Sophie Francis

years_active = 2014–present label = website =

Sophie Fabienne Bongers

Biography Early life Sophie Fabienne Bongers with her parents for six months a year until they returned to the Netherlands permanently when she was 10, this time moving to Sint-Oedenrode. From an early age, she had an interest in music. By the age of 9, she started playing piano and sang along to many songs. At the age of 14, she was tasked with doing a school project where she would develop a new skill during 9 months, and being so much into the music, she got inspired to do something with it for this project. Besides that, she also wanted to do something with people. When doing research, she found a video of a DJ playing a live set who had a great connection with the crowd. As she loved the vibe and was amazed by how one person can transfer one's energy to an entire crowd with music, she realized that "when you are a DJ, you have this special connection with people, I think that's amazing!". She went to the International School Eindhoven (ISE) in Eindhoven, where she began taking DJ lessons and met new friends who already began producing music. Before graduating from high school in May 2017, she started her music career.

Music career 2014-2015 Her first residency was at a small bar Het Pumpke in her hometown of Sint-Oedenrode, Afterwards, she caught the attention of Christian by sending some demos, and the two began working together to release Francis's music on Christian's record label Freeway Recordings. followed by her second single "Up in This", which was described by EDMTunes as "a mainstage-ready banger" that "proves why the likes of Ummet Ozcan and Quintino have already thrown her support". Her third single, "Bad Boy", was released on June 20, and afterwards she released the track "Annihilate" as a free download, which received over 2 million plays on SoundCloud. and received 94% of likes from 538 listeners on the item 'Maak 't of kraak 't' (translated: make it or break it). In October, she performed at the Amsterdam Dance Event for the first time, playing in a bus while traveling across Amsterdam, as well as was a guest at Giel on NPO 3FM.

On November 9, she was a guest and performed at Bij Igmar on SLAM!. That same month, she released "Don't Stop" on Chuckie's record label Dirty Dutch Music. In December, she performed at the Glazen Huis in Breda. By the end of 2016, she was an in-demand artist getting booking requests from the United Kingdom, Belgium, France, Germany, the United States, India, China, Vietnam, Japan and the United Arabic Emirates, but balancing the fact that she was still a high school student, working daily to find a balance between her career and her studies.

2017 On January 30, 2017, it was announced that Francis signed a deal with Spinnin' Records, a then-independent Dutch record label, which she said was "a dream coming true". Her first single on the label, "Without You", was released on February 17. She produced the song together with Dutch songwriting duo the Companions, with one of its members, Sasha Rangas providing vocals for the song. Later that month, she performed at the Spinnin' Hotel in Miami during the Winter Music Conference, and on March 25 she performed for the first time at Ultra Music Festival on the "Worldwide" stage.

On April 27, 2017, she performed at AFAS Stadion in Alkmaar during SLAM! Koningsdag 2017. Less than a month later, she released her second single on Spinnin' Records, "Lovedrunk". First announced as an ID track, it was well received by the Chainsmokers, Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike, R3hab and Vinai, among others. The single peaked at number 17 on the DMC Buzz Chart two weeks before release. An official music video for the song was released. A remix pack for the song was released less than three months later, featuring remixes from Olly James, Carta and TV Noise. She had also hosted an episode on the label's radio show Spinnin' Sessions.

On May 27, she performed at the Emporium festival in Nijmegen. Afterwards, she performed at the Amsterdam Arena during the Glamour Health Challenge. Together with Mike Williams, Curbi and Mesto, she also organized benefit concerts for a school in Limburg. In July, she performed at the 2017 edition of the Tomorrowland festival for two days in Belgium. Thailand, China and Indonesia. A month later, she returned to China to perform at Storm Electronic Music Festival in Changsha and Shanghai, before returning to the Netherlands to attend her second ADE, performing three times during the week in Amsterdam.

In October, Francis started her own radio show, named "Beyond Radio", broadcast weekly by Radio FG in France and Belgium and by WolfBytes Radio in the United States. Every episode, lasting one hour, contains mashups, previews and news about her career. On November 10, her single "Get Over It" was released on Dimitri Vegas & Like Mike's label Smash the House, celebrated with a release party at the Veltins-Arena in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

Her third Asia tour started with a DJ set on board of a cruise ship called "It's the Ship", boarding from Singapore and traveling around various Asian countries. Other stops of the tour included clubs in Shanghai, Ningbo, Jakarta and Tokyo, where she also celebrated her 19th birthday on December 2 before returning to Europe. She ended 2017 with two DJ sets in her former home country, South Africa, playing in Cape Town at Soundscape on December 30 and at Secrets of Summer on New Year's Eve.

2018 On January 26, 2018, Francis released the single "Hearts of Gold" on Spinnin' Records. The singer of the song is Nicole Bus. On the same day, her first official remix is released by Atlantic Records and is the rework of "So What" by Sam Bruno featuring Rockie Fresh. In late February, she played at a charity event in Eindhoven organized by the Rode Kruis, the Dutch Red Cross, giving her contribution to raise €24.000 for children in Haiti. On March 9, a vocal version of "Get Over It" was released on Smash the House featuring the vocals from Canadian singer Laurell. Later same month, she performed at the Spinnin' Hotel in Miami during the 2018 Miami Music Week.

On June 29, her second song featuring the vocals from the Companions' Sasha Rangas, "Stay Up", was released. The song received over 13 million streams. An official music video for the song was released less than two months later. In October, she took up participation in an awareness campaign by Dance4Life, for which she became an ambassador. That same month, she released "Weekend Love" on Spinnin' Records. She also attended the Amsterdam Dance Event in Amsterdam.

2019 Francis started 2019 by releasing the track "True Champion" as a free download followed by "Lose My Mind" on Spinnin' Records. She then released "On My Way", which, according to staff of EDM Joy, "builds on a warm dance rhythm before unleashing exciting vocals and sweet guitar chords, exploding in an anthem-like chorus, full of singalong vibes and feelgood melodics". She also performed at VESTROCK in Hulst. In July, she performed at the Zwarte Cross in the Achterhoek.

In August, Francis started publishing Beyond Fitness vlogs on her YouTube channel, where she and her personal trainer show a set of exercises that can be done either in the gym or out of the house (e.g. on tour). She also released a track inspired by her Beyond Fitness workouts, titled "Six Pack", through Future House Music. and Docks in Hamburg, as well as at the Amsterdam Dance Event in Amsterdam. In November, she played at the pre-show of Airbeat One in Schwerin alongside Vini Vici, Danny Ávila and Oliver Heldens. A month later, she was a guest and played a set in an episode of Nicky Romero's podcast "Protocol Radio".

2020-present In 2020, Francis released two singles: "Roll Up" and "A-Freak-A". In 2022, she collaborated with Lorena Medina and the Inner Kids for the official song of La Vuelta 22, "C'mon C'mon".

Awards and nominations 2017 Billboard: "Top 5 Female Performances"

2016

2017

"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.

Singles

29-02-2016: "Drop of a Dime" [Freeway Recordings] 11-04-2016: "Up in This" [Freeway Recordings] 30-05-2016: "Bad Boy" [Freeway Recordings] 20-06-2016: "Annihilate" [FREE] 26-09-2016: "Walls" [Powerhouse Music] 18-11-2016: "Don't Stop" [Dirty Dutch Music] 17-02-2017: "Without You" [Spinnin' Records] 26-05-2017: "Lovedrunk" [Spinnin' Records] 10-11-2017: "Get Over It" [Smash the House] 26-01-2018: "Hearts of Gold" [Spinnin' Records] 09-03-2018: "Get Over It" (featuring Laurell) [Smash the House] 30-06-2018: "Stay Up" [Spinnin' Records] 05-10-2018: "Weekend Love" [Spinnin' Records] 28-02-2019: "True Champion" [FREE] 29-03-2019: "Lose My Mind" [Spinnin' Records] 10-05-2019: "On My Way" [Spinnin' Records] 04-10-2019: "Six Pack" [Future House Music] 02-21-2020: "Roll Up" [Heldeep Records] 04-27-2020: "A-Freak-A" [Spinnin' Records] 26-03-2021: "Talk Like That" (featuring I AML) [Deux Trois] 16-04-2021: "I Push My Body" [Show Me the Honey] 23-04-2021: "Drop That Ass" [Show Me the Honey] 30-04-2021: "Running Wild" [Show Me the Honey] 07-05-2021: "Feel Your Energy" [Show Me the Honey] 14-05-2021: "Break a Sweat" [Show Me the Honey] 21-05-2021: "Summer Body" [Show Me the Honey] 28-05-2021: "Countdown" [Show Me the Honey] 26-11-2021: "I Miss Missing You" [Show Me the Honey] 17-12-2021: "Dance with Me" (with Makasi) [Generation Smash] 21-01-2022: "Famous" (featuring CVBZ) [Spinnin' Records] 05-08-2022: "C'mon C'mon" (with Lorena Medina and the Inner Kids) [Show Me the Honey]

Remixes 26-01-2018: Sam Bruno featuring Rockie Fresh - So What (Sophie Francis Remix) [Atlantic Records] 14-09-2018: Barrett Wilbert Weed and Original Broadway Cast of Mean Girls - I'd Rather Be Me (Sophie Francis Remix) [Mean Girls Broadway, LLC]