Kate Ryan (real name Katrien Verbeeck) was born on July 22, 1980, in Tessenderlo, Belgium.

Biography and Career:

Ryan developed a loved for music playing from an early age as she was raised very close to her family. She had already mastered the piano and the guitar by the time she was a teen and took vocal and musical lessons from her aunt. As a teenager on stage, she was popular for her imitations of Madonna.

She also nurtured a keen interest in arts and even took lessons for it in her teens. By that time, Kate was already performing at small events across her hometown. In 1996, she was spotted by a music manager was subsequently invited to join the pop band Melt. But she didn’t stay long with them as Melt’s activity was very low. Kate Ryan decided to embark on a solo care er.

She collaborated with producer Andy Janssens for her solo career and released her first song “Scream for More” from her debut album “Different”. It was released under the EMI label. The song hit #9 in the Belgium charts. After the album’s release, more than 250,000 copies were sold in Europe. But the best hit from the album was Kate’s cover of”Désenchantée”. It topped the charts in six countries and reached #20 on the US Billboard Hot Dance charts.

Kate’s next effort was the album “Stronger” in 2004.The album reached #22 on Belgium charts and the single “The Promise You Made” – a remix of Cock Robin’s original – reached #15 on the US Billboard Hot Dance charts.

Her third album “Alive” was released in 2006. The title song “Alive” hit #5 in three countries and another single “Je t’adore” was at #1 for a continuous six weeks. As a result, Kate was selected to represent Belgium at the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest.

In 2007, her single remake “Voyage Voyage/We All Belong” was made the theme song for Eurogames 2007. Apart from that, her album Free (2008) achieved Gold in homeland and in Sweden and earned Platinum in Spain. The sales for “Free” crossed the 250,000 sales mark.

Why is she famous?

Kate Ryan is famous as a singer who has released hits like "Désenchantée,” "Je t'adore” and "We All Belong”. The third track was also selected as the theme song for 2007 Euro Games.

Here is one of her famous quotes:

““People didn’t know me, and to be honest, I was just really happy the first time I heard my voice on the radio! I couldn’t believe it. And I’m so happy that I got the chance to do it because many people would love to do what I do -- I’m really thankful for it."
- Kate Ryan
_{Image Source : glandigomusic.com}

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Tags: 1980, belgium, singer	[edit tags]

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Category: Musicians  - ( Musicians Archive)

Date Added: 30 December '08

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