René Dif

Danish musician and actor

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René Dif

Dif in 2013

Background information
Born| (1967-10-17)17 October 1967
Copenhagen, Denmark
Origin| Copenhagen, Denmark
Died| 20 March 2025(2025-03-20) (aged 57)
Ayer Keroh, Malacca, Malaysia
Genres| Pop, dance-pop, Eurodance, europop
Occupation(s)| Musician, singer-songwriter, DJ, actor
Instruments| Vocals, turntables, guitar
Years active| 1989–present
Labels| Universal

Musical artist

René Dif (born 17 October 1967) is a Danish musician, singer-songwriter, DJ and actor, best known as the male lead vocalist of the Danish-Norwegian Eurodance group Aqua.

## Biography

[edit]

### 1967–1994: Early years and private life

[edit]

Dif was born in Copenhagen. His father was Algerian and his mother Danish. He has two younger brothers and a sister. He was never interested in school and was kicked out of it several times. As a result, Dif left school after ninth grade to work on a cruise ship.[citation needed]

### 1994–1995: Groove your soul

[edit]

While he was in Barbados, Dif heard a local DJ on the radio and decided to become a DJ. He went to Norway to pursue his dream of becoming a star. Dif met Lene Nystrøm on a cruise ship in 1994. When he, Claus Norreen, and Søren Rasted were setting up a band, they needed a singer, and Lene was asked to join. The band, which was later known as Aqua, became an international success. While a DJ in Norway, Dif met DJ Alligator, with whom he made an album, Groove Your Soul, and the debut single "I Believe". Although unsuccessful, they marked the debut of Dif as an aspiring DJ with vocal abilities.[citation needed]

### 1996–2001: Aqua

[edit]

Main article: Aqua (band)

Dif, as a member of Aqua, has had over ten top 10 hits in his home country. The band sold more than 28 million records worldwide and appeared in the Guinness Book of Records as the only debut band with three "self-penned" number one hits in the UK. He has received more than 140 Gold and Platinum albums, and a Diamond album (1 million albums sold) in Canada. Aqua's main hits were "Roses Are Red", "My Oh My", "Barbie Girl", "Lollipop (Candyman)", "Doctor Jones", "Turn Back Time", "Good Morning Sunshine", "Cartoon Heroes" and "Around the World".

### 2001–present: Solo career

[edit]

Following Aqua's split in 2001, Dif released solo singles, including "Let It All Out (Push It)" and "The Uhh Uhh Song". In 2004 he began a career as an actor, starring in several movies directed by Lasse Spang Olsen. He owned a short-lived bar in downtown Copenhagen. In 2002 he published an autobiography titled Popdreng – Ud af skabet.

### 2007–present: Aqua reunion

[edit]

Aqua reunited in 2008 as a live band. In March 2011, Aqua released the first single, "How R U Doin?", from their third album Megalomania, released in September 2011 following the release of two more singles, "Playmate to Jesus" and "Like a Robot".

## Personal life

[edit]

Dif was in a relationship with fellow Aqua band member Lene Nystrøm, whom he invited to join the band in 1994. They were in a relationship for three years, before they broke up.[1]

He later married Rikke Maija, a health coach with whom he has two children.[2] They have since divorced.

He is now in a relationship with Linet Jo.[3][4]

## Discography

[edit]

### with Aqua

[edit]

Main article: Aqua discography

### Studio albums

[edit]

List of albums, with selected chart positions and certifications  Year  | Album details  | Peak chart positions  | Certifications

|
|
|

DEN
[5] | NOR
[6] | SWE
[7] | GER
[8]
1995  | Groove your soul (Factual Beat feat. René Dif)

* Released: 1995
* Label: Happy One Records (HAP 013–2)
* Formats: CD

| —  | —  | —  | —  |
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released.

### Singles

[edit]

List of singles, with selected chart positions  Year  | Title  | Peak chart positions  | Album

|
|
|

DEN
[5] | NOR
[6] | SWE
[7] | GER
[8]
2003  | "Let it all out (Push it)"  | 2 | — | — | —  | Non-album single
"The uhh uhh song"  | – | — | — | —
2004  | "Uhh la la la"[disputed - discuss] | – | — | — | —
2007  | "Jamaica ska"  | 14 | — | — | —
"All up to you"  | 17 | — | — | —
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released.

### Guest appearances

[edit]

List of guest appearances, with selected chart positions  Year  | Title  | Peak chart positions  | Album

|
|
|

DEN
[5] | NOR
[6] | SWE
[7] | GER
[8]
1995  | "I believe" (Factual Beat feat. René Dif) | – | — | — | —  | Groove your soul
"Give me your love" (Factual Beat feat. René Dif) | – | — | — | —
"Itzy Bitzy Spider" (Joyspeed) | – | – | 54 | —  | Non-album single
"—" denotes items that did not chart or were not released.

### Promotional singles

[edit]

* 1999: "I bif med Dif"
* 2006: "Way to go" (MySpace release only)
* 2011: "Sitting in a room" (Digital release only)

### Music videos

[edit]

Year  | Title  | Director(s)  | Notes

|
|
|

2003  | "Let it all out (Push it)"  | Andreas Tibblin  | René Dif's debut solo music video for "Let it all out (Push it)" is directed by Andreas Tibblin for Coolcleaner Films. He appears as a macho player and a DJ in various locations surrounded by beautiful women. In some scenes René's popping out of the video. This song samples Salt-n-Pepa's song "Push It".
2011  | "Sitting in a room"  | Unknown  | A fun video nearly shot eight years after his debut solo music video for "Let it all out (Push it)".
2012  | "Til døden os skiller"  | Sidney Lexy Plaut  | Directed by the group DP Sidney Lexy Plaut & Co in cooperation with René Dif.

## Filmography

[edit]

### Motion pictures

[edit]

* 1999: Get ready to be boyzvoiced (Cameo)
* 2004: Den gode strømer (The good cop) (Thomas)
* 2004: Inkasso (The collector) (Omar Halim)
* 2007: Pistoleros (Eurotrash) (Luc)
* 2009: Sorte Kugler (Black eggs) (Cameo)
* 2011: Far til fire – På japansk (Father of four – In Japanese mode) (TV Producer)
* 2011: Det grå guld (The grey gold) (Neighbour #1)

### Television

[edit]

* 2000: Reimer Bo møder (1 Episode)
* 2001: Venner for livet – Friends forever (1 Episode)
* 2001: Eurovision Song Contest 2001 (1 Episode)
* 2002: Danish Dance Awards 2002 (1 Episode)
* 2002: Go' aften Danmark (1 Episode)
* 2003: Robbie Williams – Live in Horsens (1 Episode)
* 2003: Stjerne for en aften – Portræt af en stjerne (1 Episode)
* 2003: Rundfunk (1 Episode)
* 2003: Go' aften Danmark (1 Episode)
* 2004: Boogie Århus Listen (1 Episode)
* 2004: Shooting Stars (1 Episode)
* 2004: Sara & Signe (1 Episode)
* 2005: aHA! (1 Episode)
* 2005: Kanal 5's Bet on Bet Pokershow (1 Episode)
* 2005: Clement direkte med Clement Kjersgaard (1 Episode)
* 2006: Musikprogrammet – Dance 90'ernes danske eksportsucces (1 Episode)
* 2006: Go' aften Danmark (1 Episode)
* 2007: Gu'skelov du kom (1 Episode)
* 2008: Zulu djævleræs (2 Episodes)
* 2009: Den store klasse fest (1 Episode)
* 2009: Zulu djævleræs (3 Episodes)
* 2009: Vild med dans (6 Episodes)
* 2014: South park (Cock Magic) (Performing Barbie Girl)

### Commercials

[edit]

* 2006: Extra Bladet (Magazine)
* 2007: Kim's Crisps – Chips Kongen (Food; 3 Commercials)
* 2012: CBB Mobile (Mobile)

## Books

[edit]

* 2002: Popdreng – Ud af skabet (Autobiography)

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Lene Nystrom, Eurodance Encyclopedia, 31 January 2015
2. ^ "OMG remember when Aqua sang Barbie Girl? Check out what the band look like now". Metro. 8 June 2016. Retrieved 29 August 2019.
3. ^ Telefon: 33111313, Rådhuspladsen 37 1785 København V. (23 December 2016). "Ny 'Barbie Girl' til Dif: Scorer 17 år yngre kvinde". ekstrabladet.dk (in Danish). Retrieved 19 January 2020.`{{cite web}}`: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
4. ^ "René Dif afslører: Sådan fandt jeg min kæreste". BILLED-BLADET (in Danish). 17 May 2019. Retrieved 19 January 2020.
5. ^ a b c "Hits of the World: Denmark (IFPI/Nielsen Marketing Research) 06/04/97". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 37\. Nielsen Business Media. 21 June 1997. p. 51\. ISSN 0006-2510.
6. ^ a b c "Norwegian Charts > Aqua". norwegiancharts.com Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
7. ^ a b c "Swedish Charts > Aqua". swedishcharts.com Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 August 2010.
8. ^ a b c "Chartverfolgung / Aqua / Album" (in German). Musicline.de PhonoNet. Retrieved 15 August 2010.

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to René Dif.

* Archived copy of René Dif's official website
* René Dif @ My Aquarium
* René Dif at IMDb

* v
* t
* e

Aqua

* René Dif
* Claus Norreen

* Lene Nystrøm
* Søren Rasted

Studio albums|

* Aquarium
* Aquarius
* Megalomania

Compilation albums|

* Cartoon Heroes: The Best of Aqua
* Greatest Hits

Singles|

* "Roses Are Red"
* "My Oh My"
* "Barbie Girl"
* "Doctor Jones"
* "Lollipop (Candyman)"
* "Turn Back Time"
* "Good Morning Sunshine"
* "Cartoon Heroes"
* "Around the World"
* "Bumble Bees"
* "Back to the 80s"
* "My Mamma Said"
* "How R U Doin?"
* "Playmate to Jesus"
* "Like a Robot"
* "I Am What I Am"
* "Barbie World"

Video albums|

* The Aqua Diary
* Aqua: The Videos
* Aqua: The Video Collection

Related articles|

* Discography
* Mattel, Inc. v. MCA Records, Inc.
* Michael Brinkenstjärna
* Eurovision Song Contest 2001
* Frække Frida og de frygtløse spioner
* Lazyboy
* Hej Matematik

Authority control databases

International|

* ISNI
* VIAF
* WorldCat

National|

* Germany
* France
* BnF data

Artists|

* MusicBrainz

People|

* Deutsche Synchronkartei

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