Flemish (''Vlaams'') is a Low Franconian dialect cluster of the Dutch language. It is sometimes referred to as Flemish Dutch (), Belgian Dutch ( ), or Southern Dutch (). Flemish is native to Flanders, a historical region in northern Belgium; ...

Singles Chart. In 2012 Ian was a model for the Danish fashion brand Outfitters Nation. In 2013 he participated in the reality series '' De Grote Sprong'' (the Flemish version of the popular ''

Celebrity Splash! ''Celebrity Splash!'' (also known as ''Splash!'') is a reality television franchise created by Dutch company Eyeworks, started from their Dutch reality show ''Sterren Springen Op Zaterdag'' which premièred in 2012. The franchise involves celebr ...

'' franchise) and came in second place behind former

Miss Belgium Miss Belgium is a national beauty pageant in Belgium. The winner of Miss Belgium automatically represents her country at the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants if the dates do not overlap. Rules *Belgian nationality *to be never married and ...

contestant

Tanja Dexters Tanja ( sr, Тања) is a feminine given name. It may refer to: Mononyms *''Tanja'' (born 1983), Russian-Estonian singer, also known as Tanja Mihhailova Given name *Tanja Andrejeva (born 1978), Macedonian handball player * Tanja Bogosavljević ...

2014–present: ''GameTime''

Ian was contacted by the record label

Island Def Jam The Island Def Jam Music Group (IDJMG) was an American recording music unit, formed on New Year's Eve 1998 by the Universal Music Group. It consists of labels devised and consisted under the basic operations of Island Records and Def Jam Recordin ...

after the release of his single "Rain". He subsequently went to Los Angeles to record a music video for "Walking on Air" with

Lance Bass James Lance Bass (; born May 4, 1979) is an American singer, dancer, actor, film, and television producer. He grew up in Mississippi and rose to fame as the bass singer for the American pop boy band NSYNC. NSYNC's success led Bass to work in film ...

and attended the

American Music Awards The American Music Awards (AMAs) is an annual American music awards show, generally held in the fall, created by Dick Clark in 1973 for ABC when the network's contract to air the Grammy Awards expired, and currently produced by Dick Clark Pro ...

as a special guest of Lance Bass. Ian Thomas also recorded "Money" featuring Qwes Kross with 50/50 Global Muzik Inc. Warner Brothers and Snoop Dogg with Island Def Jam, a song written by the team of

Miley Cyrus Miley Ray Cyrus ( ; born Destiny Hope Cyrus on November 23, 1992) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Known for her distinctive raspy voice, her music spans across varied styles and genres, including pop, country, rock, hip ho ...

. The song "Money" was written and produced by M.E. (aka) Jeff Friedland, Chris Hanebutt, Dj IZM Writers: Jeff Friedland, Chris Hanebutt, IZM, T.Coles, Mike Hunnid, Qwes Kross. "The Way It Feels" is a duet by Ian Thomas and one of his latest, featuring American recording artist Bella Blue. The track appeared on his third studio album, ''GameTime'' released in 2014. Written by Gia Sky and Aubrey Wood and produced by Gia Sky, the song was released on July 4, 2014. It is a Pop R&B song, featuring Hip Hop influences.

Personal life

The singer is the son of actor Frank Hoelen and choreographer Brigitte Derks. The actor Chris Van Tongelen is his stepfather. He used to be vegan.

Awards

Discography

Albums

Singles

Main artist

*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.

Featured artist

Filmography

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Thomas, Ian 1997 births Belgian pop singers Dutch-language singers of Belgium Living people Musicians from Antwerp 21st-century Belgian singers Models from Antwerp