Sandra van Nieuwland

Emerging into the world on February 16, 1977, in Delft, The Netherlands, Dutch pop singer Sandra van Nieuwland, who also records under the name Sandra Newland, studied music at the University of Groningen before stepping into the national spotlight in 2012 as a contestant on the talent series The Voice of Holland. Finishing behind Leona Philippo, the season’s eventual champion, she nevertheless secured three Dutch Top Ten entries by year’s end with the singles “More,” “Keep Your Head Up,” and the chart-topping “Beggin’.” Issued that December, her debut album And More quickly ascended to the summit of the Dutch charts, where it remained for seven consecutive weeks.

From the same project, “New Age” and “Venus” both entered the Dutch Top 40 across the turn of 2013. The following August, “Hunter” arrived as the lead single from her sophomore effort and reached the Top 20. When Banging on the Doors of Love appeared in November it opened at number six on the album chart, overlapping with the continued presence of And More. Van Nieuwland herself co-wrote both “Hunter” and the follow-up single “Always Alone.”