Sharon den Adel

Sharon den Adel, a photo by Max Tegman on Flickr.

Sharon den Adel
Sharon Janny den Adel (born 12 July 1974, in Waddinxveen, South Holland, Netherlands) is a Dutch singer and composer, best known as the lead vocalist and one of the main songwriters in the Dutch symphonic metal/rock band Within Temptation. She has performed with various bands since she was 13, including a blues rock band called Kashiro, before forming Within Temptation with Robert Westerholt 1996.
Together with her partner, Robert Westerholt, den Adel is one of the founding members of Within Temptation. She has defined their work as epic and cinematic. Her vocals play a major role in the band's sound, despite having never received formal vocal training. Sharon sings in the mezzo-soprano range but her vocal quality is light and lyric despite her range. Before Within Temptation became famous, Sharon worked for a fashion company. As the band became more successful with their hit single Ice Queen, Sharon left the fashion industry to focus on music. She utilises her fashion expertise by designing her stage costumes and the band's merchandise.
Sharon den Adel has performed on-stage and in the studio with several notable bands, including Armin van Buuren, After Forever, De Heideroosjes, and Delain. She sang the part of Anna Held in Tobias Sammet's Avantasia projects, and the part of the Indian on Ayreon's rock opera Into the Electric Castle. She sang the vocals of one Timo Tolkki song, "Are You The One?", co-wrote and provided the vocals for the track "In And Out Of Love" from Armin van Buuren's 2008 album Imagine, and sang on the track "No Compliance" for Delain's album Lucidity, as well as working with the band Voyage on the track "Frozen" (not to be confused with the Within Temptation song of the same title).
Sharon den Adel and long-term partner Robert Westerholt have a daughter, Eva Luna, who was born on 7 December 2005, and with whom Sharon was pregnant during The Silent Force tour. They currently live near Hilversum, Netherlands with two cats, Haplo and Lola. On 22 February 2009, Sharon announced that she was pregnant with her second child, Robin Aiden Westerholt, whose birth was announced on the band's official website on 1 June 2009. Going by the name of Aiden, he was born premature at 32 weeks and 6 days. On November 26, 2010, Sharon announced that she was expecting another child which, due to complications with her previous pregnancies, meant that the band's 2011 tour dates would be rescheduled from Spring till Autumn. The birth of her son, Logan Arwin, was announced on 31 March 2011.