sarah bettens

Music:

Member Since: 1/28/2005
Band Website: sarahbettens.com
Band Members:
Sarah Bettens
Eric Grossman-bass
Tom Lodewijkckx-guitar
Billy Van der Westen- drums
Michael Phillip Taylor-guitar in the states
Karen Teperberg-drums in the states

International alt-rock star Sarah Bettens is currently releasing her second solo album, Shine, which was produced by Brad Wood (Sunnyday Real Estate, Placebo, Smashing Pumpkins, Ben Lee). This highly anticipated new release is the follow up to her hugely successful debut solo effort Scream, which earned her the 2006 European Border Breakers Award for Best New Artist.

“With solo record 1 out of the way and my life in balance, I felt huge freedom and space to write and record Shine. I feel like my career just keeps getting better. I'm having more fun, I'm more eager to learn and experience new things and I'm more confident than ever that this is what I should be doing with my life,” says Sarah.

Sarah and her band have been test driving all the new songs from Shine while on tour, with fans going crazy for new tracks “I Can’t Get Out”, “Put It Out for Good”, and “Daddy’s Gun”. MTV/Logo America have just added the video for “Daddy’s Gun” into New, Next, Now rotation and Sarah and her band recently completed a video for the priority single, “I Can’t Get Out”. Sarah’s heartfelt song, “I’m Okay” from the Scream album was also recently licensed by ABC TV/online.

“I feel strongly about what every song on this record says. I can't write about things that don't affect me emotionally,” says Sarah. “With having found some inner peace, I was able to look outside my own little world a little and write about more worldly or political issues, like with “Daddy’s Gun” and “The Soldier Song”. I never want to pretend I have clear-cut solutions for gun control or the war — I just like to offer stories that will hopefully spark conversation.”

The anticipation for Shine is gaining momentum. The Belgian newspaper DeMorgen purchased 180,000 copies of Shine to be distributed in the paper — and the newspaper sold out immediately.

Sarah’s previous solo album Scream is still making waves. “Come Over Here”, the sultry single off the Scream album, is one of the singles on the compilation CD Revolutions released by Music With a Twist/Columbia Records. The song was also a Top 5 alternative hit on Studio Brussels, and popular Dutch remixers Kraak & Smaak released a remix of the song.

2007 has turned into a heavy touring year for Sarah, including a dozen key festivals in Europe in addition to upcoming headline tours of South Africa and Japan (2008), plus a European theatre tour scheduled for November 26-December 15. In North America, Sarah was one of the headliners at this year’s Michigan Womyn’s Festival and is performing at selected tour dates for the Yellow Umbrella Tour, which raises awareness about cervical cancer. Sarah will also be performing at a number of other arts festivals in major cities throughout North America in 2007 and 2008.

Sarah is no newcomer to the rock world. She first earned notoriety as the lead singer of K’s Choice, which has earned Gold and Platinum records in continental Europe and whose international radio hits include “Not An Addict,” “Believe” and “Almost Happy”. She was tapped to write the theme song for Pepsi’s Generation Next campaign and has worked with corporate sponsors, from Levi’s to Nike. With K’s Choice, Sarah has headlined European festivals, toured throughout the U.S. and been featured in Rolling Stone, Vogue, Chicago Sun-Times and Billboard. Now as a solo artist, Sarah continues to make headlines with cover features in French Muse, Curve and The Advocate.

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Record Label: Universal
Type of Label: Major