After 15 years away, queer pop star J. Ren returns with raw autobiographical album

Belgian-german artist Jeroen Minnebo sheds his former identity and delivers «Life like this», an emotional confession about the distance between the life he imagined and the one he calls his own.

Fifteen years of silence have come to an end. Jeroen Minnebo, known in his early days as Minno, is back, reborn as J.Ren, with an album that strips away the polish and leaves only truth.

«Life Like This» drops now across all streaming platforms, marking the Belgian-born, Germany-based artist’s first musical release since his television career on Flemish music channel Anne.

From Showbiz To Authenticity

In his early twenties, Minnebo lived a whirlwind existence. Releasing singles like «Dreaming» while working as a TV host for Belgium’s Anne music channel, he became the face of shows like Anne Shownieuws.

«It was a fast, public chapter shaped by showbusiness, nightlife and the pressure to keep performing», according to the official press release.

Then he moved to Germany. He stepped away from releasing music. For roughly 15 years.

He built an international marketing career. He married. He recently became a father. And gradually, he stopped trying to be the polished person who always said and did the right thing.

«J.Ren is not a return to Minno», the release clarifies. «It is the music project of the person Jeroen became in between: more personal and more unapologetically himself». 

The Album’s Heart

Across emotional pop with soulful edges, «Life Like This» traverses love, queer identity, ambition, reinvention and the social façades Minnebo once knew well.

The record is autobiographical without following a strict timeline. It connects the restless young performer, the people-pleaser, the partner and the man starting over.

«Its central realisation is simple: the life that once seemed ordinary can become the life that means everything». 

Four Singles Plus A Tribute

Four previously released singles anchor the album:

Seven new originals join them, plus a soulful ode to Milk Inc.’s «Walk on Water», the song that helped Minnebo come out of his shell at twelve years old.

Eleven originals total. One unexpected homage.

A Personal Revelation

For an artist who spent years performing as someone else, this album represents something different. Not a comeback. Not a relaunch. But a transformation.

«From Minno to Jeroen Minnebo to J.Ren», the press release traces the evolution. «J.Ren is the music project of the person Jeroen became in between». 

Now available everywhere music streams, «Life Like This» arrives fifteen years after Jeroen Minnebo thought his music days were over.

Instead, he found something more important than perfection: honesty.

From Flemish television to German marketing to queer pop authenticity, J.Ren’s journey mirrors countless LGBTQ+ artists who’ve navigated the tension between public image and private truth. Fifteen years on, Jeroen Minnebo proves it’s never too late to become whoever you’re meant to be.