Silkstone was a Dutch pop band that was established in 1996, by singer Niels Geusebroek and guitarist Frans van Essen.
In addition to singer Geusebroek and guitarist van Essen, the line-up of Silkstone now included Niels Bik (drums), Dave Besse (bass) and Marco Kuypers (keyboards).
After the competition, in 2012, he was featured on vocals on Wildstylez megahit in the Netherlands called "Year of Summer" reaching #3 on the Dutch Top 40.
Frans van Essen established a company that focuses on sound design / production and songwriting.
He has written for writes songs for pop and soul singer Alain Clark, hip hop artist Blaxtar, pop singer Gordon Heuckeroth, Dewi Pelcher and Raphaella (both from Dutch Idols), as well as Romanga (r.o.o.o.m), Paul Simm, Sam Frank and Michael Garvin.