Dutch Daze: Anouk

New York City is celebrating the Five Dutch Days in Five Boroughs festival this week. Unfortunately all the Gotham kids are getting are a genealogy themed tour, a Dutch farm harvest dinner and a historic worship service. That's just awful.  There is so much more my lovely, little country has to offer. So while some of you might still be enjoying Dutch culture in one of the boroughs, I decided to put together the alternative "Dutch Daze" program that features some of the best Dutch artists of the moment during the next five days.

Anouk is one of the very few artists who had a serious shot at making it in the States. Discovered and groomed by The Golden Earing, the spunky singer signed a red, hot contract with Sony Music. The label had spotted Anouk after she quickly rose to fame with her debut single "Nobody's Wife," a raw, in-your-face bitch session that makes Alanis Morissette's "You Oughta Know" pale in comparison.

After the release of her album "Together Alone" in the States in 1998, Anouk realized that making it big in the U.S. meant compromising. Something she refused to do (much to Sony's dismay). Instead, the rock chick built a very successful recording career in The Netherlands that includes many hit singles and albums. Most recently, she won an MTV Award Award 2005 in the category of Best Act from the Netherlands/Belgium. Currently, she's back in the Dutch chart with the rock ballad "One Word." [source, source]

Watch Anouk "Nobody's Wife"
Watch Anouk "One Word"