Famous Belgian Musicians

Lara Fabian is a Canadian-Belgian musician, singer, songwriter, and actress. One of the best-selling Belgian music artists ever, Fabian has sold more than 20 million records all over the world. Over the course of her career, she has won many prestigious awards, such as Félix Awards and World Music Awards.

Eugène Ysaÿe was a Belgian virtuoso violinist, conductor, and composer. Referred to as The King of the Violin, Ysaÿe is best remembered for his finely honed technique which was without the shortcomings of violinists before Eugène Ysaÿe. He is also remembered for his great interpretations of Bach and Beethoven as well as early modern composers like César Franck.

Singer-songwriter Jeanne-Paule Marie Deckers, better known as The Singing Nun, soared to fame with the Billboard-charting track Dominique. She was also a Dominican Order nun, who later took the name Sister Luc Gabriel. She often played the guitar and was accompanied by a chorus of 4 nuns.

Toots Thielemans was a Belgian jazz musician best remembered for his chromatic harmonica playing. A multi-talented personality, Thielemans was also renowned for his whistling skills, composing, and guitaring. Toots Thielemans is credited with popularizing harmonica in the jazz scene which made him the preeminent jazz harmonica player.

Charlotte de Witte is a Belgian record producer and DJ best known for her acid techno music and dark brand of minimal techno. She is credited with founding the label KNTXT. Over the years, Charlotte de Witte has won a couple of awards, such as the International Dance Music Awards and DJ Award.

Plastic Bertrand is a Belgian musician, songwriter, producer, and TV presenter. He is best known for his international hit single Ça plane pour moi. Interested in music from a young age, he studied at the Royal Conservatory of Music. As a musician, he toured extensively and released many albums and singles. He has also appeared in a few films.

Dimitri Thivaios, or Dimitri Vegas, is part of a globally popular electronic duo with his brother, Michael Thivaios a.k.a. Like Mike. The Belgian-born Greek-origin DJ has performed in festivals such as Tomorrowland and co-owns the label Smash the House. The duo has also collaborated with legends such as David Guetta.

Cesar Franck was a Belgian-born French Romantic composer, organist, pianist, and music teacher. Franck, who worked in Paris, is credited with popularizing new instruments made by Aristide Cavaillé-Coll all over France. From 1858 until his death in 1890, Franck also served as an organist at the Basilica of Saint Clotilde in Paris. Franck also taught future composers like Vincent d'Indy.

Belgian electronic music producer and DJ Amelie Lens grew up listening to alternative rock and dance music and later became one of the most sought-after DJs of Europe. Apart from performing in clubs and at events, she also arranged her own music nights and parties, under the name EXHALE.

Belgian singer Loïc Nottet first gained recognition with the show The Voice Belgique. He also gained popularity through Eurovision Song Contest and Danse Avec Les Stars. The MTV Europe Music Award winner has also toured around Europe and released a Halloween-themed EP named Candy.

Arthur Grumiaux was a Belgian violinist best remembered for his flawless intonation and consistently beautiful tone. A master virtuoso who often showcased his technical prowess, Arthur Grumiaux is also counted among the great violin virtuosi of the 20th century.

Orlande de Lassus was a composer widely regarded as one of the three most influential and popular European musicians of the 16th century. One of the most versatile and prolific composers of the late Renaissance, Orlande de Lassus wrote over 2,000 works during his illustrious career. He is also considered the chief representative of the Franco-Flemish school's mature polyphonic style.

Blanche is a Belgian songwriter and singer best known for her participation in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 where she represented Belgium with the song City Lights. Blanche's popularity increased when she finished fourth in the competition and she went on to release her first studio album Empire on 29 May 2020. 

Selah Sue is a Belgian songwriter and musician who achieved popularity with her debut album Selah Sue which earned her several awards, including the European Border Breakers Award in 2011. The following year, Rolling Stone magazine included Selah Sue in their new faces of 2012 list. Sue released her successful third studio album Persona on 25 March 2022.

Salvatore Adamo is a Belgian-Italian musician, composer, and singer best known for his romantic ballads. He is counted among the world's most commercially successful musicians, having sold more than 20 million singles and 80 million albums. Salvatore Adamo, who performs in multiple languages like French, Italian, Spanish, Japanese, and English, is currently the highest selling Belgian musician.

Kate Ryan is a Belgian songwriter and singer who won the prestigious World Music Award under the Best Selling Benelux Artist category in 2008 in Monaco. The same year, she also won a Gold award at the Sopot Hit Festival for her fourth studio album Free. Kate Ryan was one of the contestants of the Eurovision Song Contest 2006.

Netsky is a Belgian musician and producer best known for his association with Sony Music from 2014 to 2019. His second and third studio albums, titled 2 and 3 respectively, peaked at number one on Belgium's Ultratop music chart. 

Eddy Wally was a Belgian singer and showman who toured all over the world from Far East to the West. He is best remembered for his song Chérie which was declared a double-platinum in Belgium. Eddy Wally's life and career inspired novelist Deborah Bishop to write a biography titled Wow!   

Praga Khan is a Belgian musician best known as one of the foremost pioneers of the techno/acid house/new beat electronic dance music scene in Belgium. Khan is also known for his contributions to the theatrical scene; as a music collaborator, he was part of plays like Code Red and The Next Dimension. Praga Khan has also released many studio albums.

Guillaume Dufay was a French composer and music theorist active during the Renaissance. He was regarded as the leading European composer of the era. Dufay was one of the first composers of the Franco-Flemish School and was also associated with the Burgundian School. His most famous work, the complex motet Nuper Rosarum Flores, is considered an icon of Western culture.

Johannes Ockeghem was a composer, choirmaster, singer, and teacher. One of the most popular composers of the 15th century, Ockeghem was renowned for his expressive music and technical prowess. The most popular and influential composer of the Netherlandish School, Johannes Ockeghem served as an inspiration to a generation of composers, including Josquin des Prez. 

Sam Bettens is a Belgian musician best known for his association with the popular band K's Choice where he is the lead singer. Before becoming popular as the face of the band along with his brother Gert Bettens, Sam performed under the pseudonym Sarah Beth. In 2019, Sam came out as a transgender man.

Rocco Granata is an Italian-Belgian accordionist, singer, and songwriter. He is best known for his songs Manuela / Marina which he released as a single in 1959. The B-side of the record became an international hit and sold over a million copies in Germany alone. Granata also received a gold disc for Marina. His life inspired the 2013 movie Marina.

Dani Klein is a Belgian songwriter, singer, producer, and band leader. She was the force behind one of the most popular and successful Belgian music acts of all time, Vaya Con Dios, which sold over 10 million albums. Dani Klein has also contributed to the success of other bands like Purple Prose.  

Milow is a Belgian singer-songwriter who has achieved immense popularity in mainland Europe and Canada where one of his albums sold more than 500,000 copies in the late 2000s. Over the course of his illustrious career, Milow has won many prestigious awards such as Music Industry Awards, MTV Europe Music Award, and European Border Breakers Award.

Barbara Tausia is a Belgian dancer and choreographer. She is also known as the wife of French football player Nicolas Anelka. Tausia started her career as a singer and worked with the hip-hop star MC Solaar. She then went on to co-found an event and Public Relations company with a famous agency called Between. Tausia also appears on TV shows.

Henri Vieuxtemps was a Belgian violinist and composer best remembered as one of the most important exponents of the Franco-Belgian school of violin. He is also famous for owning a legendary violin, which is now called the Vieuxtemps Guarneri del Gesù. This violin, which was built by Giuseppe Guarneri, is counted among the finest examples of the craftsmanship of Guarneri.

Trixie Whitley is a Belgian American musician and multi-instrumentalist. The daughter of popular singer-songwriter Chris Whitley, Trixie started her career by playing alongside her father. Over the years, Trixie Whitley has released many albums such as Porta Bohemica, which received an IMPALA's European Independent Album of the Year nomination in 2016.

Wim Mertens is a Flemish Belgian countertenor vocalist, composer, guitarist, pianist, and musicologist. A prolific musician, Mertens has released over 60 albums. His musical piece Struggle for Pleasure has achieved an iconic status in Belgium and has been covered by many other popular musicians and bands.

Axelle Red is a Belgian singer and songwriter best known for her single titled Sensualité. Released in 1993, the song became a huge hit the following year in France, which increased her popularity. Over the years, Axelle Red has released many albums and has won a couple of awards such as the Victoires de la Musique and NRJ Music Awards.   

Marka is a Belgian composer, singer, songwriter, and film-maker. First and foremost a live performer, Marka has toured across the world and often uses the exotic locales to shoot his documentary films as well. Marka is also known as the father of well-known performers, Angèle and Romeo Elvis.

Liesje Sadonius is a Flemish spiritual life coach and singer-songwriter. She is best known as the lead singer of the popular Trip Hop band Hooverphonic. Despite the band's enormous success in the mid-1990s, Sadonius left Hooverphonic to launch her solo career. Due to her interest in spirituality and holistic healing, Liesje Sadonius has also established a spiritual life coaching business.   

Danzel is a Belgian musician who achieved popularity after the release of his 2004 single Pump It Up which became a massive hit across Europe. It also peaked at number 29 on the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart.

Regarded as one of the most significant composers of eighteenth century France, François-Joseph Gossec began his career under Jean-Philippe Rameau, determined to revive the study of instrumental music in France. Although he is mainly remembered for his experiments in symphonies and chamber works, he also wrote numerous operas, string quartets and choral works, successfully leaving his influence on French music.

Lea Rue is a Belgian singer and songwriter best known for her 2015 single I Can't Say No, which peaked at second position on Belgium's Ultratop music chart. Lea Rue is also known for her appearance in the reality singing competition, The Voice van Vlaanderen. In the competition, where she began her singing career, Rue was trained by Axelle Red.    

Renaissance composer Jacques Arcadelt, one of the most significant figures of the Franco-Netherlandish school, is best remembered for his madrigals and his secular compositions. He was influenced by a variety of music, such as frottola and the music he heard as a choir member of the Sistine Chapel.

Gilles Binchois was a composer and one of the most important and earliest members of the Burgundian School. He is also counted among the three most popular composers of the early-15th century. Binchois' works were often cited and used as source material even after his demise. Also remembered for his compositions, Binchois is regarded as the 15th century's finest melodist.

Adrian Willaert was a Netherlandish composer who is credited with founding the Venetian School. Apart from being remembered as a versatile composer, Willaert was also the most influential musician in Europe during his time. Also renowned for his teaching skills, Adrian Willaert taught students like Cipriano de Rore, who went on to become respected composers in their own right.

Shay is a Belgium rapper best known for incorporating various elements like hip-hop, rap, R&B, urban pop, and trap. After achieving fame with the release of her single PMW in 2016, Shay went on to release a couple of gold-certified albums. In 2021, she appeared as a judge on a reality TV series titled Rhythm + Flow: Nouvelle École.

Lou Deprijck is a Belgian record producer and singer. An influential personality in the pop scene of the country during the 1970s and 1980s, Deprijck sold over 20 million copies worldwide. He is best known for his collaboration with Yves Lacomblez and his association with a trio named Two Man Sound.

Born in France, Charlotte Adigéry is a Belgian-Caribbean electro-pop singer and a musician who has released a self-titled EP, another EP called Zandoli as well as her debut album Topical Dancer in collaboration with musical artist Bolis Pupul. Her music explores complex issues like racism and colonialism but is never moralising. She also records under the name WWWater.

Remembered especially for his contribution towards the development of German music, Heinrich Isaac was a leading fifteenth-century composer, belonging to the Franco-Flemish school. A prolific composer, he wrote numerous masses, motets and songs in French, German and Italian, all the while maintaining a close tie with the Habsburg Court, which helped to popularize polyphonic style of the Netherlands in Germany.

Frédéric François is a French-speaking singer and composer based in Belgium. Over the course of his illustrious career, François has performed at many sold out concerts, apart from selling more than 35 million copies worldwide.

Kirill Pokrovsky was a Russian musician and composer best remembered for his work as a video game score composer. He is credited with writing the soundtrack for the Divinity video game series. Kirill Pokrovsky is also remembered for his association with popular heavy metal bands like Master and Aria where he was a keyboardist.

Considered a Flemish cultural icon, Gert Verhulst is especially known for his contributions to children’s entertainment. Equally well-known as a presenter and entertainer, his childhood goal was to become famous and he quickly achieved that with his first show, Samson en Gert. Also a successful entrepreneur, he is a co-founder of Studio 100 and holds substantial stake in the company.   

Belle Perez is a Belgian-Spanish songwriter and musician. Apart from writing songs and performing on tours, Perez also presents Dutch music shows and poses for magazines like FHM. She has also received several prestigious awards like the Zamu Award, Zomerhit Award, and TMF Award.

Koen Wauters is a Flemish singer, TV presenter, and occasional race car driver and actor. He is best known for his association with the popular pop group Clouseau. Koen and his brother Kris are credited with making Clouseau the most famous band in Flanders. As a race car driver, Koen Wauters has competed in the Dakar Rally on 11 occasions.

Charles Auguste de Bériot was a Belgian artist, violinist, and composer. De Bériot composed a significant volume of violin music which includes 10 concertos. His Romantic style of composition and pioneering violin technique make him an ideal teacher for any violin student. His pedagogical compositions are still being taught to violin students all over the world. 

Best known for his electro house music, Basto is an internationally known musician, DJ and record producer. Born as Jef Martens in Belgium, he emerged as a successful disc jockey around the age of thirty. He gained international fame using various aliases while producing records for well-known artists including Azealia Banks and Britney Spears.  

André Grétry was a composer best remembered for his opéras comiques. Although he was born in present-day Belgium, Grétry took French nationality and worked in France for most part of his life. While he was still alive, a commemorative statue was commissioned by Hippolyte, comte de Livry in 1804. The statue is now part of the Met in New York.