Biography

Jonathan Ivo Gilles Vandenbroeck born 14 July 1981, known professionally as Milow, is a Belgian singer-songwriter. Milow released his debut album, The Bigger Picture, in 2006 on his own label Homerun Records. The fourth single from that album, "You Don't Know," became one of the biggest hit singles of the year in Belgium in 2007, and The Bigger Picture stayed on the Belgian album chart for 110 weeks.

However, it was not until his second self-released album Coming of Age in 2008 (in 2009 renamed and repackaged as Milow), that Milow achieved major commercial success all over mainland Europe. The album peaked at number three on the German Album Top 50 chart, at number four in the Swiss Album Top 100, and peaked in the top twenty of many European charts. The album reached platinum in Germany and Switzerland, it reached gold in France, the Netherlands, and Belgium, and it sold over 500,000 copies in mainland Europe and Canada.

Milow's international breakthrough came with the release of the single "Ayo Technology", a song originally written and recorded by 50 Cent, Justin Timberlake and Timbaland, from the album Milow. The single peaked at number one in the Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Switzerland, Belgium, peaked at number two in Germany, Spain, Austria, and peaked in the top ten in France, Italy and Finland. The song was a huge commercial success, receiving a platinum certification in Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Denmark and gold certification in Spain and the Netherlands.

Milow was born in Borgerhout, near Antwerp in Belgium, as the second of four children, with a Belgian father and a mother from the Netherlands. He grew up in Wespelaar, Haacht right next to Werchter, a town famous for its Rock Werchter festival, one of the biggest annual rock music festivals in Europe. Milow has said that his first concert experience was seeing Pink Floyd in Werchter in September 1994, on the group's final tour. The show inspired him to make his own music, and he became determined to perform on the festival site in Werchter one day. According to a documentary which aired on Belgium's Canvas TV in December 2011, Milow grew up in a house full of music instruments and signed up for accordion lessons with a local music teacher when he was a kid, but soon started taking piano and guitar lessons as well.

Milow spent a year as an exchange student in California, United States with the AFS Intercultural Programs in 1999–2000 at The Bishop’s School, where he wrote and performed songs. He has often said in interviews that this time helped him improve his skills writing songs in English and that he always felt he would one day return to California. In 2003, after having played in a few bands with friends from high school, Jonathan decided to start playing solo gigs and chose "Milow" as his artist name. Often asked why exactly that name, he has answered that there wasn't really a specific meaning, he just thought it would be easier for an international audience than his full name.

Milow was first heard at Humo's Rock Rally, a prestigious battle of the bands contest for unsigned rock bands in Belgium, organized every second year since 1978 by Belgian magazine HUMO. Many Belgian bands and artists, like dEUS, The Black Box Revelation, Absynthe Minded, Evil Superstars, Novastar, Arid, Das Pop, Admiral Freebee and Goose, launched their career in the Rock Rally. Milow's performance was awarded with a position in the finals but he did not win.