Paul de Leeuw (born March 26, 1962 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch television come… Read Full Bio ↴Paul de Leeuw (born March 26, 1962 in Rotterdam) is a Dutch television comedian, singer and actor.

De Leeuw gained national fame in the late eighties and early nineties with television shows for the public broadcasting company VARA. Though satire was only a part of these shows and much of its humour was essentially harmless he came into publicity with satire about Dutch show business personalities who were often ridiculed.

Besides, many obscure musical acts were featured in his shows, many of which managed to gain national fame after they had been in De Leeuw's programme (e.g. Twarres and AIDS suffering singer Rene Klijn). VARA has since continued his shows apart from a few interruptions, often with considerable success.

In the early nineties, Paul de Leeuw also had some shows celebrating the new year. In the 1993-1994 show he ridiculed the new commercial television channel RTL 5 by announcing another new channel, "RTL 6" (RTL six, beter dan niks (at least better than nothing)). This led to a trial by the RTL company, who demanded that De Leeuw withdraw his joke.

He and his partner, Stephan Nuger, have adopted two children: son Kas (adopted in October 2001) and son Tobey (adopted in December 2002).

Paul de Leeuw has had many hit singles in The Netherlands. He is most famous for: Vlieg met me mee (#2), Ik wil niet dat je liegt / Waarheen, waarvoor (#1), and 'k Heb je lief (#3). Since the beginning of his television and singing career he released albums and singles, always becoming a big success.
In 2006, he recorded the song "Mijn Houten Hart" (My Wooden Heart) with Raffaela, which was later released as a single and peaked at #18 in the Dutch Singles Top 100, becoming one of his smallest hits.

Eurovision Song Contest 2006 incident

De Leeuw is, despite being famous for a long time in the Netherlands, best-known internationally for presenting the results of the Dutch televote in the Eurovision Song Contest 2006. De Leeuw was supposed to present the televote by simply thanking the presenters, performers and fans, before giving the result but instead the openly gay De Leeuw gave his mobile number to the male presenter Sakis Rouvas live on-air, and made other comments which somewhat lengthened the Dutch results.

De Leeuw also made a reference to gay culture when he remarked that Rouvas and his female co-presenter Maria Menounos reminded him of Will & Grace. As the results were live and required for the contest to continue, De Leeuw could not be cut off until he finished giving the voting results.

De Leeuw's actions resulted in negative comments from the commentators, with the BBC's Terry Wogan calling the act "pathetic" and asking "Who selected this eejit?" during the United Kingdom coverage of the contest. Other commentators, like the Portuguese Eladio Climaco, didn't translate properly the gay remarks and said he was saying that they really look like Greeks. Parts of the dialogue were also shown on the German comedy show TV total.

The dialogue between De Leeuw and Rouvas

Rouvas: Hello Netherlands! Paul...

De Leeuw: Hello Greece, kalisperma everybody! [note that sperma means sperm in many languages, at least both in Dutch and Greek]

Rouvas: Kalispera Paul. [kalispera means 'Good evening', which was supposed to be said]

De Leeuw: You look like Will... [stops, likely due to the cheering of the crowd behind him] You look like Will & Grace, you two. So here are the votes, the Dutch votes. Let's come. [In an extremely high tempo] One, Ukreene (sic), two, Russia, Germany, three, Ireland, four, Greece, five, Lithuania, six, Finland, seven points! [resumes normal tempo]] Now the eight points. Are you ready Chaci, tzatziki, cichaci?

Rouvas: Yes, haha.

De Leeuw: Are you ready? Eight points... I like your blouse... The eight points are for Bosnia-Hoshegovina (sic). Yeah.

Rouvas: Bosnie-Herzegovine, huit points.

De Leeuw: Yes, I say. And the ten points, Zhacki, Zhicka, Chucka, are from (sic) Armenia!

Rouvas: Armenie, dix points.

De Leeuw: Ok, and Chacki, do you have my mobile number now or after twelve points?

Rouvas: Give it to me now. I bet it's 69 69 69. [In Greece, mobile numbers always begin with 69, but the rest of the 69's are a sexual innuendo, since Rouvas did not seem to like Paul's lines.]

De Leeuw: Ok, 00... [interrupted by Rouvas' remark] no no no no no... I'm not the French guy! [Probably refers that Rouvas was once interviewed for a French magazine, in which the interviewer assumed that Rouvas was gay and directed his questions accordingly.] Its 00 31 6 24 74 44 32 10 dial 1. Twelve points goes to, I'm very proud to say, Turkey! Twelve points.

Rouvas: Turquie, douze points.

Honderd Procent
Paul de Leeuw Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

altijd wil je praten want woorden hebben zin
je aarzelt want je weet het niet
je zoekt een nieuw begin
maar ik zeg wat ik zeker weet
ik heb geen woorden nodig
ik twijfel niet zolang je bij me bent
voor honderd procent

altijd wil je praten ik hou mijn adem in
je zegt dat dit niet alles is
verlies steeds wat ik win
en ik zeg wat ik zeker weet
ik heb geen woorden nodig
ik voel me vrij zolang je bij me bent
voor honderd procent

ik koop en kies ik zorg en zing
ik ren en vlieg alleen voor jouw
met liefde en plezier
geef als je me kent
honderd procent
en blijf nog even hier

jij hebt makkelijk praten
maar praten heeft geen zin
je denkt dat je het beter weet
je vult mijn leven in
en ik weet wat ik zeker weet
die woorden zijn niet nodig
ik twijfel niet zolang je bij me bent
voor honderd procent

ik koop en kies ik zorg en zing
ik ren en vlieg alleen voor jouw
met liefde en plezier
geef als je me kent
honderd procent
en blijf nog even hier

maar als jij wilt praten
en steeds het licht niet ziet
dan weet ik wat jij nog niet weet
voor minder doe ik het niet
ik zal me straks vermannen
de zorgen kan ik aan
je moest maar gaan als jij niet bij me bent
voor honderd procent

geef als je me kent
honderd procent
en blijf nog even hier

ik koop en kies ik zorg en zing
ik ren en vlieg alleen voor jouw
dus wees nu even stil
geef als je me kent

honderd procent
da's alles wat ik wil

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Paul de Leeuw's song "Honderd Procent" talk about the trust and certainty that the singer has in his relationship. He tells his partner that he doesn't need words to feel secure and confident in their love, and that he is willing to give everything he has for them. The partner, on the other hand, seems unsure and always wants to talk, thinking that there might be more that they are missing. The singer reassures them that they are enough and that he is willing to give them everything he has for their love.

The lyrics also touch upon the idea of sacrifice and giving your all for the one you love. The singer talks about how he buys and chooses things, takes care of himself, and even sings and runs for his partner, all because of the love and joy they bring to his life. He also mentions that he is willing to face any challenges or worries because he knows that his partner is by his side, and that he will keep giving them his all as long as they stay committed to the relationship.

Overall, the lyrics of "Honderd Procent" emphasize the importance of trust, confidence, and giving your all in a loving relationship. It portrays a strong bond between two lovers who are willing to go the extra mile for each other, and who find joy and happiness in their shared love.

Line by Line Meaning

altijd wil je praten want woorden hebben zin
You always want to talk because words have meaning

je aarzelt want je weet het niet
You hesitate because you don't know

je zoekt een nieuw begin
You're searching for a fresh start

maar ik zeg wat ik zeker weet
But I say what I know for sure

ik heb geen woorden nodig
I don't need words

ik twijfel niet zolang je bij me bent
I don't doubt as long as you're with me

voor honderd procent
For one hundred percent

ik koop en kies ik zorg en zing
I buy and choose, I take care and sing

ik ren en vlieg alleen voor jouw
I run and fly only for you

met liefde en plezier
With love and pleasure

geef als je me kent
Give if you know me