Charlie Dée

Charlie Dée (real name: Renée van Dongen, born Rotterdam, The Netherlands, 22 August 1977) is a Dutch singer/songwriter. She started writing songs and music at a young. A former student of the Rotterdam Conservatory, she first gained prominence in 2004, as she triumphed in the Singer/Songwriter category of Holland's number one competition for musical talent, the Grote Prijs van Nederland ('Grand Prize of The Netherlands') with the song If I Ever Knew. In 2006 she also won an Essent Award (a talent award in The Netherlands). 2006 saw the release of her début album Where Do Girls Come From, to good reviews and numerous comparisons to singer/songwriters such as Joni Mitchell, Rickie Lee Jones and Carole King. Charlie Dée toured The Netherlands extensively in support of the album, with a four-piece band consisting of Martijn van Agt (guitars), Chris Grem (bass), Johan Hendrikse (keys) and Joeri Rook (drums). Love Your Life (2007), Charlie Dée's second album, had more of a live feel. Another tour of The Netherlands followed, included a support-act slot for Joe Cocker. Ten Thousand Times, a track from the Love Your Life album, was released as a single in 2008, but (unlike the album version) the single version is a duet with Huub van der Lubbe, frontman of legendary Dutch (and Dutch-language) rockers De Dijk. Charlie Dée embarked on a special project in 2008: a very well-received live tribute to the songbook of Joni Mitchell. Charlie and her band toured theatres throughout The Netherlands with this show, of which the A Tribute To Joni Mitchell: Live At Kriterion is a warm registration. That same summer Dée contributed guest vocals to two songs on a balladeer's album Where Are You, Bambi Woods?. She also accompanied them on their early 2009 club tour. In 2010 Charlie Dée went into the studio to work on her third studio album (and fourth album in total), a heartfelt 'break-up' album (described by Charlier as "my personal Blood On The Tracks") entitled Husbands And Wives and set for a 03 September 2010 release. The album was preceded by a single from the album: Have It All. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.