Wonderland Burlesque's
Down The Rabbit Hole:
Vengaboys
Down The Rabbit Hole merely places a spotlight on something slightly unusual that's caught my interest. With the help of Wikipedia, YouTube, and other sites, I gather information and learn something new.
Today, we take a look at the music and history of Vengaboys.
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Vengaboys is a Dutch Eurodance music group based in Rotterdam consisting of lead and female vocalist Kim Sasabone, female vocalist Denise van Rijswijk and male vocalists Robin Pors and Donny Latupeirissa. Created by Dutch producers Wessel van Diepen (who selected the group members) and Dennis van den Driesschen (known as Danski and Delmundo), the group enjoyed commercial success in the late 1990s. They are best known for their hit singles We Like to Party, Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!! and We're Going to Ibiza, the latter two of which topped the UK Singles Chart and have sold an estimated 25 million records worldwide.
On May 2, 2000, the World Music Awards gave Vengaboys the award for best-selling dance group of the year. The name 'Vengaboys' was originally the title of the electronic musical project of Dutch producers Danski and Delmundo as DJs in the early 90's. In 1997 they decided to use the name to produce a pop group, choosing the Brazilian-Dutch singer Kim Sasabone as the vocal lead. After some auditions, Denise Post-Van Rijswijk, Roy den Burger and Robin Pors were added to complete the group.
In August of 1997, the group released their debut single, followed by two more singles in December 1997 and February 1998. In April of 1998, the group released their debut album Up & Down - The Party Album in the Netherlands and Belgium. The album was certified gold in the Netherlands. This was followed by We Like to Party! in May, which peaked at #2 on the Dutch charts and at #1 in Belgium in June of 1998.
In October the group released Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!! and Greatest Hits! Part 1, the album peaked at #1 on the Dutch chart.
In November of 1998, the Vengaboys entered the UK Singles Chart at #4 with Up and Down. We Like to Party! was released internationally in 1999 and was a Top 10 hit in many European countries, Canada, Australia, and New Zealand. It reached #26 on the Billboard Hot 100.
In June 1999, The Vengaboys re-released Greatest Hits! Part 1 as The Party Album. The single Boom Boom Boom Boom!! went to #1 in the UK, New Zealand and the Netherlands. The album would spent 30 consecutive weeks on the US Billboard 200, and was certified gold.
We're Going to Ibiza, a reworking of Typically Tropical's 1975 #1 hit Barbados, also reached the top slot in the Netherlands in September 1999. A remix album followed.
The Platinum Album was released in early 2000. Its first three singles Kiss (When the Sun Don't Shine), Shalala Lala and Uncle John from Jamaica all charted in Europe, Australia and New Zealand, and Canada, with the first two going on to top the New Zealand charts. Prior to the album's release, Pors left the group to pursue a solo career and was replaced by dolphin trainer Yorick Bakker.
In 2002 Post-Van Rijswijk and Bakker left the group, effectively shuttering the group.
They would return in 2007, with Bakker leaving, again, in 2009.
In 2010, the band released a new single, Rocket To Uranus, a collaboration with singer-songwriter Pete Burns and American celebrity Perez Hilton. An additional single and a holiday album followed. The single Where Did My X-mas Tree Go was released together with a new music video.
The group continues to tour and released a single, 1999 (I Wanna Go Back) in September of 2021.
We Like To Part - Vengaboys
Boom, Boom, Boom - Vengaboys
We're Going To Ibiza - Vengaboys
Rocket To Uranus - Vengaboys
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