Quick Facts
Biography
Ben l'Oncle Soul (born Benjamin Duterde, on 10 November 1984) is a French soul singer-songwriter.
After graduating in 2004, he started singing in a gospel group called Fitiavana. He often wears a bow tie like Uncle Ben from Uncle Ben's Rice. His friends called him "l'Oncle Ben", but he decided to change it in 2009, shortly before the release of his first EP, Soul Wash: Lesson 1, to avoid copyright problems. His eponymous debut album was released by Motown Records in 2010.
On 25 June 2011, Ben L'Oncle Soul opened the 32nd edition of the Montreal Jazz Festival in a major free concert in front of more than 10,000 people at the Scène TD de la place des Festivals in the heart of Montreal. The concert was his third appearance in Montreal having performed at the 2010 FrancoFolies and at the 2011 Montréal High Lights Festival.
He performed at North Sea Jazz Festival on 9 July 2011, and appeared on Later... with Jools Holland on BBC 2 on 21 October 2011. As part of the London Jazz Festival, he played at The Queen Elizabeth Hall in the Southbank Centre, London, on 12 November 2011.
Discography
Albums
| Year | Album details | Peak positions | Certification | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL Wa | FR | GER | NED | SWI | |||
| 2010 | Ben l'Oncle Soul | 11 | 4 | 81 | 12 | 37 | France: 3× Platinum |
| 2014 | A coup de rêves | 14 | 7 | — | 50 | 21 | |
| 2016 | Under My Skin | 154 | 60 | — | — | ||
- Live albums
| Year | Album details | Peak positions | Certification | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL Wa | FR | |||
| 2011 | Live Paris | 25 | 32 | |
EPs
- 2009: Soul Wash: Lesson 1
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | Certification | Album | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| BEL Vl | BEL Wa | FR | GER | NED | SWI | ||||
| 2010 | "Seven Nation Army" | — | 16 | — | 51 | 57 | 54 | Ben l'Oncle Soul | |
| 2011 | "Soulman" | — | 16 | 14 | — | 39 | 63 | ||
| "Petite Sœur" | — | 40 | 54 | — | — | — | |||
| "Elle me dit" | — | 31* (Ultratip) | — | — | — | — | |||
| 2013 | "Hallelujah!!! (J'ai tant besoin de toi)" | 22* (Ultratip) | 33* (Ultratip) | 68 | — | — | — | À Coup de Rêves | |
| "Être un homme comme vous" | — | — | 94 | — | — | — | We Love Disney | ||
| 2014-5 | "You Got My Back" | — | — | 75 | — | — | À Coup de Rêves | ||
| "Ailleurs" | — | — | 67 | — | — | — | |||
| "So Hard to Find" | — | — | 53 | — | — | — | |||
| "À Coup de Rêves" | — | — | 40 | — | — | — | |||
*Did not appear in the official Belgian Ultratop 50 charts, but rather in the bubbling under Ultratip charts.
- Featured in
| Year | Single | Charts | Certification | Album |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| FR | ||||
| 2010 | "À mi-chemin" (Hocus Pocus featuring Akhenaton and Ben l'Oncle Soul) | 70 |
Awards and nominations
- 2010: Nominated for the Prix Constantin for Ben l'Oncle Soul
- 2010: Nominated for La Chanson de l'année (The Song of the Year) for "Soulman"
- 2011: Nominated for Francophone Breakthrough of the Year for Ben l'Oncle Soul at the NRJ Music Awards
- 2011: Won for Best Male Singer of the Year at the Globes de Cristal
- 2011: Won for Live Breakthrough at the Victoires de la musique
- 2011: Nominated for Breakthrough of the Public at the Victoires de la musique
- 2011: Nominated for Album of the Year for Ben l'Oncle Soul at the Victoires de la musique
- 2011: Nominated for Music Video of the Year for "Soulman" at the Victoires de la musique
- 2011: Nominated for Best French Artist for Ben l'Oncle Soul at the MTV Europe Music Awards
- 2012: Won for European Border Breakers Award
- "European Border Breakers Award", Etep.nl. Retrieved 20 February 2012