Ruth Jacott

Born in Paramaribo, Suriname in 1960 and brought to the Netherlands as a child, Ruth Jacott has established herself on the Dutch scene between pop, soul and jazz influences. After starting out as a backing and studio singer in Amsterdam in the 1980s, she gained attention in several musicals, where she honed a vocal style geared toward storytelling and expressiveness—situated between popular song, urban soul and the Dutch cabaret tradition. Her career reached a national turning point when she represented the Netherlands at the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Vrede”, which secured her a lasting presence in the musical landscape. That same year she released her debut studio album, the self-titled Ruth Jacott (1993), consolidating a direction toward adult pop sung mainly in Dutch, open to both orchestral ballads and more rhythm-driven tracks. Since then she has alternated recordings, themed theatrical tours and collaborations with other Dutch artists, maintaining a repertoire focused on everyday emotions, relationships and personal narratives within an accessible sound that blends pop arrangements, soul touches and elements from musical theatre.