About Simone Simons
Simone Johanna Maria Simons (born 17 January 1985) is a Dutch singer. She is best known for being the lead singer of Dutch symphonic metal band Epica, which she joined at the age of seventeen, releasing nine studio albums and touring the world. In her singing career, she has also collaborated with bands such as Kamelot, Leaves' Eyes, Primal Fear, Ayreon, and Angra. She also has a side pursuit as a lifestyle blogger, via her website SmoonStyle. == Early life == Simons was born in Hoensbroek, Heerlen, near the border with Germany and Belgium. She has a younger sister named Janneke who was born on Simone's second birthday. At age 10 she started taking singing lessons, taking also flute lessons for two years, and then joined a music school at age 12. At age 15 she switched from pop/jazz singing lessons to study as a lyrical singer, becoming also interested in classical music and composition, after listening to Nightwish's second album Oceanborn and hearing Tarja Turunen's voice for the first time. At one point she was invited to join in a rehearsal for a black metal band; she joined it, although was a little afraid to sing. Simons sang in a choir for a few months, and later joined Epica at the age of 17, after meeting Mark Jansen through the After Forever's blog and fanclub.
Biography source: Wikipedia. The profile adds birthday-specific historical context from the Celebs Birthday Today editorial database.