Wouter “Wally” De Backer appeared on the music scene under the stage name Gotye and in 2011 swept all competition with the hit “Somebody That I Used to Know“. The song is still one of the most listened in the world, but the singer seems to have disappeared from the stage.
Gotye is turning 40 years today, and the once-famous singer was born in Belgium but grew up in Australia.
His parents moved there when he was two years old, and when he enrolled in school, they changed his name to Walter. As a boy, he showed an interest in music, and from an early age, he played piano and drums. In his teens, he formed his first band with friends from school, and he still plays with one of them today.
During his career, he released three studio albums, and “Making Mirrors” became a global hit due to the single “Somebody That I Used to Know”, which conquered the world almost ten years ago. Two years since the song was released, he has won three Grammy Awards, including a statuette for Song of the Year, but has decided to give up fame despite becoming the best-selling Australian performer of all time.
He still makes music and lives in Australia, but Gotye shocked the music world a few years ago with one move. “I’m not interested in selling my music,” he said briefly when he gave up $10 million worth of royalties from YouTube.
His famous single has garnered over 1.5 billion views to this date.
