Jan Smit

Johannes Hendricus Maria "Jan" Smit (born December 31, 1985 in Volendam) is a Dutch pop music and schlager singer and TV host. He scored his first number one position in the Dutch charts with Ik zing dit lied voor jou alleen (I'm singing this song only for you) in 1997 at the age of 12. He was then known as "Jantje" Smit. Smit made his acting debut in the critically panned Dutch movie 'Het Bombardement' (2012), a love story set against the German attack on Rotterdam in the early days of May 1940. Smit was discovered by Dutch middle of the road band BZN, who used his vocals in a duet called Mama. He has released several albums in Dutch and German since. Jan dedicated the song Ik zing dit lied voor jou alleen to his grandmother. In 1997, Smit toured South Africa with popular Afrikaans singer Nádine. In 2000, Smit won the Grand Prix der Volksmusik singing Ich zeig dir die Berge with Oswald Sattler for South Tyrol. In 2001 Smit won the Exportprijs for his success in Germany, France and Italy. In Germany he became one of the best selling Dutch artists ever, with German-language albums specifically aimed at the German market.

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