Sharon den Adel
Sharon den Adel
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Sharon den Adel

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Sharon den Adel

Sharon Janny den Adel (born 12 July 1974) is a Dutch singer and songwriter who is the lead vocalist of the symphonic metal band Within Temptation. She has been performing since age 14, and co-founded Within Temptation with partner Robert Westerholt in 1996. She was also elected to be the Dutch chairperson of the jury for the Eurovision Song Contest 2018.

Sharon Janny den Adel was born on 12 July 1974 in Waddinxveen. She lived in Indonesia for five years as a child. The Balinese dancers that she saw during that time inspired her dance movements on stage. After returning from Suriname to the Netherlands, she was bullied by classmates because of her different clothing style, hairstyle, and darkened skin. From the age of 14, she performed with various bands, including a blues rock band called Kashiro. As their partnership grew, in 1996 they came to form a band called The Portal, though the name was changed to Within Temptation before their debut recording. Den Adel has a bachelor's degree in fashion design.

Sharon never formally studied singing and stated in a 2006 interview that she had sung a short while in a choir and was mostly self-taught. She used to practice alone three or four hours per day. She has been described as possessing a mezzo-soprano voice.

Robert Westerholt and den Adel formed Within Temptation (initially called The Portal, though the name was changed before their first recording) in 1996. Westerholt had introduced den Adel to his music when he performed with the band The Circle, which was sonically similar to the music that Within Temptation would make. She has defined their work as epic and cinematic. Her vocals play a major role in the band's sound, despite having never received formal vocal training.

Before Within Temptation became famous, she worked for a fashion company, leaving after the band found success with their hit single "Ice Queen". She utilizes her fashion expertise by designing her stage costumes and the band's merchandise. About.com described den Adel as a "versatile and skilled singer who is equally adept at singing powerfully with a full orchestra and choir as she is at singing quietly and emotionally with just a piano." When asked if she prefers to sing in Dutch or English, den Adel said that she favors the latter because "Dutch just doesn't fit to our music style. It is also not the nicest language to sing in. Italian or Spanish would then be better options."

The band were invited several times to compete at the Eurovision Song Contest as the Dutch representatives, but they have declined every time since they find it not the best place for a metal band to present themselves. In 2018, den Adel was then selected as a juror for that year's edition.

On 9 November 2017, den Adel announced on the Dutch TV-show RTL Late Night, that on the following day 10 November 2017, the first single for her solo project My Indigo, also entitled "My Indigo", would be released. According to den Adel, the project was originally not intended to be released to the general public as it was for her a form to deal with personal problems, and also due to a writer's block for composing for Within Temptation. After two years composing for herself and with regained inspiration to write for Within Temptation, den Adel decided to share the project publicly as a separate project named "My Indigo". The self titled first album was released on 20 April 2018.

Besides her main work on Within Temptation, den Adel has performed on-stage and in the studio with several notable artists from varied musical genres, including Tarja Turunen, Armin van Buuren, After Forever, De Heideroosjes, Oomph!, Delain, Agua de Annique, Anneke van Giersbergen and Evanescence. Before forming Within Temptation, den Adel worked together with Voyage, formed by some of the future Within Temptation members, on the track "Frozen" (not to be confused with the Within Temptation song of the same title).

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