Wim Soutaer

Born in Halle in 1974, Flemish pop vocalist Wim Soutaer first gained experience fronting State of Mind, where the group specialized in covers of Metallica, Pearl Jam, and Nirvana material. A 2000 appearance on Soundmixshow brought him fourth place after he performed Faith No More’s “Easy.” Three years on, he improved that result by finishing third in the Belgian edition of Pop Idol and thereby secured a BMG recording contract. The same year delivered a major chart-topping single, “Allemaal,” plus the number-one debut album Een Nieuw Begin; those successes were followed by the 2004 album Twee and 2008’s Dichterbij. Later pairings yielded further hits, including “Heel de Zomer Lang” with Willy Sommers and “Voorbij” with Tom Helsen.