Jacques Houdek | |
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| Background information | |
| Also known as | Gospodin Glas ili Mrvica (Mr. Voice)[1][2] |
| Born | Željko Houdek (1981-04-15)15 April 1981 (age 44) |
| Genres |
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| Years active | 2000–present |
| Website | jacqueshoudek |
Jacques Houdek (bornŽeljko Houdek; 15 April 1981) is a Croatian recording artist whorepresented Croatia in theEurovision Song Contest 2017 with the song "My Friend".[3] Houdek began his professional solo career in 2000 and has since released many recordings and albums out which 13 have been certified silver (five times), gold, platinum and diamond (once). Houdek is one of the mentors in theCroatian version of the TV talent showThe Voice. Duringshow's first season, he mentored the winnerNina Kraljić.[4] Aside fromCroatian, he has sung and recorded in English, Italian, German, Spanish, French,Slovene,Macedonian, andMāori language.
Jacques Houdek was born as Željko Houdek on 14 April 1981 inVelika Gorica. His last name is ofCzech origin. After finishing elementary music school (piano department), Houdek enrolled in two high schools, music (solo singing department) and vocational hairdressing. He also attended singing lessons with professor Viktorija Badrov who wanted him to become anopera singer.[5] After finishing high schools in 2001, he enrolled in prestigiousBerklee College of Music, honing his singing in seminars in France, Greece and Italy. Houdek continued to build up his knowledge on Berklee seminars in Europe, where he had the opportunity to be mentored by Donna McElroy, aGrammy Award nominee.[6][7]
Houdek held his first solo concert on 19 February 2000 inZagreb club SAX! where he performed covers of various songs. His first single, the song "Čarolija" (Magic), was released in 2002 and performed by Houdek atDora,Croatia's national competition for entry to theEurovision Song Contest. There he was noticed by maestro Zdravko Šljivac who offered him a collaboration and publicly praised him by saying that a singer such as Houdek is born once every 300 years. The next month, Houdek signed an exclusive contract withCroatia Records, the leading music publisher in the region, with whom he has produced 13 albums. In 2004, he provided the singing voice ofAladdin for the Croatian dub of theAladdin franchise, with Dušan Bućan voicing the character for the dialogues.[8][9]
During campaign for2007 parliamentary election, Houdek sangparty anthem "HDZ zna" (HDZ Knows) for theconservativeCroatian Democratic Union (HDZ) which was at the time ran byIvo Sanader. He later also sang for the mayoral campaign of thepopulistMilan Bandić. Houdek said in an interview forJutarnji list that he isapolitical and that those were just professional engagements as any other.[10] In the2019 presidential election, he supported independent candidateMiroslav Škoro.
In January 2011, Houdek placed fourth in the finals of theOpen Mic UK singing contest held inLondon'sO2 Arena. He also participated in the British TV showX Factor, where he was given the nickname "Croatian Sensation" and entered the top 100 candidates. He was unable to continue his participation in the contest because he did not receive awork permit in time.
In February 2017, Houdek was selected torepresent Croatia at theEurovision Song Contest inKyiv, Ukraine.[11] He qualified for the final, achieving eighth place in the second semi-final and eventually 13th place in the grand final with the song "My Friend".[12]
Over the years, he has performed in the Zagreb'sGavella andKomedija theaters,Lincoln Center for the Performing Arts, on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of his career, theCroatian National Theatre in Zagreb, and has sold out solo concert inVatroslav Lisinski Concert Hall for five times.[7]
In 2005, Houdek said in an interview for theTena magazine that "gay andlesbian population cannot be equal with other citizens because it means a return toSodom and Gomorrah", and has calledsame-sex unions "sick" for which he was named the "Homophobe of the Year" in 2006[13] in a selection organised by the main CroatianLGBT portal Gay.hr.[14] In a report from 2005, theInternational Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans and Intersex Association (ILGA) listed him as "a public figure who gave homophobic statements".[15][16] In 2011, Houdek was nominated for the title "Homophobe of the Decade" by the LGBTZagreb Pride organisation which called him "without doubt the biggest homophobe in Croatian showbiz".[17] In response, Houdek published a public statement onFacebook titled "Love and Music are My Driving Forces" in which he expressed his regret for being included in the selection, adding that he wasgay-friendly and had nothing against love of any kind.[18]
Houdek is married to Brigita Krkač since 2006 with whom he has two children, daughter Sofija (b. 2006) and son David (b. 2013).[7]
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Čarolija |
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| Kad si sretan |
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| Živim za to |
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| Idemo u zoološki vrt |
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| Crno i bijelo |
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| Najveći Božićni Hitovi |
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| Meni za ljubav |
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| Tko je, srce, u te dirn'o? |
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| Title | Details |
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| Live in Gavella |
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| Live in SAX! |
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| Live! |
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| Title | Details |
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| Za posebne trenutke |
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| Najljepše ljubavne pjesme |
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| The Best of Collection |
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| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CRO [19] | |||||||||||||||||||||
| "Slap Ljubavi" | 2016 | — | Non-album singles | ||||||||||||||||||
| "Tugo Moja" | — | ||||||||||||||||||||
| "Kad nekoga voliš" | 2017 | — | |||||||||||||||||||
| "My Friend" | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| "Čista umjetnost" (withNina Kraljić) | 2019 | 25 | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Teret" | 2020 | 4 | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Srce pamti zauvijek" | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| "Život" | 2021 | 22 | |||||||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Title | Year | Album |
|---|---|---|
| "Brazil" (Motiwwwo featuring Jacques Houdek) | 2014 | Non-album single |
Four-time winner of the Croatian music awardPorin.
Porin nominations:
Goran Kovačić, Robert Vrbančić, Alan Dović, Kristijan Zebić, Krunoslav Dražić, Antun Stašić, Ante Gelo, Krunoslav Levačić, Dalibor Marinković, Davor Černigoj, Nebojša Buhin, Zlatan Došlić, Igor Geržina et al.
Predrag Martinjak, Tihomir Ivanetić, Bojan Šalomon,Nikša Bratoš, David Vurdelja,Tihomir Preradović, Mahir Sarihodžić, Olja Dešić,Boris Đurđević, Dalibor Paurić, Hrvoje Runtić et al.
Ante Pecotić, Aleksandra Milutinović,Aleksandra Kovač, Andrea Čubrić, Bruno Kovačić, Ivana Plechinger, Ines Prajo, Arijana Kunštek, Zorana Šiljeg,Tonči Huljić, Ivica Krajač, Ivan Škunca et al.
Zdravko Šljivac, Alan Bjelinski, Siniša Leopold, Stipica Kalogjera, Nikica Kalogjera, Joško Banov et al.
Girls' Choir 'Zvjezdice', Children's choir 'Klinci s Ribnjaka', Zagreb Soloists, Croatian Radiotelevision Jazz Orchestra, Ante Gelo Big Band, Nikša Bratoš Band, Krunoslav Dražić's Tambura Orchestra, Croatian Radiotelevision's Tambura Orchestra, Antun Stašić's Maestro Orchestra et al.
Tereza Kesovija,Gabi Novak,Josipa Lisac,Radojka Šverko,Vera Svoboda,Zdenka Kovačiček,Zdenka Vučković,Doris Dragović,Nina Badrić,Vanna,Ivana Kindl, Ivana Husar,Maja Blagdan,Kaliopi,Oliver Dragojević,Krunoslav Slabinac,Tony Cetinski,Massimo,Marko Tolja, Erato group et al.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link){{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)| Awards and achievements | ||
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| Preceded by | Croatia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 | Succeeded by |
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