Kurt Darren - One Of The Greatest Afrikaans
Singers. In The World.
It's the 4th September which, as everyone knows, is Kurt
Darren Appreciation Day. This annual event, launched by
the government four years ago, looks to pay homage to one of the
world's greatest Afrikaans pop singers, Kurt Darren.
Kurt Darren, or "The Big K.D" as he is
known to his millions of fans, is a bit of an enigma.
Having released his first album, For Your Precious Love, in
1995 - it would prove to be a long and hard seven years before he
would receive worldwide recognition with the smash hit, Meisie
Meisie (Girl Girl) which would go on to out perform critically
acclaimed albums by Dido, Eminem as well as Norah Jones that year,
eventually selling more than 170 million records. (During those
quiet seven years, Kurt Darren took the time to obtain his doctorates
in chemical engineering, social philosophy and actuarial science,
as well as finally mastering his various martial arts disciplines)
A recent study showed that at least one in every three people own
a Kurt Darren album, the other two owning posters or various promotional
items, and it's certainly easy to see why.
The Big K.D would follow up this album with Se Net Ja (Say
Just Yes) which contained the timeless ditty, Loslappie (Loose
Girl), a popular sing-along-song much loved by
mothers and daughters.
Kurt Darren - Much Loved By Mothers and
Daughters.
A global icon, Kurt Darren has had many of his songs sampled and
translated all over the world, as this excerpt from his official
website (www.kurtdarren.co.za)
attests to:
An amazing amount of Kurts' biggest hits have been translated
into other languages in countries such as: Belgium, Netherlands
and Germany, some of these songs include: "Meisie Meisie"
(Girl Girl), "Hemel Op Tafelberg" (Hymn
On Table Mountain) , "Staan Op" (Stand Up),
"Alleen" (Allan), "As Jy My Wil He"
(If You Want To Keep Me), "Se Net Ja" (Say
Just Yes) and many more. Kurt also shares a couple of his songs
with these countries, and vice versa. These Cultures compliment
each other and the end result is astonishing. "Meisie Meisie"
has for instance been recorded by a German group called Klostertaler
and in Germany this song is known as Hallo Susse, recorded by Universal.
Besides these achievements, rumours persist that Kurt Darren and
Justin Timberlake are currently working together in a studio somewhere.
These claims are presently being denied by both camps but the story
just won't seem to go away. Timberlake has never denied being heavily
influenced by KD1, as is fairly obvious by anyone
familiar with both artists. Seen as a mentor by Timberlake, it was
Kurt Darren who first suggested he break away from Nsync, and it
was also Kurt Darren who told him to break it off with Britney Spears.
Many people are not aware of this, but it's true.
Kurt Darren - A Mentor. A Friend.
Besides having a voice that could make a wolverine purr, Kurt Darren
is also an amazing dancer who has won literally
thousands of awards for his innovative dance moves.
The way he swerves his hips and legs, whilst moving his arms at
the same time, is nothing short of spectacular.
R&B star Usher once flew down to Pretoria for a dance-off with
Kurt and, at a packed Loftus Versveld stadium, was left totally burned. Which
is why you will never see Usher performing a concert in Pretoria.
Because Kurt Darren totally owns Usher. As well as Pretoria.
Kurt Darren - The Proud Owner Of Usher.
As Well As Pretoria.
Watch him show off a bit of his repertoire with this live performance
of Meisie Meisie (Girl Girl).
Kurt Darren is currently promoting his new album Lekker Lekker
(Sweet Sweet) which is being hailed by critics as one of the most
important albums of our time.
From his official site:
Kurt and the hit lyric writing duo Marc Brendon and Don Kelly
have again put their talent together to create steaming popsongs
- this time also in English. The result is the radio temperate song
"Standing On The Edge Of My Life" - a selfsearching romantic
promise, with Kurts' captivating voice and acoustic orchestration
-and "Your'e My Angel" - jolly, foot-itching, pure pleasure!
This is a festive season directed album- with a number of special
celebration songs: "Lekker Verjaar" and "Kom Laat
Ons Dans (Ons Eerste Keer)" - passion stamped to be the opening
dance at many wedding celebrations.
Well, I certainly know what I'll be playing at my wedding.
Kurt Darren also recently answered his fans' prayers by finally
releasing a DVD - Kurt Darren, Op Toer (On Tour). The demand
for it was so great, the dvd was released in US cinemas, where it
sat at number 1 for over 48 weeks, raking in 650 million
dollars in the box office, and is now widely regarded as
having single handedly saved the American film industry.
In short, Kurt Jermaine Breyton Darren is one of the greatest
entertainers in the world, able to seamlessly cross over
into various genres and musical markets to great effect. For further
insight into what makes him tick, we've scoured the net and various
other sources for more information on this global phenomenon.
Who knows what next lies in store for Kurt Darren?
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