Nathalie Makoma (born February 24, 1982), is a Congolese

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 ...

singer-songwriter. She was the lead

singer Singing is the act of creating musical sounds with the voice. A person who sings is called a singer, artist or vocalist (in jazz and/or popular music). Singers perform music (arias, recitatives, songs, etc.) that can be sung with or without ...

for the group Makoma and she later embarked on a solo musical

career The career is an individual's metaphorical "journey" through learning, work and other aspects of life. There are a number of ways to define career and the term is used in a variety of ways. Definitions The ''Oxford English Dictionary'' defin ...

on her own. She took part in the Dutch '' Idols'' singing competition in its fourth season reaching the final and finishing as runner-up to

Nikki Kerkhof Nikki Gouman (also known as Nikki Nola; born 21 December 1983) is a Dutch singer and the winner of the fourth series of Idols, the Dutch variant on Pop Idol. On the first of March 2008 she won the singing contest with 62% of all the votes from t ...

. As a result, she was signed to

Sony BMG Sony BMG Music Entertainment was an American record company owned as a 50–50 joint venture between Sony Corporation of America and Bertelsmann. The venture's successor, the revived Sony Music, is wholly owned by Sony, following their buyout o ...

. She also took part in Dutch ''

Dancing With the Stars ''Dancing with the Stars'' is the name of various international television series based on the format of the British TV series '' Strictly Come Dancing'', which is distributed by BBC Studios, the commercial arm of the BBC. Currently the forma ...

'' coming second (2009), in ''De Mattheus Masterclass''.

Career

In Nouveau Testament / Makoma
Nathalie Makoma started singing with her family group in 1993 when the band was known as "Nouveau Testament". The group was renamed Makoma and was made up of seven members (three brothers, three sisters and one non-family, whom is also one of her sister's boyfriend). They were very successful singing in Lingala language and in English and French as well. When Nathalie was fourteen, she moved back to the Netherlands with her family and started studying Onstage Performance at the Rockacademie in Tilburg. At the same time the Makoma band kept on performing becoming more successful and travelling around the whole world. Due to the success of the band, Nathalie had to quit her education. In 2002, the group won the Best African Music Group, at Kora South African Music Awards. and they had worldwide success in

gospel music Gospel music is a traditional genre of Christian music, and a cornerstone of Christian media. The creation, performance, significance, and even the definition of gospel music varies according to culture and social context. Gospel music is com ...

. Initial solo career
Being the main vocalist, Nathalie also tried to develop a solo music career starting 2002 with her initial album ''On Faith'' (2002). The album was rereleased as ''GoGospel Edition'' (2003) with additional tracks. In 2004, she left Makoma to get established in England and later in Ireland. In 2005, she released a second solo album called ''I Saw the Light''.

Reality television

''Idols''
In 2007-2008, she returned to the Netherlands to take part in

season 4 Season 4 may refer to: * "Season 4" (''30 Rock'' episode), an episode of ''30 Rock'' See also * * Season One (disambiguation) Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughte ...

of Dutch '' Idols'' and finished runner-up to the eventual winner

. The jury called her the "new Tina Turner" and "a real dancing queen". During the competition, her family group Makoma made a guest appearance on the competition final with Nathalie singing "Ola Olé" in English with her. After ''Idols'', Nathalie signed a record deal with Sony BMG and toured the Netherlands, performing in more than 150 shows in one year. ''Dancing With the Stars''
In 2009, Nathalie took part in the Dutch version of the ''

'' with her dance partner Peter. She reached the final, and finished second to former Idols-winner

Jamai Loman Jamai Johannes Loman (born 30 June 1986) is a Dutch singer, musical actor and presenter who was the winner of the first series of '' Idols'', the Dutch variant of ''Pop Idol''. Biography Loman (at that time living with his parents and two elder ...

and his partner Gwyneth van Rijn. ''De Mattheus Masterclass''
In 2010 took part in the second season of the program ''De Mattheus Masterclass'' of non-classically trained artists, to perform music by Bach at the church St. Vituskerk in

Hilversum Hilversum () is a city and municipality in the province of North Holland, Netherlands. Located in the heart of the Gooi, it is the largest urban centre in that area. It is surrounded by heathland, woods, meadows, lakes, and smaller towns. Hilvers ...

Solo career

In December 2008, she participated in the RTL 4 program ''Alles is kerst''. In the show she sang with singer

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 ...

the song " All I Want for Christmas Is You" from Mariah Carey. Nathalie's main single after ''Idols'' was "I Won't Forget", a song that was also remixed by DJ

Paul van Dyk Matthias Paul (; born 16 December 1971), known professionally as Paul van Dyk () is a German DJ, record producer and musician. One of the first true renowned DJs, van Dyk was the first artist to receive a Grammy Award nomination in the newly a ...

. The song was included in Nathalie's solo album ''Dance4Life''. A second single "I Just Wanna Dance", an R&B, pop and dance track followed. In 2010 she left the Sony BMG, and she is currently unsigned singer who is hoping to make Worldwide Music. She signed 2014 to her own record label NM HOUSE MUSIC and released her new single "One More Try" in August 2014.

Discography

Albums with Makoma

(For details and track lists of albums with Makoma, see Makoma discography) *1999: ''Nzambe na Bomoyi'' (Jesus For Life) *2000: ''Makoma'' *2000: Baby Come *2002: Mokonzi na Bakonzi (King of Kings) *2005: ''Na Nzambe Te, Bomoyi Te'' (also known as No Jesus, No Life)

Nathalie Makoma solo albums

*2002: ''On Faith'' **Track list: #"Time Is a Healer" #"Rhythm of Your Love" #"On Faith" #"Fools Dust" #"Talk With God" #"Listen to Your Heart" #"You" #"Rolling to the Top" #"Out of the Darkness" #"Time Has Come" #"My Love Is True" #"I Can See the Light" *2003: ''On Faith—GoGospel Edition'' **Same track list plus bonus tracks #"Wanna Let You Know" #"Tala Ndenge (The Prayer)" #"Talk With God" ive(Gogospel version) #"Talk With God" ive(Gogospel version reprise) *2005: ''I Saw the Light'' **Track list: #"I'm Glad I'm Alive" #"You've Got a Friend" #"Looking at Myself" #"My Way" #"Lover Be Thy Name" #"There Will Be a Light" #"I Understand" #"Stay" #"Love You in My Life" #"To Be the One" #"I'll Be There" #"I Will Bless You" #"Amazing Grace"

Albums as Makoma featuring Nathalie Makoma

*''

My Sweet Lord "My Sweet Lord" is a song by English musician George Harrison, released in November 1970 on his triple album ''All Things Must Pass''. It was also released as a single, Harrison's first as a solo artist, and topped charts worldwide; it was the ...

'' (2000)

EPs

*2005: ''I'm Glad I'm Alive'' (live) **Track list #I'm Glad I'm Alive" #"I'm Glad I'm Alive" (A Version) #"To Be the One"

Singles

*¹: "I Won't Forget" reached number 2 on the Dutch

Tipparade The Dutch Top 40 ( nl, Nederlandse Top 40) is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica ...

, which is equivalent to the position number 42 in the Dutch Top 40. *²: "I Just Wanna Dance" reached number 17 on the Dutch Tipparade, which is equivalent to the position number 57 in the Dutch Top 40. ;Featured in

References

External links

Nathalie Makoma Official websiteNatahlie Makoma earlier official websiteNathalie Makoma MySpaceNathalie Makoma Twitter
{{DEFAULTSORT:Makoma, Nathalie 1989 births Living people People from Kinshasa Democratic Republic of the Congo emigrants to the Netherlands 21st-century Democratic Republic of the Congo women singers Dutch pop singers Dutch Christians Democratic Republic of the Congo Christians Idols (franchise) participants 21st-century Dutch women singers 21st-century Dutch singers