Anouk Schemmekes (, ; born 8 April 1975), professionally known by the mononym Anouk, is a Dutch singer and songwriter. After her 1997 breakthrough rock single Nobody's Wife, she had hit records in the Dutch and Belgian charts. Many of her albums topped the Dutch album charts; most of them going Platinum and several debuting in the number 1 position. Her most famous singles include: R U Kiddin' Me, Michel, Girl, Lost, Modern World, Three Days in a Row, Birds, and Woman. Anouk had released thirteen studio albums by 2022, a mix of anglophonic rock, pop and adult contemporary; one of which was recorded in the U.S., produced by Glen Ballard. In recent years, she has expanded into Dutch, more folky lyrics. Her 2022 album, was called "Trails of Fails". Anouk represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden, with the song "Birds". Her song made it to the final – the first time since 2004 for the Netherlands, finished 9th with 114 points, and scored her another big domestic hit. Biography 1970s to 2000s: Beginnings and breakthrough Anouk Teeuwe was born on 8 April 1975, in The Hague, Netherlands. As a teenager, she used drugs and ended up living in several care homes after she ran away from her family at the age of fourteen. Anouk's interest in music was triggered through her mother, who was a blues singer. Anouk gave her first performance at fifteen and sang at weddings and parties with the band Shotgun Wedding. She started attending the Rotterdam Conservatory in 1994, but dropped out two years later. In the same period, her then-husband and manager Edwin Jansen introduced Anouk to Golden Earring frontman Barry Hay. Hay believed her to have talent and offered to write some songs for her. One of those songs was "Mood Indigo"; written in collaboration with fellow Golden Earring member George Kooymans. After she met Bart van Veen, her co-writer, the pair wrote a few songs. On 5 September 1997, she released her second single, "Nobody's Wife", which remained at the top of the Dutch music charts for a number of weeks and was a hit in Norway and Sweden. Her debut album Together Alone turned out to be a huge success. In 1998, Anouk won two awards from Dutch music channel TMF in addition to an Edison Award. During the summer, she played at various festivals.