Dennis van Aarssen

Dennis van Aarssen (born 2 June 1994) is a Dutch singer who won the 9th season of the Voice of Holland.

Life and career
Dennis van Aarssen was born in The Netherlands. He developed a passion for swing and jazz and cited Robbie Williams’ album Swing When You’re Winning, which he first heard as a seven-year-old, as his early inspiration. Prior to entering The Voice of Holland, van Aarssen had a YouTube channel where he showcased his renditions of songs by Frank Sinatra, Sammy Davis Jr., and Michael Bublé, among others.

With a debut album that resulted in a gold record, a theater tour with 31 shows and 20,000 tickets sold, and an Edison Award, 'crooner' Dennis van Aarssen had the proverbial wind at his back. In March 2020, as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, his trip to New York, the release of the deluxe version of his debut album was postponed, and performances at festivals were all cancelled. His autumn tour 'That's Life', a reprise of the successful first theater tour, was also postponed.

Van Aarssen began streaming 30-minute performances from the studio once a week for sixteen weeks. Jazzy swing, always with tracks from his favorite singers like Frank Sinatra. He also streamed two performances in Afas Live.

Over the pandemic, van Aarssen began writing original songs with René van Mierlo, guitarist with Diggy Dex and Stef Bos, and producer Marcel Tegelaar, known for his work with Guus Meeuwis and Diggy Dex, among others. "In the summer of 2020 I had already taken a trip with the track 'Meet Me In Miami', produced by Marcel. I immediately clicked with René and Marcel and we started working on new material in April of this year. That new work was less suited to the big band genre, but I thought it was great. The final result is a summery EP with five electro swing tracks.”

In early 2020, van Aarssen began working on his second studio album How To Live over Zoom with Jeff Franzel, former pianist and songwriter of Frank Sinatra, and Maria Christensen, lyricist who wrote for Céline Dion and Jennifer Lopez. Dennis had already worked with this duo for his debut album. Eight new songs emerged from that session, four of which appear on the new album. In addition to two covers (Death of a Bachelor by Panic! at the Disco and Lonely Boy by The Black Keys), the album also featured originals.

In 2020, van Aarssen would be awarded an Edison Jazzism Audience Award for his album Forever You.

The album How To Live was recorded together with the DVA Bigband in the E-Sounds Studio in Weesp and produced by Paul Willemsen. The album released in November 2021, just after the start of the 'Swinging On A Star' theater tour that started in October. “I think 'How To Live' is a really fitting title for this album. There is also a personal story to it. I already knew I wanted to be an artist. I was always the clown, always wanted attention and to be on stage. My brother saw me following my passion and having a very clear goal and those are two things he was missing. I then fought a tough battle with him. Because I thought he just did some. No direction chose. I thought I would help him by telling him what to do and what not to do. My parents have to show me that it doesn't work that way. You cannot tell other people what and how to organize their lives. And that's what this song is about. My brother and I are now best friends.”

Solo albums

 * Forever You (2019)
 * How To Live (2021)
 * Christmas When You're Here (2023)

Collaborative albums

 * Just Call It Love (2024)

Singles
=== Collaborations with Black Tie Affair ===