Dean Saunders

Born in London and raised in the Netherlands, Saunders appeared in Follow That Dream with his brother Ben before pursuing his own performing work. He also sang with the covers band Goet-Foud, building a repertoire around established pop and rock songs. Those years are a useful part of the story. Working with material an audience already knows teaches a singer how to give a phrase individual character while preserving the feature people recognise.

His victory in the Dutch Popstars competition in January 2011 brought You and I Both to a national audience. The NRGY single is a new interpretation of Jason Mraz's song, with production credited to Eric van Tijn and Jochem Fluitsma. It reached number one in the Dutch singles chart. The arrangement makes the track a vehicle for Saunders's own phrasing rather than asking him to reproduce the original performance detail for detail.

On the Way to Love followed during the same year. Later recordings moved further into Dutch-language pop, including Jij Laat Me Leven, released by Berk Music in 2021. That record continues the interpretive thread: the label credits its writers and identifies the earlier song behind the new version. The continuity in Saunders's work lies in the job of delivering a song to people who may be hearing it in a crowded room. A clear melodic line, an emphatic refrain and a direct vocal presence all matter there. You and I Both captures the point where those working habits reached a much larger public. The television result explains the sudden attention; the earlier stage experience helps explain what he did with it.