Biography
Siblings Gert and Sam Bettens established K's Choice, which evolved from its origins as a grungy, cathartic group that achieved worldwide success via the 1996 track "Not an Addict" into a refined presence within Belgium's music landscape. The unvarnished rock that defined the band's early output on 1994's The Great Subconscious Club and the platinum-certified 1996 breakthrough Paradise in Me later shifted toward the more personal, confessional approach heard on 2000's Almost Happy. Throughout the 2010s the ensemble moved between the subdued, acoustic-tinged reflection of 2010's Echo Mountain and the energetic reworkings of its catalog alongside other artists' material on 2018's Love = Music, threads held together by Sam Bettens' smoky, expressive vocals.
Gert and Sam Bettens spent their formative years performing in Antwerp and led a teenage outfit called the Basement Plugs. That group's appearances drew label interest toward Sam, who then cut soundtrack covers such as the 1992 take on Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," which became a Belgian hit. Offered a recording contract, Sam enlisted Gert to launch the Choice. By 1993 the roster featured guitarist Jan van Sichem, Jr., drummer Bart Van der Zeeuw, and bassist Erik Verheyden, though the debut album, 1994's The Great Subconscious Club, was tracked by the Bettens brothers with additional session players.
The Choice crisscrossed Europe and the United States behind Morphine, the Proclaimers, and the Indigo Girls, yet after discovering an American act sharing the name they rebranded as K's Choice. Following an American agreement with Epic, the second album Paradise in Me surfaced in 1996. A more streamlined and refined collection anchored by the brooding global hit single "Not an Addict," it registered success across Europe—earning gold certification in Belgium, platinum status in the Netherlands, and entries on various national charts—while also reaching number 121 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart in the United States. Even amid this momentum the lineup remained unsettled; Verheyden departed and a rotating cast of musicians passed through before American bassist Eric Grossman settled in. Continued European touring elevated "Not an Addict" further into the mainstream, and Alanis Morissette included the band on bills throughout 1996 and 1997.
For the third album K's Choice collaborated with producer Gil Norton (Pixies, James, Catherine Wheel). Released in 1998, Cocoon Crash presented a brighter variant of the group's sound and attained platinum certification in Belgium and Holland, with "Believe" and "Everything for Free" receiving substantial radio exposure in those territories. Despite an intensive touring calendar the band made a cameo on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1999, and the song "Virgin State of Mind" appeared on the series soundtrack Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Album. After van der Zeeuw's exit, drummer Koen Lieckens joined and contributed to 2000's Almost Happy. Mixed by Tchad Blake, that record adopted a more introspective and somber tone. A Top Five entry in Belgium and Top Ten performer in the Netherlands, Almost Happy was succeeded by 2001's Live, a double-disc set of concert recordings. When Almost Happy reached the United States in 2002 it incorporated selections from Live along with artwork created by Gert Bettens.
Late in 2002 K's Choice entered a hiatus. Following the 2003 retrospective 10: 1993 – 2003 Ten Years Of, which gathered hits, previously unreleased material, and the exclusive single "Losing You," Gert and Sam each explored solo endeavors. Sam issued three solo projects—2005's Scream, 2007's Shine, and the 2008 live album Never Say Goodbye—while Gert handled production duties and formed Woodface, whose debut Good Morning Hope appeared in 2005 and was followed by 2007's Comet. Woodface supported select Sam Bettens dates in 2007 and 2008, and in 2009 K's Choice reconvened for a performance at Belgium's Folk Dranouter Festival. The band also commenced tracking its fifth album in North Carolina. Titled after the facility where it was recorded, 2010's Echo Mountain again charted strongly in Belgium and the Netherlands and yielded the 2011 acoustic EP Little Echoes.
The Bettens returned to Echo Mountain studio for 2013's Waving at the Sun, a collection created for a documentary on an Antarctic expedition and issued in multiple territories under the K's Choice name. Sam and Gert adopted a more collaborative songwriting method for the subsequent official release, the Alain Johannes-produced Phantom Cowboy of 2015, which peaked at number three in Belgium and number 12 in the Netherlands. The ensuing tour marked the band's first U.S. appearances in a decade, and the live album The Backpack Sessions offered acoustic renditions of the group's catalog alongside covers of Aretha Franklin and Justin Bieber material. Early in 2017 the ensemble marked its 25th anniversary with a fresh recording of "Not an Addict" featuring Skunk Anansie's Skin on vocals; the track surfaced on the career overview 25, which also contained the previously unreleased song "Resonate." Additional touring ensued, documented by 2018's Live at the Ancienne Belgique, captured at the Brussels venue in December 2017. Later that year the Bettens participated in the Belgian television program Liefde voor Muziek, during which seven artists shared a house for eight weeks and interpreted one another's songs. Their involvement prompted that year's Love = Music, compiling performances from the series, selections from Little Echoes and The Backpack Sessions, and the new composition "Meaningless." K's Choice supported the album on the road through 2019 while initiating limited-edition vinyl reissues of its catalog. Around this period Sam Bettens introduced his electronic pop project Rex Rebel, also featuring K's Choice keyboardist Reinout Swinnen and drummer Wim Van der Westen; the project's debut album Run arrived in early 2020. In mid-2021 K's Choice embarked on another extensive tour, and the vinyl reissues continued with the 2022 appearance of 10: 1993 – 2003.
Gert and Sam Bettens spent their formative years performing in Antwerp and led a teenage outfit called the Basement Plugs. That group's appearances drew label interest toward Sam, who then cut soundtrack covers such as the 1992 take on Hank Williams' "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry," which became a Belgian hit. Offered a recording contract, Sam enlisted Gert to launch the Choice. By 1993 the roster featured guitarist Jan van Sichem, Jr., drummer Bart Van der Zeeuw, and bassist Erik Verheyden, though the debut album, 1994's The Great Subconscious Club, was tracked by the Bettens brothers with additional session players.
The Choice crisscrossed Europe and the United States behind Morphine, the Proclaimers, and the Indigo Girls, yet after discovering an American act sharing the name they rebranded as K's Choice. Following an American agreement with Epic, the second album Paradise in Me surfaced in 1996. A more streamlined and refined collection anchored by the brooding global hit single "Not an Addict," it registered success across Europe—earning gold certification in Belgium, platinum status in the Netherlands, and entries on various national charts—while also reaching number 121 on the Billboard 200 Albums chart in the United States. Even amid this momentum the lineup remained unsettled; Verheyden departed and a rotating cast of musicians passed through before American bassist Eric Grossman settled in. Continued European touring elevated "Not an Addict" further into the mainstream, and Alanis Morissette included the band on bills throughout 1996 and 1997.
For the third album K's Choice collaborated with producer Gil Norton (Pixies, James, Catherine Wheel). Released in 1998, Cocoon Crash presented a brighter variant of the group's sound and attained platinum certification in Belgium and Holland, with "Believe" and "Everything for Free" receiving substantial radio exposure in those territories. Despite an intensive touring calendar the band made a cameo on Buffy the Vampire Slayer in 1999, and the song "Virgin State of Mind" appeared on the series soundtrack Buffy the Vampire Slayer: The Album. After van der Zeeuw's exit, drummer Koen Lieckens joined and contributed to 2000's Almost Happy. Mixed by Tchad Blake, that record adopted a more introspective and somber tone. A Top Five entry in Belgium and Top Ten performer in the Netherlands, Almost Happy was succeeded by 2001's Live, a double-disc set of concert recordings. When Almost Happy reached the United States in 2002 it incorporated selections from Live along with artwork created by Gert Bettens.
Late in 2002 K's Choice entered a hiatus. Following the 2003 retrospective 10: 1993 – 2003 Ten Years Of, which gathered hits, previously unreleased material, and the exclusive single "Losing You," Gert and Sam each explored solo endeavors. Sam issued three solo projects—2005's Scream, 2007's Shine, and the 2008 live album Never Say Goodbye—while Gert handled production duties and formed Woodface, whose debut Good Morning Hope appeared in 2005 and was followed by 2007's Comet. Woodface supported select Sam Bettens dates in 2007 and 2008, and in 2009 K's Choice reconvened for a performance at Belgium's Folk Dranouter Festival. The band also commenced tracking its fifth album in North Carolina. Titled after the facility where it was recorded, 2010's Echo Mountain again charted strongly in Belgium and the Netherlands and yielded the 2011 acoustic EP Little Echoes.
The Bettens returned to Echo Mountain studio for 2013's Waving at the Sun, a collection created for a documentary on an Antarctic expedition and issued in multiple territories under the K's Choice name. Sam and Gert adopted a more collaborative songwriting method for the subsequent official release, the Alain Johannes-produced Phantom Cowboy of 2015, which peaked at number three in Belgium and number 12 in the Netherlands. The ensuing tour marked the band's first U.S. appearances in a decade, and the live album The Backpack Sessions offered acoustic renditions of the group's catalog alongside covers of Aretha Franklin and Justin Bieber material. Early in 2017 the ensemble marked its 25th anniversary with a fresh recording of "Not an Addict" featuring Skunk Anansie's Skin on vocals; the track surfaced on the career overview 25, which also contained the previously unreleased song "Resonate." Additional touring ensued, documented by 2018's Live at the Ancienne Belgique, captured at the Brussels venue in December 2017. Later that year the Bettens participated in the Belgian television program Liefde voor Muziek, during which seven artists shared a house for eight weeks and interpreted one another's songs. Their involvement prompted that year's Love = Music, compiling performances from the series, selections from Little Echoes and The Backpack Sessions, and the new composition "Meaningless." K's Choice supported the album on the road through 2019 while initiating limited-edition vinyl reissues of its catalog. Around this period Sam Bettens introduced his electronic pop project Rex Rebel, also featuring K's Choice keyboardist Reinout Swinnen and drummer Wim Van der Westen; the project's debut album Run arrived in early 2020. In mid-2021 K's Choice embarked on another extensive tour, and the vinyl reissues continued with the 2022 appearance of 10: 1993 – 2003.
Albums
Singles
