# Helmut Lotti

Helmut Lotti (born Helmut Barthold Johannes Alma Lotigiers; 22 October 1969), is a Belgian tenor and singer-songwriter. Lotti performs in several styles and languages. Once an Elvis impersonator, he has sung African and Latino and Jewish music hit records, and he crossed over into classical music in the 1990s. In 2023 he brought a selection of his favourite Heavy Metal songs at Graspop Metal Meeting.

## Life and music

The son of Luc and Rita (née Lagrou), Helmut Barthold Johannes Alma Lotigiers was born in Ghent, Belgium, and began his singing career with a visual and singing style in an obvious imitation of Elvis Presley, and was described as "De Nieuwe Elvis" (in Dutch) or "The New Elvis". His first two albums were Vlaamse Nachten ("Flemish Nights", 1990) and Alles Wat Ik Voel ("All That I Feel", 1992). After a few more albums, he changed direction in 1995 with the first of what became a long series of "Helmut Lotti Goes Classic" albums, which proved to increase his popularity. Since 2000 he has also made successful recordings in traditional Latino, African and Russian-style music.
Lotti sings in his native language Dutch, as well as Afrikaans, English, French, German, Hebrew, Italian, Latin, Russian, Spanish, Ukrainian, Zulu, Xhosa, Ndebele and others. His albums has sold over 13 million worldwide.
Lotti does volunteer work as an ambassador for UNICEF. Lotti took part in the 0110 concerts against racism, organised by Tom Barman.
He was married 3 times, divorced 3 times and has 1 daughter. Lotti was diagnosed with autism as an adult.

## Discography

| Year | Title | Sales | Certifications |
| 1990 | Vlaamse Nachten / Flemish Nights | | |
| 1992 | Alles wat ik voel / All That I Feel | | |
| 1993 | Memories | | BEL: Platinum |
| 1994 | Just for You | | BEL: Gold |
| 1995 | Helmut Lotti Goes Classic | BEL: 600,000 CAN: 202,000 NLD: 50,000 WW: 1,000,000 | AUT: Platinum BEL: 12× Platinum CAN: 2× Platinum FRA: Gold GER: Gold NLD: 2× Platinum SWE: Platinum SWI: Gold |
| 1996 | Helmut Lotti Goes Classic II | BEL: 500,000 CAN: 87,000 | AUT: Platinum BEL: 10× Platinum CAN: Gold GER: Gold SWE: Gold SWI: Gold |
| 1997 | Helmut Lotti Goes Classic III | BEL & GER: 455,000 CAN: 47,000 | AUT: Gold BEL: 7× Platinum CAN: Gold GER: Platinum NLD: Gold |
| 1998 | Romantic | | BEL: Platinum GER: Gold |
| 1998 | Helmut Lotti Goes Classic Final Edition | | BEL: 4× Platinum |
| 1998 | A classical Christmas with Helmut Lotti | |
| 1999 | Romantic 2 | | GER: Gold |
| 1999 | Out of Africa | | AUT: Gold BEL: 3× Platinum GER: 3× Gold NLD: Platinum SWI: Gold |
| 2000 | Vlaamse hits / Flemish hits | | |
| 2000 | Latino Classics | | AUT: Gold BEL: 3× Platinum GER: Platinum NLD: Platinum SWI: Gold |
| 2001 | Latino Love Songs | | AUT: Gold BEL: Platinum GER: Gold SWI: Gold |
| 2002 | My Tribute to the King | Europe: 600,000 | AUT: Platinum BEL: 2× Platinum BVMI: 3× Gold NVPI: Gold SWE: Gold SWI: Gold |
| 2003 | Pop Classics in Symphony | | AUT: Gold BEL: Platinum GER: Platinum SWI: Gold |
| 2004 | From Russia with Love | | AUT: Gold BEL: Platinum GER: Gold |
| 2006 | Meine geliebte Klassik / My Favorite Classics | | |
| 2006 | The Crooners | | AUT: Gold BEL: Platinum GER: Gold |
| 2008 | Time to Swing | | BEL: Platinum |
| 2013 | Mijn Hart & Mijn Lijf | | |
| 2015 | Faith, Hope & Love | | |
| 2016 | The Comeback Album | | |
| 2018 | Soul Classics in Symphony | | BEL: Platinum |
| 2021 | Italian Songbook | | |
| 2023 | Hellmut Lotti Goes Metal | | |