Caroline Esmeralda van der Leeuw, known for the music project Caro Emerald, and latterly The Jordan is a Dutch pop and jazz singer who mainly performs in English. She started singing lessons at age 12 with James Gilloffo in Amsterdam and joined a girl vocal group, Les Elles, under his guidance. Following high school, she trained as a jazz vocalist at the Amsterdam Conservatory, graduating in 2005.
In early 2007, Dutch producer Jan van Wieringen invited van der Leeuw to sing the vocal on a track he was producing with producer/songwriter David Schreurs. The song, “Back It Up”, had been written by Schreurs and Canadian songwriter Vince Degiorgio and was based around a hip-hop beat created by Robin Veldman and Jan van Wieringen. Van der Leeuw’s jazzy vocal was considered a “perfect match” for the new song. The demo was pitched to various publishers and labels but without result. The demo then reached public notice around the world online and radio stations started playing the song.
After record labels either refused or failed to sign the project, Schreurs set up their own label, Grandmono. “Back It Up” was released as debut single in July 2009. The song gained airplay and popularity overnight and listed in the Dutch Top 40 for 12 weeks, peaking at No. 12. It became the most played song on 3FM in 2009. Emerald’s debut album, Deleted Scenes fromthe Cutting Room Floor, was released in January 2010 in The Netherlands by Grandmono. It entered at No. 1 in the Album Charts and stayed there for weeks. By August 2010, the album had been No. 1 for 27 weeks, beating Michael Jackson’s chart record for Thriller. The album returned to No. 1, spending a total of 30 non-consecutive weeks on top spot of the Dutch Albums Chart.
The album’s second single, “A Night Like This”, was released in December 2009. It was listed in the Dutch Charts for 26 weeks peaking at No. 1 in January 2010. It was the most played song in The Netherlands in 2010. In 2011, Deleted Scenes from the Cutting Room Floor was released throughout Europe with great commercial success. It became a hit in the UK with sales exceeding 360,000, 8 weeks top 10 peaking at No. 4. The cinematic sound of the project resulted in frequent use in TV series, movies and advertising. On New Year’s Eve 2011, Caro appeared on Jools Holland’s Hootenanny.
In April 2013, the second Caro Emerald studio album The Shocking Miss Emerald was released. It included the singles “Tangled Up” and “Liquid Lunch”. The album went to No. 1 in the UK album chart. In June 2014, she played the opening music set on the pyramid stage at the Glastonbury Festival 2014. In August 2022, Caro was revealed as the voice behind new act “The Jordan”. Her debut album, Nowhere Near the Sky, was released in February 2023 via Cooking Vinyl. The first three singles from the album are “You Don’t Even Know Me”, “Dancing Naked in the Sun”, and “The Room”.
