eliZe was born Elise Van Der Horst in 1982, Utrecht (Netherlands). From the earliest stages of her childhood, it became obvious that her mother’s singing talent had been passed down to eliZe, along with an unstoppable urge to dance. At the tender age of 8, in order to satisfy her growing desire to perform, her parents let her audition for the famous Dutch National Choir project ‘Kinderen voor Kinderen’ (Children for Children – named after its charity connection). For five consecutive years eliZe starred both on national television and on the project’s bestselling albums, which also featured eliZe in several solo performances.
Moving on to highschool, eliZe outgrew the children’s project and joined a musical choir and continued exploring and developing her talents. Two years later the people behind ‘Kinderen voor Kinderen’ returned to eliZe, asking her to play a part in their acclaimed theatre tour. Without hesitation she jumped into the project and toured all over the country for two full years.
Then in 2004, eliZe’s world turned upside down, as the people at Spinnin’ Records recognized her talent and teamed her up with Danish hit producers Peter Hartmann and Jan Langhoff (Aqua, Ace Of Base, Ch!pz). This moment marks the beginning of an eventful and successful career for (now grown-up) eliZe, making her a fresh icon in the international pop-dance scene.
eliZe was launched in a major way by her first single “Shakeâ€, followed by “Automaticâ€, which immediately reached the Top 10 in the Dutch charts, and “I’m No Latinoâ€. In 2006 the fourth hit single “Into Your System†finally introduced eliZe’s long-awaited debut album “In Control†– entirely written, produced and recorded in Scandinavia.
Apart from her domestic success in the Netherlands, eliZe also reached an audience in the rest of Europe over the course of her career up to now. She now has fans in Germany, France, Belgium, Poland, Bulgaria and Slovenia. However, eliZe is not restricted to just the European borders. Her music has also been released in the rest of the world, such as Japan, China, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, the USA and Canada.
Currently eliZe is in full preparation for the release of her second album, which will also contain songs that she co-wrote herself. This time she’s working with internationally acclaimed producers in Amsterdam and London. The first single “Lovesick†was released in several countries just before last summer. It reached 1 in the Bulgarian charts, for 6 weeks in a row.
In the meantime RTL, the 1 commercial TV broadcaster in Holland, asked eliZe to host the Dutch version of the worldwide TV smash hit ‘So You Think You Can Dance’. In this thrilling competition all-round dance contestants are criticized by both the audience and professional judges, amongst whom top choreographer Dan Karaty (USA).
Eventually for eliZe’s music career, Spinnin’ Records expect worldwide releases of her singles and albums through their international associates, making 2009 the year in which eliZe will secure her unequivocal position in the international music scene.
