Dutch singer/songwriter Eefje de Visser was born in 1986 in Voorburg and grew up in the small South Holland village of Moordrecht. She became interested in music early, writing her first song at the age of 11 and performing in a number of bands during her school years. Her big break came in 2009 when she entered the Grote Prijs van Nederland, the country's largest and longest-running music contest for new talent (previous winners include Junkie XL). The day before the final, she made her national television debut on the popular variety show De Wereld Draait Door (The World Keeps Turning) with her song "Hartslag" (Heartbeat). The next day, she won the grand prize in the singer/songwriter category, impressing the judges with her spare and haunting acoustic folk-pop sound. The following year, "Hartslag" was released as a digital single, and her debut album, De Koek (The Cake), arrived in 2011. A second album, Het Is (It Is), was released in 2013. ~ John D. Buchanan