Ben Saunders, the London-born Dutch singer who won the first-ever edition of The Voice in 2011, has been found dead in a lake near Arnhem at age 43. Police do not suspect foul play.
Ben Saunders, the London-born Dutch singer who in 2011 became the first-ever winner of The Voice franchise, was found dead on Tuesday in a recreational lake near Arnhem in the Netherlands. He was 43.
Police recovered a body from the Rijkerswoerdse Plassen at about 1:20 p.m. local time on Tuesday, September 15, after Saunders had been reported missing earlier that day. Friends and family confirmed his death to De Telegraaf. Authorities said the death is not being treated as a crime and do not suspect foul play. A cause of death has not been disclosed.
DutchNews reported that Saunders had not been formally identified at the time of the announcement, but was recognizable by several distinctive tattoos, and was well known in the Gelderland biker community.
A landmark win in a global franchise
Saunders won The Voice of Holland in 2011, the first edition of a format that went on to become an international hit, including as NBC's The Voice in the United States. His audition, a rendition of Kings of Leon's "Use Somebody," drew attention from the show's judges, and his winning song, "Kill for a Broken Heart," reached number 4 on the Dutch Top 40.
His debut solo album, You Thought You Knew Me By Now, topped the Dutch charts following its release in April 2011.
Born on July 9, 1983, in London, Saunders moved to the Netherlands as a child with his English parents. He grew up in the Noord-Holland town of Hoorn before settling in Arnhem, where he opened a tattoo parlour. He performed alongside his brother, Dean, for years before either found fame; the two entered TV talent contests for a decade and represented the Netherlands in the 2003 Eurovision Song Contest. Dean Saunders won Popstars in the same year as his brother's Voice victory.
Family tribute and later struggles
Dean Saunders announced the death on Instagram, posting a childhood photograph of the two brothers. "My dear little brother died today. I have never felt such pain as I feel now. What a dreadful day for us all," he wrote.
Saunders' career was accompanied by personal and legal difficulties. According to DutchNews, he struggled with health problems, including a hernia that he said forced him to use a stick on stage, and spent time in hospital with stomach pains. In 2016 he was given a community service sentence for abusing a traffic official and ordered to compensate a café owner for property damage. He was also a member of the biker club Satudarah, which the Dutch government banned in 2020 over its involvement in organized violence and drug dealing.
Saunders is survived by his fiancee, Janita Engels, and three children.
This article draws on reporting by Deadline, DutchNews.nl and De Telegraaf. Details of Saunders' death remain subject to official confirmation; gloobeam.com will update this report if further information becomes available.