Juliette Krauss

**Juliette Emiliana Eckhardt** (née **Krauss**; born 7 June 1979) is an Ardwallian singer, songwriter, and actress. Beginning her career as a musical theatre actress, Krauss became a member of the pop group Cloudy Blue in 2000, before departing from the group to begin a solo career in 2003.

Born in The Hidewind, Krauss studied musical theatre at Toon te Groot Hulsens Music School, graduating with her secondary school diploma in 1997. After finishing her education, she began performing in local musical theatre in The Ravenrep, receiving leading roles in a number of locally produced musicals. In 2000, she auditioned for the singing-reality series *Music Factory* during their open audition in The Hidewind, and was selected to compete in the series. The show featured a number of young singers competing to become the original lineup of the pop group Cloudy Blue. She continued to advance through the competition and reached the finale, where she was eliminated by the audience. However, during the finale, the judges stated that they were disappointed with the decision and chose to include Krauss in the group anyways. After *Music Factory*, Krauss was signed to Polla Music and Mammoth Music Ardwall–Porgium along with the rest of the group. She was at first looked at as the group's unofficial leader; this was due in part to the widespread media attention she received due to the events of the finale episode, and she thus often dominated the group's interviews and scored the highest amount of solos in their music. Krauss released two albums with the group before parting ways in order to begin a solo career in 2003. While a member of Cloudy Blue, she scored two number-one singles in Ardwall, while both of the albums released debut at the top of the charts.

After leaving Cloudy Blue, Krauss signed solo contracts with Polla and Mammoth Ardwall–Porgium. Her decision to leave garnered controversy and widespread media attention, as rumors emerged that she had no alerted her bandmates that she was leaving or was in talks to pursue a solo career until the announcement was made public. In June 2004, she released her debut single "Boys and Girls," which became her first solo number-one hit in Ardwall, also becoming widely successful in Porgium. The song's success was followed up by the release of her debut solo album *Romeo & Juliette* (2004), which debuted at number-one. *Romeo & Juliette* produced two other top forty singles for Krauss: "Mama" and "Cry it Out." She promoted the album with The Juliette Tour (2004) and additionally supported Ophelia Simms on her A Whole New Woman Tour (2004–05). Following the success of *Romeo & Juliette*, Krauss was granted creative control over her sophomore release. She released the album's lead single "Sober" in March 2007, which saw Krauss adopt a rockier sound and image. "Sober" was a modest success, peaking within the top twenty in Ardwall. It was followed up by the single "Don't Leave Me," featuring a similar rock influence but with much more mainstream capabilities; "Don't Leave Me" became Krauss's second solo number-one in Ardwall, and the best-selling single of her career. She later released the album Sapphire (2007), which became the best-selling album of the year in Ardwall and the most successful album of her career; it additionally produced the number-one hits "Perfect" and "In the Air." She has gone on to release three other albums in her career: *Demolition Girl* (2009), *Nasty* (2014), and *Heartland* (2017).

Outside of her music career, Krauss has also pursued work in acting. Beginning her career as a musical theatre actress, Krauss returned to the stage after being cast as Glinda in the 2011 production of *Wicked* at Huib Befort Theatre in Amsterdert. She performed in the role from June 2011 until May 2012, before retiring it with the show's closing. In 2015, she performed as Miss Hannigan in a production of *Annie* at Niek Eisink Theatre for a one-month engagement, and then later was featured as Velma Kelly in a two-month engagement performance of *Chicago* at Louw Basse Theatre from September to December 2018.

## Early life and education

Krauss was born on 7 June 1979 in The Hidewind to parents Pieter (born 1940) and Thea Krauss (née *Lohuis*; born 1944). Her father worked as an attorney, while her mother was a professional opera singer at the National Opera House of The Hidewind. While both of her parents were born and raised in Ardwall, her father was born to a Lungarian father and her mother had a Lemurian grandmother. The family was of a modest socioeconomic background. Krauss was raised as the youngest of three children; her elder siblings were Vincent, born  (1974-12-18) 18 December 1974 (age 49), and Sofie, born  (1978-01-12) 12 January 1978 (age 46).

Krauss developed an interest in music at a young age, often coming along with her mother and elder sister to rehearsals at the opera house while her father was working and her elder brother was at school. Initially, Krauss was interested in pursuing a career in opera, and began taking opera lessons at age five; however, she discontinued her opera lessons two years later, after injuring her vocal cords performing and becoming disinterested in the genre. She began her education in 1985, attending a local public primary school, and graduated in 1995. After graduating, she enrolled in the Toon te Groot Hulsens Music School to study musical theatre, and graduated with her secondary school diploma in 1997. After graduating, Krauss decided to pursue a career in musical theatre.

## Career

### 1997–2003: Early career, *Music Factory*, and Cloudy Blue

Shortly after graduating from school, Krauss opted to begin a career in musical theatre. Discovering a love for stage acting when she was 15, Krauss devoted her secondary education to it and was determined to make a career out of it, despite influence from her friends and family to pursue a career in pop music. During this time, Krauss performed in low-budget shows in The Hidewind, often receiving leading roles. As she received a very small salary from her musical theatre career, Krauss worked part-time as a boutique sales associate, and hoped to earn enough money to move to either Amsterdert or Munbach and further her career there.

In the autumn of 2000, Krauss attended the open audition in The Hidewind for the singing-reality series *Music Factory*. The series was created in order to launch a new pop group signed to Polla Music and Mammoth Music Ardwall–Porgium, allowing the viewing public to cast the members of the band. Krauss ultimately succeeded in her audition, and went on to continue to advance within the competition. After becoming one of the top ten female vocalists, she advanced to the live shows with the viewing public, where she continued to advance into the finale. In the finale, Krauss was not selected by the viewers at home to be cast in the group, despite being one of the big favorites for the entire duration of the show. After the results were announced, the judges invited Krauss to join the group as the seventh member, to which she accepted.

After the completion of *Music Factory*, the group made their debut as Cloudy Blue and released their debut single the group released their first single "Forever," which became their first chart-topping hit in their home country. After going on a small promotional tour to promote *Music Factory* and "Forever," the group released "A Moment like This" as the lead single to their upcoming debut studio album in November 2001. The song became a top ten hit in Ardwall, and its ensuing parent album *The Power of Seven* went on to debut at number-one. The group then embarked on The Power of Seven Tour, which performed shows in Ardwall, Porgium, and Elinwe. They returned with the release of the single "Skyscraper" in February 2003, which became their second number-one hit. It was followed by the release of their sophomore studio album *Another Way*, which became the second highest selling album of the year in both Ardwall and Porgium. They promoted the album with the Skyscraper Tour. Following the completion of the Skyscraper Tour in August 2003, Krauss confirmed that she would be leaving the group in order to pursue a solo career.

### 2004–2005: Solo breakthrough and *Romeo & Juliette*

With news of Krauss's departure from Cloudy Blue in August 2003, rumors began to circulate of ill-will between Krauss and her former bandmates. Tabloids began reporting stories of how Krauss had not informed any of her bandmates of her decision to go solo until the announcement went public, and none of them were even told by her that she was in the process of securing a solo recording contract with their label. Neither Krauss nor her former bandmates have ever confirmed or denied the rumors, but for years the tabloids have published unconfirmed stories about the breakdown of her relationship with her former bandmates.

After working with executives and producers on developing a solo sound distinct from that of Cloudy Blue, Krauss released her debut solo single "Boys and Girls" in June 2004. An uptempo pop song inspired by jazz music, "Boys and Girls" was immediately a widespread success in Ardwall and Porgium. The single debuted at number-one in her home country, and remained there for six consecutive weeks. Prior to the release of her debut album, Krauss released her second single "Mama," which became a top ten hit in Ardwall and a number-one hit in Porgium. After the widespread success of these two releases, Krauss released her debut studio album *Romeo & Juliette* in September 2004, ultimately debuting at number-one in both Ardwall and Porgium. She supported the album with The Juliette Tour, which performed shows in Ardwall and Porgium from September to November 2004. Afterwards, she was selected to support Ophelia Simms on her A Whole New Woman Tour, performing shows in eight countries from December 2004 to April 2005.

### 2006–2010: *Sapphire* and *Demolition Girl*

After the success of *Romeo & Juliette*, Krauss was awarded complete creative control over her sophomore release by her label. Interested in writing a majority of her songs by herself and wanting to diversify her sound, Krauss spent the next year traveling abroad in order to "garner inspiration" for her upcoming release's sound. She returned to Ardwall in May 2006, having written over twenty-five songs during her travels. The album's lead single "Sober" was released in March 2007; "Sober" saw a great stylistic change in Krauss's sound and image. Instead of the upbeat pop music she previously released, "Sober" was a midtempo pop rock track, with Krauss also debuting a "grungy" fringed haircut and rocker clothing. Despite positive reviews from music critics, "Sober" was only a modest commercial success, peaking within the top twenty in Ardwall.

The single was followed up by the release of the new single "Don't Leave Me," featuring a similar rock influence but with much more mainstream capabilities; "Don't Leave Me" became Krauss's second solo number-one in Ardwall, and the best-selling single of her career. She later released the album *Sapphire* in August 2007, which became the best-selling album of the year in Ardwall and the most successful album of her career; it additionally produced the number-one hits "Perfect" and "In the Air." She promoted the album with the Sapphire Tour, which performed shows in six countries from August to December 2007.

Krauss began writing music for her third studio album while on tour promoting *Sapphire*. After returning from tour, she immediately began writing more songs and recording, eager to release new music. In September 2009, she released the lead single to her upcoming third studio album, "Rock Star." The song was a commercial success, reaching the top ten in Ardwall. Stylistically, the song continued on the rock influence first introduced in *Sapphire*, while also incorporating more dance-pop and electropop inspirations. The single was followed by the release of Krauss's third studio album *Demolition Girl* in November 2019. The album peaked at number-two in Ardwall and number-one in Porgium; she promoted the album with the Juliette's Demolition Derby tour, which performed shows in eight countries from December 2009 to June 2010.

### 2011–present: *Nasty*, *Heartland*, return to stage, and motherhood

After finishing the tour for *Demolition Girl* in June 2010, Krauss announced that she would be returning to the studio to record new music "very soon." In April 2011, it was confirmed that she would be taking over the role of Glinda in the production *Wicked* at Huib Befort Theatre in Amsterdert. Regarding her casting, Krauss said that it was always a dream role for her, and she could never decline the offer. Krauss's performance received positive reviews from theatre critics, who noted her clear musical theatre background. Well initially meant to be a limited engagement, Krauss took over the role indefinitely until the musical's final performance in May 2012.

In June 2012, Krauss married actor Paul Eckhardt and announced that she'd be putting her career on hold indefinitely in order to prioritize her family life. She returned to music two years later, releasing the single "Nasty" in February 2014. Intended to be slightly comedic, the song saw a departure from her rock-oriented music of the late-2000s, instead being a pure pop song. Despite being well-received by critics, especially due to its humor, the song received negative feedback from fans and was a commercial disappointment, peaking at number-78 in Ardwall. The song was followed up by her fourth studio album *Nasty* in April 2014. The album was more successful, reaching number-four in Ardwall. It featured a similar stylistic departure from rock music, instead incorporating genres such as dance-pop, hip hop, and disco. Due to her pregnancy, Krauss opted not to embark on a tour to promote the album.

In 2015, Krauss returned to musical theatre after she was cast as Miss Hannigan for a limited engagement feature in the musical *Annie* at Niek Eisink Theatre. She performed in the show from April to May 2015. Krauss ended her music hiatus again after releasing the single "Crowd Pleaser" in October 2017. Departing from the dance-pop heard in *Nasty*, "Crowd Pleaser" was described by music critics as being heavily inspired by classic rock of the 1970s and 1980s. Krauss stated that she was heavily inspired by the music of her childhood, played often by her father, while writing and recording for her upcoming release. The album *Heartland* was later released in November 2017, and Krauss embarked on the Journey to the Heartland tour from December 2017 to March 2018, performing shows in five countries. From September to December 2018, Krauss was featured as Velma Kelly in a production of *Chicago* at Louw Basse Theatre.

## Personal life

While in Cloudy Blue, Krauss was in a relationship with bandmate Christiaan Stroo from 2001 until 2003; they split up shortly before Krauss announced her departure from the group, and their relationship was heavily reported on by the Ardwallian media.

In 2009, she began a relationship with Ardwallian actor Paul Eckhardt. They became engaged in 2011, and married the following year. Krauss and Eckhardt have three children together: Daisy, born  (2013-02-11) 11 February 2013 (age 10), Madeleine, born  (2014-09-26) 26 September 2014 (age 9), and Oliver, born  (2015-12-30) 30 December 2015 (age 8). The family resides in Amsterdert.

## Discography

*Main article: Juliette Krauss discography*

*See also: Cloudy Blue discography*

* *Romeo & Juliette* (2004)
* *Sapphire* (2007)
* *Demolition Girl* (2009)
* *Nasty* (2014)
* *Heartland* (2017)

## Filmography

*Main article: Juliette Krauss filmography*

## Concert tours

* The Juliette Tour (2004)
* Sapphire Tour (2007)
* Juliette's Demolition Derby (2009–10)
* Journey to the Heartland (2017–18)

## Awards and nominations

*Main article: Awards and nominations received by Juliette Krauss*

*See also: Awards and nominations received by Cloudy Blue*