Natalia (Belgian singer)

Natalia
Background information
Birth name	Natalia Druyts
Born	(1980-12-03) 3 December 1980 Oevel, Flanders, Belgium
Origin	Belgium
Genres	R&B, pop, rock
Occupation(s)	Singer
Years active	2003–present
Labels	Sony Music Belgium 2003-2013 Universal 2013-present
Website	www.nataliamusic.be

Natalia Druyts (born 3 December 1980), best known mononymously as Natalia, is a Flemish recording artist and performer. She has sold over 500,000 albums, and over 1 million concert tickets between 2003 and 2015 in Flanders. While she is a major star in Flanders, she is almost unknown in the French-speaking side of Belgium, Wallonia.

Early life and career

Natalie was born on 3 December 1980 in Geel, Flanders, Belgium. She has graduated as a translator in English and Spanish.

In 2003 Natalia released her first single "Without You", the single peaked at number two in the charts and went gold in sales.

Not much later, Natalia provided two songs for the Belgian movie Team Spirit II, releasing "I've Only Begun To Fight" as her second single and the soundtrack for the movie. The song peaked at number one in the charts and went gold in sales.

Shortly after, she recorded her first full-album, This Time. It went platinum in sales, and Natalia started her first tour, the This Time Live Tour. Originally planned as a 20 date tour, it was extended to 90 dates due to massive ticket demands.

At the same time as that tour, she performed at the pre-selections for the Eurovision Song Contest with "Higher Than The Sun", which was released as her third single. It peaked at number two in the charts.

The fourth and last single of the This Time album was "I Want You Back", which peaked at number three in the charts.

In October 2005, Natalia released a single together with The Pointer Sisters, "Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves", which reached number two in the Belgian charts. She performed 10 concerts with The Pointer Sisters in January 2006 during Natalia Meets The Pointer Sisters in the Sportpaleis, Antwerp, attended by more than 130,000 people.

Natalia released a single together with En Vogue called "Glamorous" in October 2007; it reached number two on the Belgian charts. In January 2008 she performed with En Vogue and Shaggy during Natalia Meets En Vogue, Feat Shaggy at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp. 75,000 people attended the six shows.

In 2009 she asked the French designer Frédéric Luca Landi to design her dress for her concert at the Sportpaleis.

In January 2011, Natalia planned a new concert series with an international superstar, this time she chose Anastacia. They recorded a single called "Burning Star", and in January 2011 toured as Natalia Meets Anastacia, selling over 75.000 tickets.

Discography

Studio albums

Singles

Notes

A. ^ ^ ^ "I Survived You", "Heartbreaker" and "Still with Me" were only released digitally.
B. ^ "Razorblade" did not enter the Flemish Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 5 on the Ultratip chart.
C. ^ "Anyone Out There" did not enter the Flemish Ultratop 50, but peaked at number 15 on the Ultratip chart.

DVDs

• Back For More live (2005) (#1)
• Natalia Meets En Vogue feat. Shaggy (2008)
• Natalia Live In Hasselt - 10 Year Anniversary Concert (2013)

Awards

Autobiography

Met Hart En Soul (English: With Heart and Soul) was written by Natalia and a ghost-writer. It is about her early life and career. The book was released on 8 October 2007.

Tours

• Her 1st tour, This Time, began on 13 January 2004 and was her first live tour (with live band). The original 20 shows were expanded to a 90-date tour.
• Her 2nd tour, Back For More, started on 5 November 2004. The show played over 100 dates. and included her own songs and some covers, such as an Elvis medley, Tina Turner medley and "Hanky Panky" by Madonna. This tour was released on DVD.
• Her 3rd tour was the Natalia Summer Live tour during the summer of 2005.
• Her 4th tour, Me & My Producer, started on 1 November 2005, in which her producer appeared on stage. This show featured fewer musicians and more backing vocals.
• Her 5th tour, Natalia MeetsThe Pointer Sisters In January 2006 Natalia and The Pointer Sisters gave 10 sold-out shows in Belgium's largest concert hall, Sportpaleis in Antwerp. More than 130,000 people attended the shows.
• Her 6th tour, Everything & More Summertour, in the summer of 2007, played to over 200,000 people.
• Her 7th tour, Natalia Meets En Vogue, Feat Shaggy, at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp Six dates (75,000 tickets) where sold out. This was released on DVD and went platinum in sales.
• Her 8h tour, Glamorous Arena Tour in the fall of 2008, was the largest moving tour ever by a Belgian artist. The tour played in cities across Belgium, selling 60,000 tickets.
• Her 9th tour, Wise Girl Summertour in the summer of 2009, played in both open air and venues to over 100,000 people.
• Her 10th tour, Acoustelicious in the fall of 2009, played in venues all over Belgium to over 30,000 people. A live recording of one of the shows was released.
• Her 11th tour, Natalia Summertour in summer of 2010 plays both open air and inside venues in cities across Belgium.
• Her 12th tour, Natalia Meets Anastacia, sold 75,000 tickets during six dates at the Sportpaleis in Antwerp for January 2011.
• Her 13th tour, Natalia Best of Summertour, was a tour playing in both open air and venues all over Belgium during the summer of 2011.
• Her 14th tour, Natalia Overdrive Summertour, played to over 100,000 people in the summer of 2013.
• Her 15th tour, 10 Years Natalia, played 10 year anniversary concerts at the Lotto and Ethias Arena between May and October 2013. The show was filmed at Ethias Arena and released on DVD in the Overdrive Deluxe Edition version of the Overdrive album.

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Natalia Druyts.

Official sites:

• NataliaDruyts.be
• NataliaMusic.be
• NataliaMusic.nl
• Natalia at My Space

Official site for Natalia Meets Anastacia

• Nataliameets.be