Vengaboys

Vengaboys
The Vengaboys in 2009. From left to right: Robin Pors, Kim Sasabone, Donny Latupeirissa and Denise Post-Van Rijswijk
Background information
Origin	Rotterdam, Netherlands
Genres	Dance-pop, Eurodance, bubblegum dance
Years active	1997–2002 2006–present
Labels	Breakin' Records Violent Music BV
Website	vengaboys.com
Members	Kim Sasabone Denise Post-Van Rijswijk Robin Pors Donny Latupeirissa
Past members	Roy Olivero den Burger Yorick Bakker

Vengaboys is a Dutch Dance-pop and Eurodance music group based in Rotterdam. The group was the brainchild of Dutch producers Wessel van Diepen and Dennis van den Driesschen (Danski and Delmundo) and consists of lead (female) vocalists Kim Sasabone and Denise Post-Van Rijswijk and male vocalists Robin Pors and Donny Latupeirissa.

The group enjoyed commercial success in the late 1990s. They are best known for their hit singles "We Like to Party", "Boom, Boom, Boom, Boom!!" and "We're Going to Ibiza" the latter two of which topped the charts in the United Kingdom. They have sold an estimated 25 million records worldwide. On 2 May 2001, the World Music Awards awarded Vengaboys with the award for best-selling dance group of the year. In 2019 Dutch online newspaper Nu.nl declared Vengaboys as the most successful Dutch pop group in history.

History

1997–1998: Formation and Up and Down

Dutch producers Danski and Delmundo initially found success organizing illegal beach parties during the summers. Danski and Delmundo recruited singer Kim Sasabone for the music videos, to form a group in 1997. The name Vengaboys was thought up during a recording session for another of Danski and Delmundo's projects, called Nakatomi. The group recorded several single tracks such as their two small Benelux hits "Parada De Tettas" and "To Brazil", which were released as singles before the release of the tracks as a debut album titled Up & Down - The Party Album in the Netherlands.

1998–1999: Second Line-up and The Party Album

In 1998, with the addition of the three new members Denise Post-Van Rijswijk, Roy den Burger and Robin Pors and existing member Sasabone, the now four-piece entered the UK chart at number 4 with "Up and Down" and their follow-up "We Like to Party (The Vengabus)" peaked at number 1 in Belgium and was a Top 10 hit in other European countries, Canada, South Africa, Australia and New Zealand. It reached number 26 on the Billboard Hot 100. Vengaboys released their second album, The Party Album, which included both old and new tracks. In June 1999, "Boom Boom Boom Boom" topped the charts in the UK, New Zealand and the Netherlands. "We Like to Party" was used in a Six Flags advertisement campaign in America, in which an elderly gentleman (Mr. Six) was dancing to the tune and picking up passengers. The Party Album! soared to the top of the charts in over 20 countries including the U.K., Canada, Germany, Benelux, Spain, South Africa, Thailand, Poland, Australia and Mexico. "We're Going to Ibiza", a reworking of Typically Tropical's 1975 number 1 hit "Barbados", also reached the top slot in September 1999. Their debut LP spent 30 consecutive weeks on the U.S. Billboard 200 and was certified gold (500,000 units) in November 1999. The Party Album! was re-released as Greatest Hits - Part 1, including five new songs. The Remix Album, released in late 1999, comprised new dance remixes of the songs from the Vengaboys' debut record.

2000–2002: Departure of Pors, The Platinum Album and Hiatus

Shortly before the release of their third studio album, Pors left the group to pursue a solo career and was replaced by dolphin trainer Yorick Bakker. The Platinum Album was released in early 2000, which saw continued success for the group. More UK and Canadian Top 10 hits followed: "Kiss (When the Sun Don't Shine)", "Shalala Lala" and "Uncle John from Jamaica" all charted, with the former going to number one on the Irish Charts. For their fourth single, the group gained a virtual member, the computer-animated Cheekah. The single "Cheekah Bow Bow (That Computer Song)" was not as successful as their previous singles. They released their single "Forever as One" in February 2001 with little promotion. The single charted at 28 in the UK, making it their worst-performing single. Shortly after this release, Denise Post-Van Rijswijk and Bakker left the group and were replaced by Lynn Bartels and Mark Jong a Pin. The group eventually disbanded for several years. During her departure, Denise Post-van Rijswijk gave birth to her first child.

2006–2009: Return on Stage and Line-up changes

In 2006, they returned to the club scene with new member Donny Latupeirissa a.k.a. Ma'Donny, replacing den Burger as Cowboy. In 2009, Pors returned to the group replacing Bakker. They toured university student union clubs in the UK and Ireland, most notably the UCD 2010 Ball, with an estimated 9000 attendees. Throughout 2008 and 2009, the group continued to tour on a small scale, while various rumors of new tracks including "Partylife" in 2008 and a re-release of old material in 2009 generated publicity.

2010–2011: Comeback and The Best of Vengaboys

In 2010, The Vengaboys started a comeback. Their comeback single, "Rocket To Uranus", a collaboration with singer-songwriter Pete Burns and American celebrity Perez Hilton, was only released in their home country in June. The video premiered on 6 June at the Dutch television station TMF, and in 2D and 3D formats on their own website and YouTube channel. They were due to release a Best of in Australia on 9 December 2011.

2012–2013: Single releases

Vengaboys (2013)

In 2012, JJ Van Zon briefly took on the role of the Cowboy before Donny Latupeirissa returned to the group in November. Also in 2012, Vengaboys began performing a cover of T-Spoons song "Sex On The Beach" in their live shows. In January 2013 the group first performed "Hot, Hot, Hot", a cover of the 1983 hit originally by 'Arrow' during their National Tour in Australia. The song was released in July 2013 as a single, containing 13 remixes. The single was released worldwide except France on iTunes. Around that time, Kim Sasabone got pregnant. The group continued to maintain a busy tour schedule, with most shows based in Europe and Australia.

2014–2015: X-mas Party Album

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The Vengaboys on stage in 2015

On January 2014, Pors mentioned in an interview in Dubai that the group will continue to tour in Europe and are currently working on future shows in the Middle East and India, along with performing their greatest hits, their latest single, "Hot, Hot, Hot", and reportedly new unreleased tracks. He also stated that releasing new material is on their agenda for 2014. In May 2014 a new Remix from her Single "To Brazil" re-titled "2 Brazil" has been released. In November 2014 a new album was released called The X-mas Party Album with all the Vengaboys classic hits with a Christmas sound. Also, the single "Where Did My X-mas Tree Go" was released together with a new music video. A tour to South Africa was scheduled for December.

File:Vengaboys Oldenburg.jpg

Vengaboys (2016)

2015-2017: Australia and New Zealand Tour

In late February 2015, Denise Post-Van Rijswijk revealed that she was pregnant with her second child, a girl.

In 2016, the group toured Australia and New Zealand. In June, the Vengaboys hosted MTV Pride, a pop-up channel in the UK, dedicated to the LGBT community.

In November and December 2017, Vengaboys supported Steps at their Party on the Dancefloor Tour.

2019: 20th anniversary and Unplugged EP

In 2019, Vengaboys celebrated their 20th anniversary and released the songs "Boom, boom, Boom, Boom!! - Unplugged" and "We're going to Ibiza! - Unplugged" in June on an EP titled Unplugged #1's.

Members

Member		1997	1998	1999	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009	2010	2011	2012	2013	2014	2015	2016	2017	2018
	Kim Sasabone (1997–2002, 2006–present)
	Denise Post-Van Rijswijk (1997–2002, 2006–present)
	Roy den Burger (1997–2002)
	Donny Latupeirissa (2006–present)
	Robin Pors (1997–1999, 2009–present)
	Yorick Bakker (1999–2002, 2006–2009)

Other members:

• Frank Bethlehem (Vengaboys Sound Engineer since they started, died on 14 December 2014 from a stroke)
• Shaun Van Eck (1997–1998) (Current Sound Engineer that replaced Frank)

Discography

Main article: Vengaboys discography

• Up & Down - The Party Album (1998)
• The Party Album (1999)
• The Platinum Album (2000)
• Xmas Party Album (2014)

Awards

Preceded by Unknown

World Music Awards Best Selling Dance Group May 2, 2001 - October 12, 2003

Succeeded by T.A.T.u.

See also

• List of number-one dance hits (United States)
• List of artists who reached number one on the US Dance chart

External links

• Official website
• Vengaboys biography, news and discography at Bubblegum Dancer