Johan Waem was born on November 9, 1976 in Beveren-Waas, Belgium. As Danzel, he is a Belgian musician, singer and guitarist known for his dance and Eurodance hits. Waem began his musical career as a singer and guitarist in the band Scherp op de Snee and later worked as a backing singer for the L.A. Band. In 2003, he took part in Idools 2003, the Flemish version of Pop Idol, and reached the final 20 contestants. At the end of 2003, he releases the single "Pump It Up!", a remake of the Black & White Brothers' song of the same name, which is successful throughout Europe. The song reaches the top of the dance charts in France, achieves gold status in Belgium and climbs to number 4 in the German singles charts in 2004. Another single followed, "You Are All of That", which was less successful. In 2005, Danzel released "Put Your Hands Up in the Air!", another remake of an earlier hit song by the Black & White Brothers. On January 28, 2006, he took part in the Polish preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 with "Undercover" and came ninth. His studio albums include The Name of the Jam! (2004) and Unlocked (2008).
