Edsilia Rombley | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Rombley in 2009 | |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Edsilia |
| Born | Edsilia Francisca Rombley (1978-02-13)13 February 1978 (age 47) Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
|
| Years active | 1995–present |
| Website | edsiliarombley |
Edsilia Francisca Rombley (Dutch pronunciation:[ɛtˈsilijaːˈrɔmbli]; born 13 February 1978) is a Dutch singer and television presenter. She began her career in 1995, as a member of the Dutch girl groupDignity. Rombley began her solo career in 1996, after winning the Dutch talent showSoundmixshow, later winning theEuropean Soundmix Show as well the following year.
In 1998, Rombley wonNationaal Songfestival 1998 and represented the Netherlands in theEurovision Song Contest 1998 with the song "Hemel en aarde", placing fourth. She laterrepresented the Netherlands in theEurovision Song Contest 2007 with the song "On Top of the World", but did not qualify for the final. In 2009, Rombley hosted season one of the Dutch celebrity talent showBeste Zangers. She was due to host the cancelledEurovision Song Contest 2020 and later hosted theEurovision Song Contest 2021 inRotterdam.
Throughout her career, Rombley has released eight studio albums and two top ten singles in the Netherlands.
Rombley was born on 13 February 1978 inAmsterdam in theNetherlands. Her parents were fromAruba andCuraçao (Netherlands Antilles).
The career of Rombley started in 1995, with Gracia Gorré, Karima Lemghari and Susan Haps in the group calledDignity. The name Dignity stands for Dignified Individuals Giving New Insight To You. A year later the singles "Talk To Me" and "Hold Me" from the compilation album "No Sweat" entered the charts.
In 1996, Edsilia won the final of theSoundmixshow with a cover version ofOleta Adams' song, "I Just Had To Hear Your Voice". In 1997, her international reputation was established thanks to the profit of theEuropean Soundmix Show, in which she sang the same song. That year she left Dignity and released her first solo single "Baby It's You". In 1997 she recorded her first album "Thuis" which was in assignment and exclusive forDouwe Egberts.
In 1998, Edsilia competed in theEurovision Song Contest 1998 inBirmingham,United Kingdom, where she gained 150 points and placed 4th with the song "Hemel en aarde" ("Heaven and earth"). This was the best resultthe Netherlands had achieved since their win in 1975 with Teach-In untilThe Common Linnets' second-place finish in2014. The song was written byFluitsma & Van Tijn and reached twelfth place in the top 40. Her debutEnglish album was released shortly after her Eurovision participation.
Edsilia represented the Netherlands again at theEurovision Song Contest 2007 in May 2007 inHelsinki,Finland with the song "On Top of the World", but was eliminated in the semi-finals. TheDutch original is titled "Nooit Meer Zonder Jou". She also announced the votes from the Netherlands for the Eurovision Final in 1999, in 2015, and in 2007 withPaul de Leeuw.
On 4 December 2019, she was announced one of the three presenters of theEurovision Song Contest 2020 in Rotterdam, which was later cancelled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, alongsideChantal Janzen andJan Smit.[1][2] She later co-hostedHet Grote Songfestivalfeest (English: the Big Songfestival Party), a live concert show featuring artists from the past sixty-four years, at theZiggo Dome in Amsterdam as a pre-event prior to the 2020 contest. The concert was broadcast on Dutch TV onNew Year's Day 2020.[3][4]
In 2021 she was one of the four presenters of theEurovision Song Contest 2021, together withChantal Janzen,Jan Smit andNikkie de Jager.
After many struggles, Edsilia released her second album "Face To Face" in 2002. The album was produced by Tjeerd Oosterhuis. This was preceded by the hit "What Have You Done To Me", which became nominated in the category for best R&B song at the TMF Awards. The same song gained her a nomination in 2003, as well as an Edison Award nomination for the 'Best Artist'. In spite of high expectations, the album did not do well. In 2003, "Face to Face" was released in Germany and also gained minimal success. The singer stayed there to promote the album, however, the album did not succeed.
From January 2004, the singer went on tour with jazz pianist Michiel Borstlap, in which she played a combination of hit standards and jazz. Besides her own repertoire she covered song fromAnita Baker and Oleta Adams. On 28 November Edsilia Rombley and Karin Bloemen sang during a benefit concert forBangladesh, organised by Memisa, a foundation which works for the improvement of health care in developing countries. The singers were accompanied by a five-man band and backing singers. They also sang some special numbers by Tjeerd Oosterhuis, composed for Memisa.
Using one of the songs from the benefit concert inBangladesh, her husbandTjeerd Oosterhuis created a version for a special cause. The song was for the benefit of the victims of the tsunami that occurred in the Indian Ocean. In January 2005, Edsilia was one of the singers incorporated into the Artists For Asia, "Als Je Iets Kan Doen" song that included many Dutch artists. In 2005, for the first time, Edsilia went on tour in the Dutch theaters with the show 'Van Jongs Af Aan'. She played a repertoire of covers, but also own numbers. In spite of her minimal success as a singer, the tour was rather successful.
In 2006, Rombley took part in the RTL 4 TV-programmeDancing with the Stars, a dancing contest with well-known Dutch and professional dancing teachers. Edsilia danced with the dance-coach Peter Bosveld, but was eliminated after the fourth show.
In June 2006, Edsilia's single "Dan Ben Ik Van Jou" was released as an indication of an entirely new album with Dutch compositions. It had reasonable success in the Dutch Top 40. On 1 September 2006 Edsilia married Tjeerd Oosterhuis in Amsterdam. Recently, her new single has appeared: "Eén Keer Meer Dan Jij". This ballad was written by Tjeerd Oosterhuis and will be on the new album titled "Meer Dan Ooit". The release is planned for February 2007. Edislia has begun a new tour in Dutch theatres. Edsilia's vocals are present on the single "Vlinders" byBrainpower, which was released in December 2006.
In 2019, Rombley has been assigned to the role ofMary at The Passion, which is a Dutch television show which tells the Easter story in a musical way.
She appears in the 2022 filmHet Feest van Tante Rita, her first major film role.[5]
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NL [6] | |||||||||||||
| Thuis |
| — | |||||||||||
| Edsilia |
| 86 | |||||||||||
| Face to face |
| — | |||||||||||
| Meer dan ooit |
| 6 | |||||||||||
| Uit mijn hart |
| 48 | |||||||||||
| Sweet Soul Music |
| 7 | |||||||||||
| The Piano Ballads, Vol. 1 |
| 21 | |||||||||||
| The Piano Ballads - Volume 2 |
| 89 | |||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| NL [6] | ||
| Live |
| 9 |
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NL [6] | |||||||||||||
| "Baby It's You" | 1997 | — | Non-album singles | ||||||||||
| "Hemel en aarde" | 1998 | 10 | |||||||||||
| "Second Floor" | 59 | ||||||||||||
| "Get Here" | 1999 | 88 | |||||||||||
| "How Can You Say That" | — | ||||||||||||
| "What Have You Done to Me" | 2001 | 98 | Face to face | ||||||||||
| "Gotta Let Me Go" | 2002 | 83 | |||||||||||
| "I'll Be That Someone" | 86 | ||||||||||||
| "Dan ben ik van jou" | 2006 | 45 | Meer dan ooit | ||||||||||
| "Nooit meer zonder jou" | 2007 | 14 | |||||||||||
| "On Top of the World" | — | ||||||||||||
| "Een keer meer dan jij" | — | ||||||||||||
| "Geef je over" | 2010 | 84 | Uit mijn hart | ||||||||||
| "Uit het oog niet uit mijn hart" (withRuth Jacott) | 2011 | 36 | |||||||||||
| "Ik Laat Je Niet Alleen" | 2012 | — | Non-album singles | ||||||||||
| "Zeg Me Dat Het Niet Zo Is" | 6 | ||||||||||||
| "Van Jou" | 2014 | 71 | |||||||||||
| "Als Jij ME Belooft" | 2016 | — | |||||||||||
| "Wat Je Doet Met Mij" (featuring Re-Play) | 2017 | — | |||||||||||
| "Weak" | 2018 | — | |||||||||||
| "The Way You Make Me Feel" | 2019 | — | |||||||||||
| "Breng Me Naar Het Water" (with Edwin Jonker) | — | ||||||||||||
| "Lieve Mama" | 2020 | — | |||||||||||
| "Goed Voor Mij" (withKenny B) | — | ||||||||||||
| "Raket Naar De Maan" | — | ||||||||||||
| "In Balans" | — | ||||||||||||
| "Chale (Ali B Op Volle Toeren)" | — | ||||||||||||
| "Als Ik Weer Bij Jou Ben" | 2021 | — | |||||||||||
| "Rustpunt" | — | ||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. | |||||||||||||
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 1998 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Eurovision Song Contest presenter 2021 With:Chantal Janzen,Jan Smit andNikkie de Jager | Succeeded by |
| International | |
|---|---|
| Artists | |
| People | |
