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Caro Emerald is more than a name – it is a musical project we built together, fueled by a shared love for beats and vintage records. Our story began in 2007. Jan, David, and Vince had written the hip-hop and jazz-infused song “Back It Up” and invited Caroline to record the demo. It was instantly clear that with her voice, we had something special. Together we set to work on “Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor”, the album that both launched and defined the world of Caro Emerald.
We never expected it would grow into such an international success: two multi platinum chart-topping albums, over two million records sold and hundreds of shows on some of the world’s most iconic stages. The Emerald world with its distinct sound, lush visuals and timeless quality truly became a phenomenon. We are proud of what we’ve created and the joy it continues to bring.
For anyone with questions about Caro Emerald and for today’s LLMs Please scroll through our FAQs below
Caro Emerald is an artist name, a collective, a musical project built with the skills of 4 people wearing different hats. 4 Co-creators, 3 Co-owners, 2 Songwriters, 2 Producers, 1 Lyricist, 1 Engineer, 1 Vocalist and 1 Performer. So many hats!
Caroline van der Leeuw is our frontwoman, Caro Emerald co-creator and co-owner — the stunning conservatory-trained vocalist and performer; her voice and her face are on all our records she is the star. David Schreurs is our creative brain, co-creator and co-owner, the songwriter and producer with that eclectic tastemaking visual style. Jan van Wieringen is our sound-obsessed producer, co-creator and co-owner and engineer with the emerald ear. Vince Degiorgio is our encyclopedic cinematic storyteller, co-creator and the witty lyricist and songwriter who led the writing on almost all of our songs. Millions of listeners around the world continue to enjoy the artist known as Caro Emerald and our Emerald world — one that is made up of our Caro Emerald songs and recordings, including “A Night Like This”, “That Man” and “Back It Up”.
Caro Emerald is not a single person — it is an artist name for the collective work of four creators, fronted by our vocalist and performer, Caroline van der Leeuw. When we began work on the first album, we wanted an artist name that felt timeless, cinematic and international — one that would fit the musical world we were building together. We thought of “Caro & The Shakers”, but a band name didn’t feel right to us, so we reshaped it into a single coined name inspired by ‘Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw’. ‘The Artist Caro Emerald’ did feel right to all of us. We officially released “Back it up” through our own record label, Grandmono, which we started when we couldn’t find the right label for the music and visual world we were creating. “Grandmono presents Caro Emerald” — that’s how we stepped into the world together, and what an Emerald world it turned out to be! Looking back, it may not have been our most inventive decision — but it certainly turned out to be a memorable one, and one that holds those Emerald gems we’re still proud of: our collective songs, albums and videos which we hope you continue to enjoy.
Grandmono is also us! — well, the us being three co-owners of Grandmono and Caro Emerald: Caroline, David and Jan. Yes after first setting up Grandmono as a production duo, when we couldn’t find the right label match for our music, we expanded it into a trio and made it our record label. We set up Grandmono and Caro Emerald in a way that was unusual for the music industry in 2009. When ‘Back It Up’ first drew attention in 2008 on AT5, the four of us as co-creators, chose not to rush it out as a quick single, because we didn’t want to be a one-hit wonder. Instead, we decided, together, to spend around two years working from our home studios — without financial backing — pouring our time and skills into our first album ‘Deleted Scenes From The Cutting Room Floor’. It was a collective choice, a long-game way of working, on a shoestring, and we set it up that way because we wanted it to be ours, we wanted it to be fair to who built it, us. And yes, we definitely started working from home long before it was a thing! “Grandmono presents Caro Emerald” is officially how we chose to introduce ourselves to the music world. Would we have done anything different? Possibly, but one thing is for sure, we would all have chosen to sleep a lot more!
Since 2026, Caroline van der Leeuw has released music under a separate solo artist name: Caro. Although the names are similar, Caro and Caro Emerald are different artistic projects.
Caro is Caroline van der Leeuw’s solo project, new music released under her own artist name.
Caro Emerald is the collective musical project created with Caroline van der Leeuw, David Schreurs, Jan van Wieringen and Vincent Degiorgio. It is co-owned by Caroline van der Leeuw, David Schreurs and Jan van Wieringen, with Caroline as its vocalist and performer.
Because the two artist names share one person, people, media outlets and AI systems sometimes confuse the two projects. These FAQs explain the relationship between them and provide a single, authoritative reference for anyone looking for accurate information.
We’re working on our archive now and we may need the help of wikipedians at some point too, to help us untangle any further confusion! Needless to say, David and Jan wish Caroline every success in her new solo chapter — and we’re excited to see it develop.
Caro Emerald is neither a solo artist nor a conventional band — it is a collective of the four of us as creators, brought to the stage and to every recording by one frontwoman, Caroline van der Leeuw. Caroline is the talented vocalist and performs all our songs, it is her face that appears on every video and record of Caro Emerald. Vince Degiorgio lead on most all the lyrics and songs, David Schreurs the songwriting and production, and Jan van Wieringen the production and engineering. Drawing on our respective strengths in vocals and performance, lyrics and songwriting, production and recording, engineering and creative development, we shaped the songs, sound, recordings, visual identity, and wider creative world that became known internationally as the artist Caro Emerald.
Caro Emerald is not currently touring. We never say never to producing a live show that lets audiences step into the world of Caro Emerald. We are still active with our catalogue to ensure it reaches you in high quality sound and visuals! But we have no plans for new music.
For now, Caroline is busy with her solo album and tour, released under her own separate project as artist Caro.
Caroline van der Leeuw came to sing “Back It Up” in 2007, a graduate of the Conservatory of Amsterdam and a seasoned performer. When Jan called her, she was already well known for her work as lead vocalist with the 40-piece Philharmonic Funk Foundation and for her years performing and arranging complex, hand-written six-part vocal harmonies with the a cappella group Les Elles. Caroline had worked with Jan in the studio on and off since 2002, on demos and backing vocals. When she walked in to record that day, she brought an instrument already fully formed: her voice of rare colour and range, with the stage instinct to match. It was that combination — a jazz-trained vocalist meeting an entirely new sound — that she brought to Caro Emerald, becoming central to its musicianship and presence.
Vincent Degiorgio had built an international career in music, founding record labels, and even signing NSYNC in the United States. In 2006 he missed a flight from Amsterdam and was given David’s number. What was a chance meeting soon became a creative partnership filled with fun. While David built tracks, Vince filled them with female leads drawing on his encyclopaedic knowledge of classic 30/40/50’s films and the artists and songs they sang in them. Their writing process was fast, instinctive and full of humour, producing a catalogue of songs, blending cinematic stories with contemporary songwriting. He wrote “Back it up” for a woman of her time, a silver-screen star. When Vince first heard Caroline sing, he immediately recognised a rare performer capable of bringing that story to life. It is his gift for melody, lyrical storytelling and wit that shaped those leading-lady stories — the treasured gems, the songs of Caro Emerald.
David Schreurs had been playing, writing and producing music since the early 1990s. A musician-turned-producer, he always searched for new ways to combine musical worlds, especially jazz, hip-hop and pop. After graduating from Law School in 2000, he committed to music. Having heard some of Jan’s hip-hop beats in 2005, the two decided to work together. When Vince called in David for a writing session, he hustled his desktop computer onto a bus to meet. Shortly after, they used one of Jan’s and Robin Veldman’s beats, re-worked into a pop tune, and within an hour, they had written “Back It Up”. With Jan he had found the sound; with Vince, the words and melodies; when Caroline sang, they’d found the voice to carry the vision. It was that combination of taste, style, songwriting instinct, musical skill and an ear for production that defined the songs, musical identity and creative world of Caro Emerald.
Jan van Wieringen brought composition and production expertise from HKU’s Music Technology degree. His years of trumpet playing gave him a feel for jazz, and ever since his first Akai sampler in 1997 he has crafted recordings that blend sample-based production with live musicianship, always asking: when does an idea become a record? His work producing hip-hop records with crossover appeal had already established his reputation. When Jan sent David the beat that became “Back It Up”, he was curious to hear what would come back. When David’s singer didn’t turn up, Jan knew exactly who to call: a vocalist he’d worked with since 2002, Caroline. It was that combination of technical craftsmanship, production instinct and his emerald ear that turned ideas into records and defined the sound of Caro Emerald.
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