K's Choice
| Company type | Band |
|---|---|
| Industry | Music |
| Founded | 1994 |
| Headquarters | Antwerp , Belgium |
| Products | Studio albums, live albums, singles |
K's Choice is a rock group originating from Antwerp, Belgium, established in 1994. The band’s primary members are siblings Sam (lead vocals, guitar) and Gert Bettens (guitar, keyboard, vocals). Since 2014, the lineup has expanded to include Bart van Lierde on bass, Tom Lodewyckx handling lead guitar, Reinout Swinnen on keyboards, and Wim van der Westen playing drums. Their discography consists of seven studio albums, with multiple releases achieving Gold and Platinum status as certified by the Belgian Entertainment Association.
Band history
During the early 1990s, brothers Sam (formerly Sarah) and Gert Bettens performed together in The Basement Plugs. Sam also lent her voice to various film soundtracks, such as "I'm So Lonesome I Could Cry" for the movie Vrouwen Willen Trouwen and a duet titled "Why Don't You Try Me" with Frankie Miller for Ad Fundum. After securing a record deal, they formed a new band initially called The Choice and released their first album The Great Subconscious Club in 1994.
The founding ensemble featured Jan van Sichem Jr. on guitar, Bart van der Zeeuw on drums, and Erik Verheyden playing bass. While touring Germany and the United States as opening acts for the Indigo Girls, they discovered another band using the name The Choice. To prevent legal complications, they altered their name to "K's Choice," selecting it by experimenting with letters preceding "Choice." Although initially associating "K" with Joseph K., the protagonist of Franz Kafka's novel The Trial, they later acknowledged the selection was essentially arbitrary.
Paradise in Me and "Not An Addict"
Their 1995 album Paradise in Me featured the single "Not an Addict", which achieved worldwide recognition and significantly boosted their international reputation. Between 1996 and 1997, they toured as the opening act for Alanis Morissette, who discovered them at a European festival.
Cocoon Crash, Almost Happy and split
In 1998, their third studio album Cocoon Crash was released, marking the arrival of American bassist Eric Grossman as a full-time member. Around this period, drummer Bart van der Zeeuw was succeeded by Koen Lieckens. In 1999, K's Choice appeared on the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, performing "Virgin State Of Mind," which was included on the show's official soundtrack. Their subsequent album, Almost Happy, debuted in Europe in September 2000.
In 2001, they issued a two-disc live album titled Live in Europe; meanwhile, the US version of Almost Happy included an additional disc containing live recordings. The compilation Ten, released in 2003 to commemorate ten years of singles along with unreleased tracks and the new song "Losing You," was accompanied by a DVD bearing the same title.
October 2002 saw the band entering a hiatus as Gert and Sam focused on individual projects. Gert took on production duties for Belgian act Venus in Flames, while Sam released a solo mini-album called Go and contributed to soundtracks for films such as Underworld and Zus and Zo. Besides their four studio albums and one live album, K's Choice also produced four limited edition fan club releases: Extra Cocoon, 2000 Seconds Live, Home, and Running Backwards.
Additional solo ventures
In 2005, Sam introduced his solo album Scream across European and American markets, accompanied by a supporting tour. Meanwhile, Gert launched the band Woodface—named in homage to a favored Crowded House record—which released its debut album Good Morning Hope in September 2005. Sam continued his solo career with the albums Shine (2007) and Never Say Goodbye (2008), while Woodface followed up with Comet in 2007. During this time, Woodface also served as the opening act for several of Sam's live performances.
In an interview dated 7 October 2008, Sam confirmed intentions to produce a new album slated for 2009. Subsequently, on 8 June 2009, six years after their announced hiatus, K's Choice revealed plans to perform at the 35th Folk Dranouter festival scheduled for 7 August 2009. To commemorate their international comeback, Sony Music issued a compilation titled The Essential K's Choice that same year.
Comeback and Echo Mountain
The band recorded their fifth studio effort, Echo Mountain, at Echo Mountain Studios located in Asheville, North Carolina. On 22 February 2010, they publicized the album’s release date as 26 March 2010. The singles "When I Lay Beside You" and "Come Live The Life" were highlighted from this release. In 2011, Sam and Gert unveiled an acoustic follow-up named Little Echoes, supported on tour by pianist Reinout Swinnen.
Returning to Echo Mountain Studios in 2013, they embarked on a side project under the moniker "Bettens," crafting the album Waving at the Sun as the soundtrack for the 3D documentary Beyond the Challenge, which chronicles an Antarctic expedition. This album was subsequently released under the K's Choice name in the United States and other territories in 2014.
Private Revolution era
On 6 February 2015, K's Choice debuted "Private Revolution," the lead single from their studio album The Phantom Cowboy. A teaser video featuring live concert clips and archival footage of Sam and Gert premiered on YouTube one day prior. The music video for "Bag of Concrete" followed on 12 June 2015. The full album was launched on 5 February 2015 throughout Europe via Wallaby Records, LLC with distribution by Sony, and later released on 18 September 2015 in the US, UK, Canada, and Ireland through MPress Records. In September, "Perfect Scar" was issued as a single accompanied by a video. The album achieved Top 3 status on Belgian charts.
March 2016 saw K's Choice embark on their first US tour in ten years promoting The Phantom Cowboy, joined by labelmates A Fragile Tomorrow.
Acoustic projects, TV appearances, and anniversary celebrations
Towards the end of 2016, the band released The Backpack Sessions, an acoustic companion record featuring reimagined tracks from albums such as The Great Subconscious Club, Cocoon Crash, and The Phantom Cowboy. This collection also included covers of Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like A) Natural Woman" and Justin Bieber's "Love Yourself".
In January 2017, they issued a stripped-down re-recording of "Not an Addict," featuring guest vocals from Skin of Skunk Anansie, who had previously performed the song live alongside them.
On 24 March 2017, their retrospective compilation 25 commemorated twenty-five years together, including new material like "Resonate" and an updated version of "Not an Addict." This release reached number four on Belgian album charts.
A double live album titled Live at the Ancienne Belgique was released on 16 March 2018, capturing performances from their Brussels concert during the anniversary tour.
Throughout 2018, Sam and Gert appeared on Belgium’s acclaimed TV program Liefde Voor Muziek, interpreting songs by artists such as Jasper Steverlinck and Within Temptation. Belgian artist Niels Destadsbader delivered a rendition of K's Choice's "Believe," retitled "Verover Mij," which attained top-five status nationally. Concurrently, the compilation album Love = Music, featuring all covers performed during the show, reached Belgium’s top ten.
In December 2022, K's Choice announced plans for a celebration of their 30th anniversary with a tour, a vinyl box set release, and a new single titled Time Is A Parasite, which was selected as Catch Of The Day on Studio Brussel upon its debut.
Following sold-out anniversary concerts throughout 2023, K's Choice intends to resume acoustic theatre performances in 2024.[1]
Members
- Current lineup
- Sam Bettens – lead vocals, guitar (1994–2002, 2009–present)
- Gert Bettens – guitar, keyboards, backing vocals (1994–2002, 2009–present)
- Reinout Swinnen – keyboards (2009–present)
- Bart Van Lierde – bass guitar (2014–present)
- Tom Lodewyckx – guitar (2014–present)
- Wim Van Der Westen – drums (2014–present)
- Past members
- Erik Verheyden – bass guitar (1994–1997)
- Bart Van Der Zeeuw – drums, backing vocals (1994–1999)
- Jan van Sichem, Jr. – guitar (1994–1997, 1999–2002)
- Eric Grossman – bass guitar (1997–2002, 2009–2014)
- Koen Lieckens – drums (1999–2002, 2009–2014)
- Thomas Vanelslander – guitar (2009–2014)
- Timeline
Studio albums
- The Great Subconscious Club (1994)
- Paradise in Me (1995)
- Cocoon Crash (1998)
- Almost Happy (2000)
- Echo Mountain (2010)
- The Phantom Cowboy (2015)
- Love = Music (2018)
Compilation, live, and fan-exclusive albums
- Extra Cocoon (1998)
- 2000 Seconds Live (1998) (fan club release)
- Live (2001)
- Home (2001) (fan club release)
- Running Backwards (2003) (fan club release)
- 10: 1993-2003 - Ten Years Of (2003)
- The Essential K's Choice (2009)
- Little Echoes (2011) (acoustic recordings)
- Waving at the Sun (2013) (released as "Bettens")
- The Backpack Sessions (2016) (acoustic)
- 25 (2017)
- Live at the Ancienne Belgique (2018)
Singles
| Title | Year | Highest chart positions | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | US Modern Rock | ||
| "Not an Addict" | 1997 | 22 | 5 |
| "Everything for Free" | 1998 | — | 28 |