Alice Deejay was a Dutch Eurodance project founded and produced by Wessel van Diepen, Dennis van den Driesschen (Danski & Delmundo, Vengaboys), Sebastiaan Molijn, and Eelke Kalberg (Pronti & Kalmani), also featuring Sven Maes and Johan Gielen (Svenson & Gielen). It was fronted by singer and originally with dancers Mila Levesque and Yutin, who later was replaced by Angelique Versnel. They are best known for their 1998 single "Better Off Alone", which was a worldwide success, selling over two million singles worldwide.
History Formed in 1998, Alice Deejay launched their career with their debut single, "Better Off Alone", credited as DJ Jurgen presents Alice Deejay. The song reached the top 10 in many European countries and also charted in North America. In the UK, the song was platinum and reached number 2 on the UK Singles Chart, and number 3 on the US Billboard Hot Dance Music/Club Play, also reaching number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100. Their second single, "Back in My Life", was released in November 1999 and reached number one in Norway and the top 10 in Denmark, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
The project's only album was Who Needs Guitars Anyway?, released in March 2000. It entered the top ten of the UK Albums Chart. They released three more singles from the album, "Will I Ever", "The Lonely One", and "Celebrate Our Love", all of which reached the top 20 in the United Kingdom. Pronk, together with backing singers, toured dance-themed venues to perform live. In 2002, this line-up made their final appearance together.
First revival After more than a decade of inactivity, in 2014 the producers who originally launched Alice Deejay revived the group with new vocalist Ilona, a Dutch singer and DJ. The new lineup slightly changed its name to "Alice DJ" and began touring.
Reunion tour Twenty years after her last performance as Alice Deejay, in October 2021 the group announced that Pronk would be returning, with several tour dates scheduled across Europe for the remainder of the year.
On 16 October 2021, Pronk returned as Alice Deejay live on stage for the first time in 20 years at the Ethias Arena in Belgium. She made her final appearance on stage at Kubix Festival on 14 December 2024 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England.
Production The project was founded and produced by Danski (Dennis van den Driesschen) and Delmundo (Wessel van Diepen), along with their protégés Pronti (Sebastiaan Molijn) and Kalmani (Eelke Kalberg).Alice Deejay Discography at Discogs Discogs
Discography
Studio albums + List of studio albums, with selected chart positions and certifications Title Album details Peak chart positions Certifications NLD FIN FRA GER IRL NOR SWE SWI UK US Who Needs Guitars Anyway? Released: 28 March 2000 Label: Republic Formats: CD, LP, digital download 27 7 45 28 8 14 24 12 8 76 BPI: Gold
Singles + List of singles, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album NLDPeak chart positions for singles in the Netherlands: All except "Better Off Alone": "Better Off Alone": AUSAustralian (ARIA) chart peaks: Top 50 peaks: Top 100 peaks to December 2010: FRA GER IRL NOR SWE SWI UK US "Better Off Alone" 1998 9 4 6 32 3 3 5 28 2 27 ARIA: Gold BPI: 2× Platinum IFPI SWE: Gold SNEP: Gold Who Needs Guitars Anyway? "Back in My Life" 1999 4 19 11 17 5 1 4 19 4 — BPI: Gold IFPI NOR: Gold IFPI SWE: Gold SNEP: Silver "Will I Ever" 2000 8 65 37 33 8 16 10 25 7 — BPI: Silver "The Lonely One" 19 82 60 59 32 — 24 72 16 — "Celebrate Our Love" 2001 25 — 71 71 44 — 33 85 17 — "Who Needs Guitars Anyway?" — — — — — — — — — — "Hitmix" (EP) 2010 — — — — — — — — — — Non-album single "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
References
External links [ Alice Deejay AllMusic page] About Dance Music interview with Pronti and Kalmani Alice Deejay Discogs page Alice DJ website