The Voice Senior is a Dutch talent-search television program produced by Talpa Productions which is broadcast on RTL 4. The show is based on the concept of The Voice of Holland and The Voice Kids, both of which were also created by John de Mol. However, participants must be older than sixty.[1]
Format
The show consists of four different phases: production audition, Blind Audition, The Knockouts and the Live Finale. The production auditions are not filmed, here only the good singers are selected by the program to go to the Blind Auditions.
The Blind Auditions
The blind auditions are similar to The Voice of Holland and The Voice Kids. The contestants sing during the blind auditions while the chairs of the four judges/coaches are turned over. Each candidate has the chance to sing a song of their choice for about a minute and a half. The coaches can only choose the contestant on the basis of musicality and voice by pressing the button, causing their chairs turn around and facing the artist. If two or more coaches want the same artist, the artist can choose which coach he or she wants to continue in the program. The Blind Auditions will end when all teams are full.
The Knockouts
Each coach pairs two or three singers from his team who have to compete against each other by performing a song chosen by the coach. After the Knockouts, the coach chooses one contestant from each pairto to advance the next round. In the end, every coach retains two contestants.
The Finale
The remaining two contestants from each team will be in the final. The Live finale will be broadcast live on RTL 4. The contestants are mentored by their coach and choose a song that they want to sing in the final. The coach then decides one act to remain, the other act will then be eliminated. The final winner is chosen by the public at home by televoting. Unlike the other editions, the final is not broadcast live. The final is recorded in advance and stops before the results are announced. Then they switch to a live late night program at RTL 4 in 2018 this was RTL Late Night with Twan Huys and in 2019 to BEAU. In those programs they will interview the jury members, presenters and the last four finalists. Thereafter the winner will be announced live in that program.[2]
Coaches and hosts
Coaches
On 1 December 2017, three coaches from the adult as well as the kids version: Ali B, Ilse DeLange and Marco Borsato, were announced as coaches for the senior version,[3] but Ali B eventually didn't become a coach for the show. On 7 May 2018 it was announced in a radio show that Angela Groothuizen, who previously also appeared as a coach in The Voice of Holland and The Voice Kids, would become the third coach.[4] A month later, it was revealed that Gerard Joling and Gordon Heuckeroth would be joining the show as a duo coach and would sit in a double chair under the name Geer & Goor.[5] On 25 May 2019 it was announced that singer Frans Bauer would become a new coach for the second season.[6] On 14 June 2019 it was confirmed on the show's Facebook page that Angela Groothuizen, Ilse DeLange and Marco Borsato would all return on the second season.
On 6 June 2020 it was announced that Groothuizen, DeLange and Bauer would return on the third season as coaches.[7] On 21 July 2020 it was announced that Gerard Joling would return on the third season replacing Borsato, but this time as a solo coach.[8] In July 2021, it was announced that all coaches and hosts from the previously season would return for the fourth series.
Martijn Krabbé and Wendy van Dijk, who both host the adult and the kids version, also became hosts for The Voice Senior.[9] In March 2019 it was announced that Van Dijk was going to stop as a presenter because she switched from television channel RTL 4 to SBS6, and would be replaced by Lieke van Lexmond.[10]
Since its creation in 2017, it was announced that the format had been sold to Belgium and the Belgian-Flemish version will be airing in the autumn of 2018. Up to now, many countries have acquired the right to produce their own version of The Voice Senior:
Latina Television – The Peruvian version La Voz Senior was announced in early 2021 and premiered on 27 August 2021, with Eva Ayllón, Daniela Darcourt, Tony Succar and the duo Pimpinela as coaches.
