Douwe Bob

Biography

Douwe Bob Posthuma (born 12 December 1992), professionally known by only his first and middle names Douwe Bob (Dutch pronunciation: [ˈdʌuə ˈbɔp]), is a Dutch singer-songwriter. He won the Dutch talent show De beste singer-songwriter van Nederland. He specializes in folk and country music and has released four albums. He represented the Netherlands in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.

Early life

Douwe Bob Posthuma was born on 12 December 1992 in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. He was born into a Frisian family. His father, Simon Posthuma, is known for being a member of The Fool design collective.
Douwe Bob started playing piano at the age of 6, initially concentrating on classical music and jazz. He took up the guitar at age 14. As a singer he was inspired by country, folk and pop music from the 1950s to the mid-1970s.

2012–2013: Born in a Storm

In 2012, he competed in the Dutch TV talent show De beste singer-songwriter van Nederland (The Best Singer-Songwriter of the Netherlands). He played the songs "Standing Here Helpless", "Icarus", and in the finale, "Multicoloured Angels". In the finale, he was joined by Dutch singer Tim Knol and the latter's band. He won the finals and "Multicoloured Angels" reached number 17 in the weekly music chart Dutch Top 40. His debut album, Born in a Storm×Born in a Storm2 May 2013 · Studio albumSpotifyYouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Judge, Jury and Executioner3:482Blind Man’s Bluff2:453You Don’t Have to Stay2:254Eliza Jane4:245Born in a Storm4:316Multicoloured Angels3:087I Smoke and I Drink3:558Beautiful2:559Stone Into the River4:2110Life Weighs Heavy3:3011Give It to Me3:0312She Knows3:3713I Gave Them2:36, was released on 3 May 2013. The bulk of the songs were written during a holiday in Morocco with Matthijs van Duijvenbode. In June 2013, Douwe Bob played at the Pinkpop Festival. At the end of 2013, he appeared in the documentary Whatever Forever: Douwe Bob to talk about his relationship with his father Simon Posthuma, during IDFA.

2014–2015: Pass It On

In 2014, Douwe Bob became one of the Ambassadors of Freedom for the Bevrijdingsfestival. In January 2015, he released the single "Hold Me", produced in collaboration with Anouk. In February 2015, Douwe Bob announced his new album Pass It On×Pass It On15 May 2015 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Pass It On3:042Can’t Slow Down2:393Take It All3:334Sugar3:135Doctor2:576Sweet Sunshine3:037Hollywood4:198Morning Sunset3:059Gini3:4910The News3:3111We’ll Be Gone2:2212Fine Line3:5013Hold Me3:51. The album was released on 15 May 2015 by record company Universal Music Group.

2016–2017: Eurovision Song Contest and Fool Bar

On 6 May 2016, he released his third studio album Fool Bar×Fool Bar5 May 2016 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 12 tracks1Slow Down2:442How Lucky We Are3:173History3:044Settle Down4:225It Ain’t Easy3:076Get Real3:377Jacob’s Song5:188Cynic4:219A Damn Good Time2:2910Take It Off4:0411Black Jolene3:1312Love on the Rocks7:30 by record company Universal Music Group. The album peaked at number four on the Dutch Albums Chart. Douwe Bob represented his country in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 in Stockholm, where he performed the song "Slow Down" in the semi-finals and finals on 10 and 14 May 2016. He placed eleventh in the final, racking up a total of 153 points. He was the Dutch spokesperson for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017.

2018–present: The Shape I'm In and Singel 39

On 21 April 2017, Douwe Bob was announced as the fourth coach of the seventh season of The Voice Kids, which started on 23 February 2018. In the following season, he did not return and was replaced by Anouk. On 9 November 2018, Douwe Bob released his fourth studio album The Shape I'm In, which he described as being a break-up record. In 2019, he composed the title song for the Dutch feature film Singel 39. He also played a small role in the film. The film won the Golden Film award after having sold 100,000 tickets.
Douwe Bob appeared in the 2023 season of The Masked Singer.
On 29 June 2025, Douwe Bob walked off stage at a performance for a Dutch Jewish community youth event, citing the presence of posters and pamphlets belonging to the Dutch wing of Zionist youth organization Netzer Olami. The singer and his family were forced to go into hiding abroad after being doxed and receiving death threats.

Personal life

On 10 March 2016, in an interview with OutTV, Douwe Bob revealed that he identifies as bisexual.
Posthuma has three children: a daughter with Loes van Delft; a second daughter with an unknown woman; and a son with former girlfriend Anouk.