René Dif
| René Dif | |
|---|---|
René Dif in July 2013
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| Background information | |
| Born | 17 October 1967 |
| Origin | Copenhagen, Denmark |
| Genres | Pop, dance-pop, eurodance, europop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer, DJ, actor, songwriter |
| Instruments | Vocals, turntable |
| Years active | 1989–present |
| Labels | Universal |
| Associated acts | Aqua |
René Dif (born 17 October 1967 in Copenhagen, Denmark) is a Danish singer and actor, best known as the male vocalist in the Danish pop-dance group Aqua.
Biography
1967–1994: Early years and private life
René's father was Algerian and his mother Danish. He has two younger brothers and a sister. He was never interested in school and was kicked out of it several times. As a result, Dif left school after ninth grade to work on a cruise ship. Dif is now married to a health-coach and they have a daughter together, named Mabel. Dif also has a daughter from a previous girlfriend.
1994–1995: Groove your soul
While he was in Barbados, René heard a local DJ on the radio and decided to become a DJ. He went to Norway to pursue his dream of becoming a star. Dif met Lene Nystrøm on a cruise ship in 1994. When he, Claus Norreen, and Søren Rasted were setting up a band, they needed a singer, and Lene was asked to join. The band, which was later known as Aqua, became an international success. While a DJ in Norway, Dif met DJ Alligator, with whom he made an album, Groove your soul, and the debut single "I believe". Although unsuccessful, they marked the debut of Dif as an aspiring DJ with vocal abilities.
1996–2001: Aqua
Dif, as a member of Aqua, has had over 10 top 10 hits in his home country. Aqua was formed in 1989 and split in 2001. The band sold more than 28 million records worldwide, and appeared in the Guinness Book of Records as the only debut band with three "self-penned" number one hits in the UK. René has received more than 140 Gold and Platinum albums (and received a Diamond album in Canada for 1 million sold albums). Aqua's main hits were "Roses Are Red", "My Oh My", "Barbie Girl", "Lollipop (Candyman)", "Doctor Jones", "Turn Back Time", "Good Morning Sunshine", "Cartoon Heroes" and "Around the World".
2001–present: Solo career
Following Aqua's split in 2001, Dif released solo singles, including "Let it all out (Push it)", "The uhh uhh song" and "Uhh la la la". In 2004 he began a career as an actor, starring in several movies directed by Lasse Spang Olsen. He owned a short-lived bar in downtown Copenhagen. In 2002 he published an autobiography titled Popdreng – Ud af skabet.
2007–present: Aqua reunion
Aqua reunited in 2008 as a live band. In March 2011, Aqua released the first single, "How R U Doin?", from their third album Megalomania, released in September 2011 following the release of two more singles, "Playmate to Jesus" and "Like a Robot".
Discography
with Aqua
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Studio albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEN [1] |
NOR [2] |
SWE [3] |
GER [4] |
||||||||||
| 1995 | Groove your soul (Factual Beat feat. René Dif)
|
— | — | — | — | ||||||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||
Compilations
- 1994: Frække Frida og de frygtløse spioner
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEN [1] |
NOR [2] |
SWE [3] |
GER [4] |
||||||||||
| 2003 | "Let it all out (Push it)" | 2 | – | – | — | Non-album single | |||||||
| "The uhh uhh song" | – | – | – | — | |||||||||
| 2004 | "Uhh la la la" | – | – | – | — | ||||||||
| 2007 | "Jamaica ska" | 14 | – | – | — | ||||||||
| "All up to you" | 17 | – | – | — | |||||||||
| 2012 | "Til døden os skiller" | – | – | – | — | TBA | |||||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||
Guest appearances
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| DEN [1] |
NOR [2] |
SWE [3] |
GER [4] |
||||||||||
| 1994 | "Så rykker vi (Shedet hvor det rykker)" (Stop & Stop feat. René Dif) | – | – | – | — | Non-album single | |||||||
| "Si-bab-rapper-di-åh" (Arne Siemsen, René Dif & Annette Brandt) | – | – | – | — | Frække Frida og de frygtløse spioner | ||||||||
| 1995 | "I believe" (Factual Beat feat. René Dif) | – | – | – | — | Groove your soul | |||||||
| "Give me your love" (Factual Beat feat. René Dif) | – | – | – | — | |||||||||
| "Itsy Bitsy spider" (Joyspeed) | – | – | 54 | — | Non-album single | ||||||||
| "—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released. | |||||||||||||
Promotional singles
- 1999: "I bif med Dif"
- 2006: "Way to go" (MySpace release only)
- 2011: "Sitting in a room" (Digital release only)
Music videos
| Year | Title | Director(s) | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2003 | "Let it all out (Push it)" | Andreas Tibblin | René Dif's debut solo music video for "Let it all out (Push it)" is directed by Andreas Tibblin for Coolcleaner Films. He appears as a macho player and a DJ in various locations surrounded by beautiful women. In some scenes René's popping out of the video. This song samples Salt-n-Pepa's song "Push It". |
| 2011 | "Sitting in a room" | Unknown | A fun video nearly shot eight years after his debut solo music video for "Let it all out (Push it)". |
| 2012 | "Til døden os skiller" | Sidney Lexy Plaut | Directed by the group DP Sidney Lexy Plaut & Co in cooperation with René Dif. |
Filmography
Motion pictures
- 1999: Get ready to be boyzvoiced (Cameo)
- 2004: Den gode strømer (The good cop) (Thomas)
- 2004: Inkasso (The collector) (Omar Halim)
- 2007: Pistoleros (Eurotrash) (Luc)
- 2009: Sorte Kugler (Black eggs) (Cameo)
- 2011: Far til fire – På japansk (Father of four – In Japanese mode) (TV Producer)
- 2011: Det grå guld (The grey gold) (Neighbour #1)
Television
- 2000: Reimer Bo møder (1 Episode)
- 2001: Venner for livet – Friends forever (1 Episode)
- 2001: Eurovision Song Contest 2001 (1 Episode)
- 2002: Danish Dance Awards 2002 (1 Episode)
- 2002: Go' aften Danmark (1 Episode)
- 2003: Robbie Williams – Live in Horsens (1 Episode)
- 2003: Stjerne for en aften – Portræt af en stjerne (1 Episode)
- 2003: Rundfunk (1 Episode)
- 2003: Go' aften Danmark (1 Episode)
- 2004: Boogie Århus Listen (1 Episode)
- 2004: Shooting Stars (1 Episode)
- 2004: Sara & Signe (1 Episode)
- 2005: aHA! (1 Episode)
- 2005: Kanal 5's Bet on Bet Pokershow (1 Episode)
- 2005: Clement direkte med Clement Kjersgaard (1 Episode)
- 2006: Musikprogrammet – Dance 90'ernes danske eksportsucces (1 Episode)
- 2006: Go' aften Danmark (1 Episode)
- 2007: Gu'skelov du kom (1 Episode)
- 2008: Zulu djævleræs (2 Episodes)
- 2009: Den store klasse fest (1 Episode)
- 2009: Zulu djævleræs (3 Episodes)
- 2009: Vild med dans (6 Episodes)
- 2014: South park (Cock Magic) (Performing Barbie Girl)
Commercials
- 2006: Extra Bladet (Magazine)
- 2007: Kim's Crisps – Chips Kongen (Food; 3 Commercials)
- 2012: CBB Mobile (Mobile)
Books
- 2002: Popdreng – Ud af skabet (Autobiography)
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 4.2 Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to [[commons:Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).|Lua error in Module:WikidataIB at line 506: attempt to index field 'wikibase' (a nil value).]]. |
- Use dmy dates from June 2014
- Articles with hCards
- Commons category link from Wikidata
- 1967 births
- Living people
- Aqua (band) members
- Club DJs
- Danish dance musicians
- Danish DJs
- Danish male singers
- Danish people of Algerian descent
- Danish pop musicians
- Musicians from Copenhagen
- Male actors from Copenhagen
- English-language singers of Denmark
