Marco Borsato is one of the best-selling artists of the 1990s in the Netherlands. Borsato began his career as a Billy Vera impersonator on Hennie Huismans' Soundmixshow. Almost all singles released by Marco Borsato reach the top 10 in the charts. Besides 'Dromen Zijn Bedrog', the singer scores number 1 hits with 'Waarom Nou Jij', 'De Bestemming', 'Binnen' and 'Rood'.
Soundmix-show
It is well known that Marco Borsato participated in the Soundmix-show as a budding singer in 1989 and won it a year later with the song 'At This Moment' by Billy Vera. But what not everyone knows is that he joined Henny Huisman's programme due to a sudden turn of events. A previous candidate who was supposed to participate suddenly dropped out, and Hans van Eijk, a jury member of the Soundmix-show, managed to arrange for Marco to replace him.
Italian
After his victory, an exciting time began for Marco. Record companies showed interest and Marco quickly signed a record deal. His first single was 'At This Moment/Emozioni' and not long after, an album titled Emozioni followed. The success waned and Marco was persuaded to start singing in Dutch.
Record
It turned out to be a successful formula. In 1994, 'Dromen Zijn Bedrog' was released. The single stayed at number one in the Dutch charts for no less than 13 weeks. This earned a mention in the Guinness Book Of Records. Many of the songs Marco sings are Italian songs with Dutch lyrics. On Als Geen Ander (1995), John Ewbank, Han Kooreneef and Leo Driessen also wrote a considerable number of entirely original songs for Marco. The Borsato success story shows no sign of ending. The CDs go multi-platinum and the singer scores hit after hit.
De Waarheid
His most successful album to date is De Waarheid (1997). More than 600,000 (!) copies of this album were sold. De Bestemming and Luid En Duidelijk were released in 1998 and 2000 respectively. In 2001, Marco was asked to sing a song at the wedding of Prince Willem Alexander and Maxima. He invited singer Sita to perform it with him. Early 2002 saw the release of Onderweg, a compilation of hits with five new Borsato tracks. With, among others, a three-times sold-out stadium De Kuip, Marco Borsato was the most attended live act of 2002.
Music DVD
2004 was again a year of records. For each of the 13 songs on the new album Zien, a short film was made, and not by just anyone. Dutch filmmakers Johan Nijenhuis, Dick Maas, Matthijs van Heijningen jr. and Theo van Gogh contributed their artistic input: Marco’s new album was released as a music DVD.
Number 1
The eponymous single and DVD single (which also features the moving videoclip by Dick Maas and the ‘making of’) were in stores in December, and climbed the charts at record speed. After two weeks, the song was number 1 in the Mega Top 50; Marco’s sixth number 1 hit.
Concerts
In May and June, Marco Borsato and his band performed ten times to sold-out crowds at the ‘Sportpaleis’ (Antwerp) and six times to sold-out crowds at De Kuip. The police had to deploy many extra officers to safely escort everyone to and from De Kuip. During the concerts, several guest singers joined in, including Idols winner Boris, Trijntje Oosterhuis, Ali B and Do. With the latter, Borsato reached number 1 in the Mega Top 50 with the duet 'Voorbij'.
War Child
In September, record company Universal delivered a staggering 60,000 copies of 'Wat Zou Je Doen', a live performance of the duet between Marco Borsato and Ali B, to stores in one go. This meant the record company was already assuming the single would go gold. This proved quite accurate, as this single also quickly reached number 1 in the Mega Top 50. When André Hazes passed away and his single 'Zij Gelooft In Mij' was re-released, Marco Borsato temporarily gave way, only to reclaim the top spot afterwards. The proceeds from this single go to War Child.
Andrea Bocelli
At the beginning of 2006, Marco recorded a duet with none other than Andrea Bocelli. The duet appeared on Bocelli’s album Amore. The song is titled 'Because We Believe'.
Symphonica In Rosso
At the end of 2006, Marco's compilation album Symphonica In Rosso was released, and he scored his tenth number 1 hit with the single 'Rood'. The eponymous tour sold out the Gelredome ten times. The dress code was red, and Marco sang duets with Andrea Bocelli, Lucie Silvas, Ali B and Ilse DeLange.
Film
At the beginning of 2008, the singer announced he would act in a film by Jean van de Velde. He also wrote the title song for this film. The song was released in April, the film Wit Licht in December. It is not only the title of his new single and the title song of the film of the same name, but also the name of his new album with an accompanying concert tour.
Awards
At the end of March 2009, Marco won two audience awards at the Edisons; his album Wit Licht was chosen as Best Album and the song 'Dochters' earned him the award for Best Song. The following month, Marco was already up for more awards. He was nominated for two 3FM Awards, for Best Male Singer and Best Live Act.
Rood
In the autumn of 2009, The Entertainment Group, the artist agency of which Borsato was co-owner, went bankrupt. To ensure the threatened Symphonica in Rosso concerts with Diana Ross could continue, Borsato organised the concert 'Marco & Friends' with colleagues such as Jan Smit, Do, Guus Meeuwis and Paul de Leeuw.
Dromen Durven Delen
At the end of November 2010, Dromen Durven Delen was released, Marco's tenth album. The first single was 'Waterkant', followed by the Christmas single 'Kerstmis', which was also used for the children's film Het Geheim. In February 2011, 'Dichtbij', written by John Ewbank, was released.
Duizend Spiegels
After two years working with his regular musical partner John Ewbank, Marco Borsato released the single 'Muziek' in October 2013. This collaboration with Bag2Bank and Ali B reached the top 5 in the Dutch charts. Borsato compares the single to 'Rood'. When he released that track, he was already a bit ahead of his time, he says. "This is the sound of now and you have to keep up with the times." In November 2013, the album Duizend Spiegels was released. The album also features duets with, among others, Trijntje Oosterhuis, Lange Frans, Gers Pardoel and his ten-year-old daughter Jada. The second single is the duet with Trijntje Oosterhuis 'Ik Zou Het Zo Weer Overdoen'.
TIA
Shortly before his Duizend Spiegels tour, Marco suffered a TIA. He was unable to complete the Vrienden van Amstel concert series because of this, but his own tour, scheduled from April to June, went ahead as planned. On 20 November 2015, the album 'Evenwicht' was released. The first single, 'Mooi', was shared on 16 October. About this song, the singer says: '‘Mooi’ was written from a different perspective on things I have gained in the phase of life I am in now.'
Top 2000
Naturally, Marco Borsato is included in the list of lists, the Top 2000 (2020). Marco appears in this list with the following songs:
Sunday Morning Classic: De Bestemming
On 28 November 2021, Marco Borsato was our Sunday Morning Classic with the album "De Bestemming".
De Bestemming is his seventh studio album, released in 1998. More than half a million copies were sold in the Netherlands, earning five times platinum. De Bestemming thus became the best-selling album of 1998. Marco was the first artist to achieve the best-selling album two years in a row. Only Adele managed to equal this in 2011 and 2012, notably with the same album 21.
The album was released a year after Borsato's best-selling album De Waarheid, which sold no less than 700,000 copies in 1997. Through a train tour, which included stops in Den Bosch and Utrecht, Borsato promoted the follow-up in August 1998. Marco received enormous media attention. For example, Radio 538 broadcasted live coverage of Borsato's train journey and RTL 4, RTL 5 and Veronica aired a 2.5-hour relay programme about the release.
At midnight on 14 August, 350 record stores across the country opened their doors to be the first to sell De Bestemming. This event received extra publicity because the Public Prosecution Service called on the police to act against shops that did not have a permit for night-time sales.
In pre-sales, a record number of 300,000 copies (triple platinum) were sold in the Netherlands. Sales later rose above 500,000, making it the fourth time an album by Borsato sold more than half a million copies. Previous albums Marco, Als Geen Ander and De Waarheid also achieved this.
His single 'Het Water' entered the charts with the B-side 'De Speeltuin'. 'De Speeltuin' was written for War Child and has since become an ode to peace for children.
Source: NPO
Photo: By Nathaliethielen - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0 and Steven Chiefa
