Flemish singer Sabine Marie Ghislaine Tielens (October 30, 1976), better known by her stage name Sabien Tiels, found her true calling early in life. By the time she was a teenager, she had already performed in the European Soundmix Show talent competition singing Sandra Kim’s “J’Aime la vie” and finished in third place at the Euronoté contest. Tiels made her official debut in 1992 with Roger Baeten’s “Veel te mooi,” which she performed on the TV show Tien to see. This led to a record deal with Alora Music, who released her second single, the self-penned “Voor jou,” in 1993. She broke into the mainstream in 1995 with “Hou je morgen nog van mij” and produced her first-ever charting single with the song “Hemels,” reaching Number 43 on the Flemish Ultratop 50. In 1996, she participated in the preliminary round to represent Belgium at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song “Nooit meer alleen,” landing in sixth place, and released her studio debut, Hou je morgen nog van mij. The album, which peaked at Number 15 on the Ultratop Albums Chart, spawned the Top 50 singles “Moeder van mijn moeder” and “Trein.” She then embarked on a promotional tour for her second full-length, Hier hoor ik thuis (1997) and released Ik ben ik in 1999. Optie Adoratie, a collection of cover songs by Herman van Veen, Miel Cools, Jacques Brel, and Zjef Vanuytsel saw the light in 2001 and was followed by 2003’s Ritme van de tovenaar, produced by her partner, the pianist Dirk Schreurs. After the release of De overkant in 2008, Tiels dropped a handful of singles that failed to chart and performed sporadically with Nijghse Vrouwen, a tribute to Dutch lyricist Lennaert Nijgh. Subsequently, she returned with the duet album Mannelijk schoon (2016) and managed to enter the Top 50 once again with 2020’s “Als jij het niet meer weet.”
