Shirma Tamara Rouse (born 13 March 1980) is a Dutch singer.[1] She is known for her participation in the fourth season of The Voice of Holland, and for providing backing vocals for Anouk at the Eurovision Song Contest 2013. In 2018, she was invited to the funeral of Aretha Franklin, due to the popularity of her tribute album to the artist.

Shirma Rouse
Rouse in 2020
Rouse in 2020
Background information
Birth nameShirma Tamara Rouse
Born (1980-03-13) 13 March 1980 (age 44)
Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles
Genres
Websiteshirmarouse.com

Biography

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Shirma Rouse was born on 13 March 1980 on the island of Curaçao, Netherlands Antilles.[2] She grew up on Sint Eustatius and returned to Curaçao in 1996 to complete her secondary education.[2] In 1999, she began studying chemistry at Leiden University in the Netherlands, but transferred to the Rotterdam Conservatory in 2005 to study jazz music.[2][3]

 
Rouse in 2012

In 2010, Rouse released her debut studio album, titled Chocolate Coated Dreams.[4] In 2012, a second album was released, titled Shirma Rouse sings Aretha, with which she did a theatre tour.[3]

In 2013, she accompanied Anouk to the Eurovision Song Contest in Malmö, Sweden as a backing singer, where she was named best backing singer by The Eurovision Times. That same year, Rouse participated in the fourth season of The Voice of Holland, where she was eliminated in the semi-finals.[5][6]

In 2017, Rouse toured with The Soul of Spanish Harlem, and resumed her Aretha Franklin tribute. After the death of Franklin in 2018, Rouse was invited to attend the funeral.[5] In 2021, she published a cookery book in Dutch entitled Shirma's Soul Kitchen.[7] In 2023, she presented an episode of the Omroep Zwart television programme Hoe … is Nederland? about fat shaming.[8]

Discography

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Studio albums

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  • Chocolate Coated Dreams (2010)[4]
  • Shirma Rouse sings Aretha (2012)[9]
  • Dedicated to You (2012)[10]
  • Shout It Out Loud (2014)[11]
  • Soul Serenade (2017)

References

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  1. ^ "Shirma Rouse". George Visser Productions (in Dutch). Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  2. ^ a b c Gijssel, Robert van (17 July 2015). "Shirma pakt haar shine". de Volkskrant (in Dutch). Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  3. ^ a b Greenberg, Jennifer (May 2017). "Shirma Rouse pays tribute to Aretha Franklin as a part of Israel's Hot Jazz series". Time Out Israel. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  4. ^ a b Chocolate coated dreams - Shirma Rouse - Muziekweb, retrieved 11 March 2022
  5. ^ a b "Shirma Rouse". www.gooisjazzfestival.nl (in Dutch). Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  6. ^ "Prijs voor Shirma Rouse – Shownieuws.tv". 30 July 2013. Archived from the original on 30 July 2013. Retrieved 11 March 2022.
  7. ^ Rouse, Shirma (2021). Shirma's soul kitchen. Dijlan van Vlimmeren, Rick, Fotograaf Arnold. Rotterdam: Kyosei. ISBN 978-90-831544-2-8. OCLC 1260312449.
  8. ^ "Hoe homofoob is Nederland?". Zij aan Zij (in Dutch). 28 April 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2023.
  9. ^ Sings Aretha - Shirma Rouse - Muziekweb, retrieved 11 March 2022
  10. ^ Dedicated to you - Shirma Rouse - Muziekweb, retrieved 11 March 2022
  11. ^ Shout it out loud - Shirma Rouse - Muziekweb, retrieved 11 March 2022
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