Frans Bauer

Frans Bauer
Background information
Birth name	Frans Smit
Also known as	France Bauer
Born	(1973-12-30) 30 December 1973 (age 47)
Origin	Netherlands
Genres	Pop Schlager
Occupation(s)	Singer
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1994–present
Website	[1]

Frans Bauer (born 30 December 1973 in Roosendaal under the name Frans Smit) is a Dutch singer of "levenslied" (Dutch Schlager).^[1]

Biography[]

From an early age, Frans Bauer was determined to become a singer. His great idols are Julio Iglesias, Elvis Presley and . By the latter, he was sometimes brought on stage to sing along with Ik verscheurde je foto (I tore up your photo).

Bauer's own musical career was shaped in 1987, when he recorded his first single Ben je jong (Are you young) under the supervision of producers and .

Bauer grew to be a local celebrity in the vicinity of the town where he lives, Fijnaart. He got his first national celebrity through the television programme (1991), in which, with the permission of his girlfriend Mariska, he got to select two female fans (who both coincidentally are named Diana) to go out with for an evening.

The television show made Bauer famous, though, mostly because of the denial of national radio stations, it was only in 1994 that Bauer achieved his first hit called Als sterren aan de hemel staan (If stars are in the heavens)

With his German Schlager album, Weil Ich Dich Liebe (Because I love you), Bauer also conquered the German market.

In the same year, De Regenboog (The Rainbow), a duet with Dutch singer reached number 1 in the Dutch charts. The year 1997 for Bauer however ended tragically: two members of his band, returning from a concert, died in a traffic incident.

Thanks to his fans Frans Bauer became more and more popular. In March 1998 he gave his first series of concerts in Ahoy. Record companies offered millions for a contract.

In 2003 the reality soap De Bauers, about the family life of Frans and Mariska, was a much watched television programme.

Bauer is also ambassador of , for children with life-threatening diseases.

In 2004, Bauer, because of his charity work and singing, was appointed to Knight of the Order of Orange-Nassau.

In the same year, he won the , a Dutch television prize, awarded by the public.

In 2014 Bauer was the main character in the book 'Heb je even voor mij?' written by Wim Hendrikse.

Since 2019, Bauer has been one of the coaches in the Dutch television show The Voice Senior.

Notes[]