Also in this eighth season ‘The Voice van Vlaanderen’ turned out to beanother viewing figure gun for VTM. The format is known, but by regularlymaking small changes and appointing new coaches, it remains a fresh show. Sodid the new coaches John Paternoster frontman of The Black Box Revelation,and Mathieu ‘Bazart’ Terrynfor an authentic and fun vibe in the program.
They also appear to have a well-developed nose for talent. Because with Yenteand Evert, Mathieu has two votes from his team in the grand final, while TeamJan with the young gospel singer Wesley is perhaps the goldcrest of thisedition.
In this final show, the five finalists will perform one new solo number and agroup number. The latter completely in theme of the holidays because the fivefinalists bring the song together ‘ Last Christmas’ in the version ofMiley Cyrus. Then the audience chooses to be three top finalists whoare allowed to go through to the final round, in which they bring a self-chosen best-of song from their Voice course. The person who then collects themost votes via SMS and vtm.be becomes the Voice of Flanders.
As a reminder, we introduce the remaining candidates to you again.
Wesley – 18 years old, from Stavele
The only candidate from Team Jan who survived the selection. This young gospelsinger owes that to his piercing baritone voice. It is especially the contrastwith his personality that makes Wesley so unique: a warm, friendly andsomewhat timid teenager who sings with the compassion of a tormented_bluesbrother_. So far he only sings in church – Wesley is very religious andwas raised by his grandmother, who also sang in church -, but thanks to hisparticipation in ‘The Voice’ he blossomed completely. In this final he willperform the song ‘Hey Brother’ by Aviici.
Our forecast is that he will end up in the last three -very youngcandidates often do well in ‘The Voice’, see Ibe of Grace, last year’swinner-, but his range a little too limited to the austere soul repertoireto win in the end. In the real pop songs, he appears to have some difficultystepping out of that comfort zone, despite his roguish dance moves.
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Louise – 24 years old, from Affligem
Louise also took part in this talent competition last year, and was alsoselected in the blind auditions , but had to give up early due to a veryunfortunate fracture of the jawbone. This year she’s back and stronger thanever! Paira Daiza’s press officer is a sympathetic, eloquent and charismaticappearance, which makes her popular with the general public anyway, but on topof that she also has a pleasant, steady voice with which she can handle a lot.Think Taylor Swift or Miley Cyrus. In the hands of coach Natalia, her talentcame to full fruition. She is on stage and can handle many genres, frompowerful outbursts to more subdued passages. In the final she will perform ‘IWill Survive’ by Gloria Gaynor, a daring choice, we wonder in which version:the exuberant or a surprisingly intimate one?
Our forecast is that given her radio-friendly voice, her looks, her socialmedia reach and her smooth talk, Louise will go a long way. A winner? Quitepossible.
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Evert – 29 years old, from Kalmthout
Kempenaar Evert is perhaps the absolute revelation of this edition. Andperhaps most of all for himself. After all, he had never sung in front of anaudience before, let alone stood on a stage. Although the technical draftsmanwas born with music, his father had his own band with which he roamed thecafes. Often with Evert as a loyal fan. His personal preference is for thebetter singer-songwriter work, whether or not accompanying himself on guitar,and nineties classics. In ‘The Voice’ he started strongly, although after afew rounds he was told by coach Mathieu that he should not lose hisspontaneity. Now that it’s all getting a bit more serious, Evert is getting abit stressed. Can he keep it under control in the final and be himself againon stage? It will not be his choice of solo song: ‘Half a Man’ by Dean Lewisis made for him.
Our forecast is that Evert, despite his baking talent, will lose out forthe last three. He performs just a bit too inconsistently for that, often verystrong (especially in the slower, melancholic songs), but sometimes also a bitdisappointing (as in his duet ‘Kronenburg Park’ with coach Mathieu, or hisversion of ‘Somebody to Love’ from Queen).
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Yente – 18 years old, from Erembodegem
Young, quirky and yet with a high cuddly factor. And above all: her dreamyvoice has something mysterious and special. As a result, this second candidatefrom Team Mathieu distinguishes herself more easily from the other candidates,just like her peer, Wesley. Yente can be seen as a newer, Belgian version ofBillie Eilish of London Grammar. In the final she will perform Billy Joel’s’Vienna’, a daring choice, because not really a song that is known to thegeneral public or offers opportunities to impress. Unless Yente surprises usagain?
Our forecast is that Yente will drop out in the selection to the threesuperfinalists. She goes a bit too often vocally for that, especially when shehas to bring more uptempo songs, and we think her song choice for the solonumber will also play tricks on her.
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Johan – 38 years old, from Leopoldsburg
The oldest candidate in the grand final comes from Limburg and exudes thecharacteristic tranquility and joie de vivre from that province. Johan,active in the Belgian army, received praise from the coaches several times forthe spontaneous and enthusiastic way in which he presents himself on stage.Stress seems like an unfamiliar word to him, which is certainly an advantagein such a much-discussed and much-watched TV programme. Moreover, Johan showshimself to be very humble, eager to learn and flexible. Which also makes himpopular with Jan met de Pet. His habitat is that of guitar rock, but Johanproved that he can also handle more pop-sensitive or slow songs. Perfectlycoached in this by the experienced Koen Wauters, a multi-winner in ‘TheVoice’. In the final Johan will perform ‘Beautiful Day’ by U2. An excellentchoice, because it suits his voice and is an enthusiastic song that caninspire the audience.
Our forecast is that Johan will finish in the last three. Peter Evrard,once winner of ‘Idol’ (the predecessor of ‘The Voice’, in which Natalia camesecond, by the way), proved that this kind of tough rocker profile certainlyhas a chance in popular song contests. The only disadvantage for Johan: he isnot on social media and can therefore reach few potential voters. But that didnot prevent him from continuing to the next round, so why stop now in thefinal?
Watch the grand finale of ‘The Voice van Vlaanderen’ on Friday 23 Decemberfrom 8:40 pm on VTM, or wherever you are via Pickx.be or the Pickx app.