Ben Saunders, the Dutch singer born in London who won the debut season of “The Voice of Holland” and became the first champion crowned by any version of the format, was found dead at a recreational lake near Arnhem in the Netherlands on September 15, 2026. He was 43.
Saunders’ body was recovered from the Rijkerswoerdse Plassen, a recreational lake at Elst on the border of Arnhem South, at approximately 1:20 p.m. local time. No cause of death has been released.
Police Unit East Netherlands said in a statement to People on September 16: “We can confirm that a body was found yesterday at a recreational lake of Arnhem and that police have ruled out foul play.” The force added that it does not release or comment on personal details.
A Brother’s Tribute on Instagram
Tributes came from his family and from figures in Dutch music. His brother, the singer Dean Saunders, announced the death in an Instagram post on September 15 that carried a throwback photograph of the two of them as children.
“My dear little brother passed away today… I have never experienced pain like what I am feeling right now…. what a terrible day for all of us.. We have to learn to live with this and I hope this will be handled respectfully…,” Dean Saunders wrote, in a caption translated from Dutch.
“Ben had a beautiful beautiful family and a family that loves him very much and always will .. Ben is in my heart and he will stay there forever,” he added.
In a later post, Dean Saunders reflected on 43 years as brothers and said music would never feel the same to him again.
The brothers were business partners as well as musical collaborators, and a tribute to Ben Saunders also appeared on September 15 on the Instagram page of Tattoo Saunders, the parlor they ran together in Arnhem, alongside a recent photograph of the siblings.
Tributes From the Dutch Music World
Marco Borsato, a former coach on “The Voice of Holland,” shared a clip on Instagram of Saunders performing “Dochters” (“Daughters”), a song Borsato originally recorded. In a separate post, accompanied by a photograph of the two of them on stage together, Borsato wrote, addressing Saunders’ fiancee: “Dear, special man, my heart is crying! I can’t find words for the emptiness you leave behind. Dear Janita, friends and family, lots of strength in processing this enormous loss.”
Saunders’ win in 2011 placed him in television history well beyond the Netherlands. “The Voice of Holland” had premiered in 2010, and the format it launched has since been remade in more than 150 versions around the world, among them NBC’s “The Voice,” a long-running hit in the United States. Saunders was the first contestant to take the title in any of them.
From London to the Dutch Charts
Saunders was born July 9, 1983, in London and moved to the Netherlands as a child with his parents. He grew up in the town of Hoorn before settling in Arnhem, the city where he had most recently been living.
His television career began years before the show that made his name. In 2000 he competed on the RTL 4 talent program “Alles voor de band: Follow that dream” and joined Follow That Dream, the Dutch pop group formed out of the series, with Dean among its members as well. The band split in 2001. The brothers frequently performed together in the years that followed, and in 2003 they entered the Nationaal Songfestival, the contest that picks the Dutch entry for the Eurovision Song Contest. Competing as The Brothers with a song called “Stand As One,” they finished seventh of eight and did not make it to Eurovision.
In 2010 he auditioned for “The Voice of Holland” with a cover of “Use Somebody” by Kings of Leon. He won the debut season in 2011 with “Kill for a Broken Heart,” an original song that climbed to No. 4 on the Dutch Top 40. It was included on his first solo album, “You Thought You Knew Me By Now,” which arrived in April 2011 and topped the Dutch chart. A second album, “Heart & Soul,” followed in 2012.
It was an extraordinary stretch for one family: Dean Saunders won the Dutch talent show “Popstars” in 2011, a single day after his younger brother’s victory on “The Voice of Holland.” Ben Saunders returned to Dutch television more recently, appearing on the SBS talent competition “Avastars” in 2023.
Away from the charts, Saunders built a second career as a tattoo artist, working out of the shop he ran with his brother in Arnhem while continuing to make music. He is survived by his fiancee, Janita, and three children.