Ruth Jacott | |
---|---|
Born |
Paramaribo, Suriname |
2 September 1960
Genres | Pop |
Occupation(s) | Singer |
Labels | CNR Music |
Associated acts | Humphrey Campbell |
Ruth Jacott (born September 2, 1960 in Paramaribo) is a Dutch-Surinamese singer.
Jacott transitioned from musical theatre to popular music in 1993, when she represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 1993. Her song, "Vrede" (Peace), was one of the favorites to win, and ended up ranking sixth out of 25 at Millstreet. She has since released nine Dutch-language albums, four of which made the Top Ten on the Dutch music charts.
Ruth Jacott was born in Suriname and at nine, moved with her family to The Netherlands, where at 17 she took part in a talent contest, after which she received many offers to perform. She dropped out of the Hilversum Conservatory and began her career with The Vips and bands like The Skymasters, the VARA-Dansorkest and the Metropole Orkest.
In 1988, Jacott won the Knokke Festival in Belgium. After this success she had many offers to work in the musical world. She landed key roles in Dutch and German-language productions of Cats and A Night At The Cotton Club, touring The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany and Switzerland. In 1989 Jacott received the Zilveren Harp (Silver Harp) award. One year later she sang the duet "Tegyo Makandra" with Hans Vermeulen, in commemoration of a plane crash in Paramaribo, the capital of Suriname. The duet was also released after the 1992 crash of an El Al flight in the Bijlmer (southeast Amsterdam), and became a hit.
In 1993 her career took an important turn when she was asked to represent The Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Festival in Ireland. She received 92 points and ranked #6 with the song "Vrede" (Peace). The song's chorus stated: