Soutaer began singing in the early 1990s with his school band
State Of Mind who performed benefit concerts of original songs and also covers of
Pearl Jam,
Nirvana and
Metallica. In 2000, Soutaer wanted to sing solo and joined the project
Soundmixshow a sort of precursor
talent show to Idool, Soutaer placed fourth in
competition overall, at this time he compared his style to
Billy Joel,
Mike Patton and
Elton John. In 2003, Soutaer entered the auditions for the contest
Idool 2003 where he was told by jury member
Jan Leyers that he has a good voice for
Flemish music. After Soutaer placed third on the show he gained a
recording contract with
BMG Belgium and recorded his first CD
Een Nieuw Begin (A New Start) which was produced by Ronald Vanhuffel who has had previous success with
Blof and
Volumia, the first single was
Allemaal (Everyone) which was a huge hit reaching #1, selling 40,000 copies and winning the
Zomerhit 2003 Best Song Of The Year. The second single from Een Nieuw Begin was
Ik Hoor Bij Jou (I Belong With You). The third was
Voor Altijd (For Always), based on the 1997
Nek hit
Laura non c'e, and was another #1 hit on the
Ultratop 50. In August 2004, Soutaer released his second CD
Twee (Two) and his first live DVD "In Miami". This was followed by his first tour "Twee" around Flanders, as well as a live performance on the popular live music show
Tien Om Te Zien. October 2005 brought a management change for Soutaer who signed with
Niels William, assembling a team of writers including Hans Francken of
Clouseau. He released a single
Die Zomer Gaat Nooit Voorbij which was released on 17 June as a sample for his third CD released in October 2006. This was a cover of
South African artist
Kurt Darren's
Hemel op Tafelberg in
Afrikaans. ==Discography==