Waylon

Waylon, a Dutch pop singer drawn to retro soul and rock textures, first captured national attention as a contestant on the 2008 edition of Holland's Got Talent before achieving his breakthrough with the Top Five album Wicked Ways in 2009. Born Willem Bijkerk on April 20, 1980, in Apeldoorn, Gelderland, Netherlands, he chose his stage name in tribute to country outlaw Waylon Jennings. Around the turn of the century he briefly held a recording deal with EMI, yet little materialized from that arrangement. He forwarded one of his tracks to Jennings and received an unexpected call from the American icon, who then asked the young performer to appear on his U.S. tour. In 2001 Waylon traveled to Nashville and performed several shows alongside Jennings. Shortly afterward Jennings was hospitalized for diabetes and died on February 13, 2002. Returning home despondent, Waylon endured years of difficulty until 2008, when he joined the cast of Holland's Got Talent. Although he placed second behind contortionist Daniëlle Bubberman, the exposure proved substantial. Capitalizing on that visibility, he worked with British songwriters Martin Terefe and Sacha Skarbek to create his English-language debut album Wicked Ways, issued in 2009 through the Motown imprint of Universal Music. The record, steeped in retro soul and rock influences, climbed to the Top Five on the Dutch albums chart and yielded the Top Ten single "Wicked Way" plus the later releases "Hey" and "Happy Song."