''Beste Zangers'', formerly ''De beste zangers van Nederland'' (English: ''The Best Singers (of the Netherlands)''), is a Dutch reality television show by public broadcaster

AVROTROS AVROTROS () is a Dutch radio and television broadcaster that is part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. It was founded in 2014 as the result of a merger between the Algemene Vereniging Radio Omroep (AVRO) and the TROS, Televisie Radio Omro ...

(a merger of

AVRO Avro (an initialism of the founder's name) was a British aircraft manufacturer. Its designs include the Avro 504, used as a trainer in the First World War, the Avro Lancaster, one of the pre-eminent bombers of the Second World War, and the d ...

and

TROS TROS, originally an acronym for Televisie Radio Omroep Stichting ("Television Radio Broadcasting Foundation"), was a Dutch television and radio organisation part of the Dutch public broadcasting system. This broadcasting association was partic ...

, both part of the

Netherlands Public Broadcasting (; abbreviated to NPO ; literally "Dutch Public Broadcaster") or Dutch Foundation for Public Broadcasting () is a Dutch public broadcasting organisation that administers public broadcasting services in the Netherlands. NPO is also the owner of ...

). The first series was aired between 5 July and 30 August 2009 and was hosted by

Edsilia Rombley Edsilia Francisca Rombley (; born 13 February 1978) is a Dutch singer and television presenter. She began her career in 1995, as a member of the Dutch girl group Dignity. Rombley began her solo career in 1996, after winning the Dutch talent show ...

. She was first replaced by singer and actor Victor Reinier (2010, 2011) before Jan Smit became the permanent host in 2012. In each series a number of well-known performers take turns as the central artist in the hot seat that gets honoured by the other artists by singing songs that are of significance to that person. It can be a cover of one of his/her own songs, a song that inspires the artist in the hot seat or something from his/her past. In earlier seasons, the central artist decided who had to sing which song, while in later seasons the artists could pick one from a list themselves. The artist in the hot seat ranks the performances and picks a favourite performance, which results in that person being the winner of the episode. The first six seasons also have a final episode where they discuss and vote on their favourites. Later the voting became less important and they stopped doing this. In season 10 they introduced a final episode where the artists sing duets. The show format has since been used in other European countries:

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and the archipelago of Svalbard also form part of the Kingdom of ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

Finland Finland, officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It borders Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of Bothnia to the west and the Gulf of Finland to the south, ...

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

Belgium Belgium, officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a country in Northwestern Europe. Situated in a coastal lowland region known as the Low Countries, it is bordered by the Netherlands to the north, Germany to the east, Luxembourg to the southeas ...

Lithuania Lithuania, officially the Republic of Lithuania, is a country in the Baltic region of Europe. It is one of three Baltic states and lies on the eastern shore of the Baltic Sea, bordered by Latvia to the north, Belarus to the east and south, P ...

Estonia Estonia, officially the Republic of Estonia, is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland across from Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea across from Sweden, to the south by Latvia, and to the east by Ru ...

and Switzerland. In July 2017 two compilations were broadcast in celebration of ''Beste Zangers' '' tenth anniversary.

Summary

Season 1 (2009)

The first season the series broadcast from 5 July 2009 to 30 August 2009, and hosted by

. Seven Dutch artists ( Henk Westbroek,

Gordon Gordon may refer to: People * Gordon (given name), a masculine given name, including list of persons and fictional characters * Gordon (surname), the surname * Gordon (slave), escaped to a Union Army camp during the U.S. Civil War * Gordon Heuck ...

Albert West Albertus Petrus Enricus Gerardus Westelaken (2 September 1949 – 4 June 2015), better known by his stage name Albert West, was a Dutch pop singer and record producer. He was the lead singer of the Shuffles from 1963 to 1973. He was born in ...

, Danny de Munk, Nick Schilder, Simon Keizer and Thomas Berge) sang songs from each other's repertoire. The episodes were recorded in four days on

Ibiza Ibiza (; ; ; #Names and pronunciation, see below) or Iviza is a Spanish island in the Mediterranean Sea off the eastern coast of the Iberian Peninsula. It is 150 kilometres (93 miles) from the city of Valencia. It is the third largest of th ...

, accompanied by a live band playing the songs. ;Episode 1 - Henk Westbroek :''Winner: Albert West'' ;Episode 2 - Simon Keizer :''Winner: Danny de Munk'' ;Episode 3 - Danny de Munk :Winner: Nick Schilder ;Episode 4 -

:Winner: Nick Schilder ;Episode 5 - Thomas Berge :Winner: Henk Westbroek ;Episode 6 -

:Winner: Thomas Berge ;Episode 7 - Nick Schilder :Winner - Henk Westbroek ;Episode 8 In the final episode, the singers are asked to look back at their performances. In addition, they are allowed to choose another eventual replacement and give him/her an extra point. This showed that Simon Keizer was the eventual overall winner of the program by 2 extra points.

Season 2 (2010)

The second season was broadcast from 18 July 2010 to 16 September 2010 and hosted by Victor Reinier. Seven Dutch artists (

Frans Bauer Frans Bauer (born 30 December 1973 in Roosendaal as François van Doorn) is a Dutch singer in the levenslied genre. Early life Frans Bauer was born as François van Doorn, after his mother Wies van Doorn who wasn't married to his father Ch ...

, Frans Duijts, Jamai, Jan Dulles, Jeroen van der Boom, René Froger and Syb van der Ploeg) sang songs from each other's repertoire. The episodes were recorded in

, accompanied by a live band playing the songs. ;Episode 1 - Jeroen van der Boom :Winner: Frans Duijts ;Episode 2 -

Jamai Loman Jamai Johannes Loman (born 30 June 1986) is a Dutch singer, musical actor and presenter who was the winner of the first series of '' Idols'', the Dutch variant of ''Pop Idol''. Biography Loman, who grew up in Schoonhoven with his parents and tw ...

:Winner: Syb van der Ploeg ;Episode 3 - René Froger :Winner: Jan Dulles ;Episode 4 - Syb van der Ploeg :Winner - Jan Dulles ;Episode 5 - Jan Dulles :Winner: Jeroen van der Boom ;Episode 6 - Frans Duijts :Winner - René Froger ;Episode 7 -

:Winner - René Froger ;Episode 8 - Final the final episode was a look back at previous performances to decide on an overall winner for the second season. Who voted for whom Number of votes Overall Winner:

Season 3 (2011)

The third season ran from 19 March 2011 to 7 May 2011 and was hosted for a second year in a row by Victor Reinier. 2011 participating artists were Xander de Buisonjé,

Lange Frans Frans Christiaan Frederiks (born 12 November 1980), known by his stage name Lange Frans, is a Dutch rapper and television presenter. From 1997 to 2004 he was a member of the band D-Men. Between 1997 and 2009 he was part of the Lange Frans & Baas ...

Wolter Kroes Wolter Kroes (born in Wormerveer, Netherlands on 24 December 1968) is a Dutch singer. He is best known for his hits ''Ik heb de hele nacht liggen dromen'', ''Niet normaal'' and his hit single ''Viva Hollandia'' that reached #1 in the Dutch Top 4 ...

, Anita Meyer, Glennis Grace, Peter Koelewijn, George Baker and the singer Do. ;Episode 1 - Peter Koelewijn :Winner: Xander de Buisonjé ;Episode 2 - Xander de Buisonjé :Winner: Glennis Grace ;Episode 3 - Anita Meyer :Winner: Lange Frans ;Episode 4 - Do :Winner: Glennis Grace ;Episode 5 -

:Winner: Peter Koelewijn ;Episode 6 - George Baker :Winner: Anita Meyer ;Episode 7 -

:Winner: Do ;Episode 8 - Glennis Grace :Winner: Xander de Buisonjé ;Episode 9 - Final Participants look back at the performances and nominate their overall favorites and give points Who voted for whom Number of votes Overall Winner: Anita Meyer

Season 4 (2012)

The fourth season was broadcast from 2 May 2012 to 13 June 2012. Jan Smit took over as the host. The participating Dutch artists for the fourth season were

Gerard Joling Gerard Jan Joling (born 29 April 1960) is a Dutch singer and television presenter. Known for his high tenor voice, he rose to fame in the late 1980s and released a string of singles including "Ticket to the Tropics" and "Love Is in Your Eyes". H ...

Ruth Jacott Ruth Jacott (born 2 September 1960) is a Surinamese-Dutch singer. Jacott transitioned from musical theatre to popular music in 1993, when she represented the Netherlands at the Eurovision Song Contest 1993. Her song, " Vrede" (Peace), was one o ...

, Berget Lewis, Nikki Kerkhof, Peter Beense, Freek Bartels and

Yes-R Yesser Roshdy (, ; born 2 November 1986), better known by his stage name Yes-R, is a Dutch rapper, singer and television presenter. He was born in Amsterdam, to an Egyptian father, and a Moroccan mother. Before going solo, he was part of the Dut ...

. ;Episode 1 -

:Winner: Berget Lewis ;Episode 2 -

:Winner: Yes-R ;Episode 3 -

:Winner: Nikki Kerkhof ;Episode 4 - Freek Bartels :Winner: Berget Lewis ;Episode 5 - Berget Lewis :Winner: Peter Beense ;Episode 6 - Peter Beense :Winner: Berget Lewis ;Episode 7 - Nikki Kerkhof :Winner: Berget Lewis ;Episode 8 - Final The participants look back at earlier performances and nominate for best singer overall giving points Who voted for who? Number of votes: Overall Winner: Berget Lewis

Season 5 (2013)

The fifth season featured Simone Kleinsma, Charly Luske, Rob de Nijs, Angela Groothuizen,

Tim Douwsma Tim Douwsma (born 4 November 1987) is a Dutch singer. In 2007, he participated in the talent show ''So You Wanna Be a Popstar (Netherlands), So You Wanna Be a Popstar'' on Dutch television channel SBS 6. Career Douwsma was born in Drachten, Fr ...

, Bastiaan Ragas and Raffaëla Paton. ;Episode 1 - Raffaëla Paton :Winner: Rob de Nijs ;Episode 2 - Charly Luske :Winner: Raffaëla Paton ;Episode 3 - Bastiaan Ragas :Winner: Simone Kleinsma ;Episode 4 - Angela Groothuizen :Winner: Raffaëlla Paton ;Episode 5 - Simone Kleinsma :Winner: Angela Groothuizen ;Episode 6 -

:Winner: Charly Luske ;Episode 7 - Rob de Nijs :Winner: Rafaëlla Paton ;Episode 8 - Final Who voted for whom Number of votes Overall Winner: Rafaëlla Paton

Season 6 (Spring 2014)

Niels Geusebroek, Lisa Lois, Sabrina Starke, Jack Poels, Ben Saunders, Mattanja Joy Bradley, Leona Philippo and Dave von Raven, with Sabrina Starke winning the series.

Season 7 (Winter 2014)

René Froger, André Hazes Jr., Monique Klemann, Xander de Buisonjé, Carolina Dijkhuizen and

took part with André Hazes Jr. winning the series.

Season 8 (2015)

Jan Keizer, Anouk Maas, Frans Duijts,

, Martin Buitenhuis, Julia Zahra and Do took part in the series. Frans Duijts and Julia Zahra were joint winners.

Season 9 (2016)

René van Kooten,

Willeke Alberti Willy Albertina Verbrugge (born 3 February 1945), known as Willeke Alberti, is a Dutch singer and actress, the daughter of entertainer and singer Willy Alberti (1926–1985) and Hendrika Geertruida Kuiper (1921–2011). Biography Alberti starte ...

, Brownie Dutch, Sharon Doorson,

O'G3NE Ogene ( ; stylised as O'G3NE and OG3NE until 2024), formerly known as Lisa, Amy & Shelley, is a Dutch three-piece music group. The group is made up of sisters Lisa, Amy and Shelley Vol. The group represented the Netherlands in the Junior Eurovi ...

and Jeroen van der Boom took part with Willeke Alberti winning the season.

Season 10 (2017)

Anita Meyer, Brace, Kenny B, Maan, Tommie Christiaan, Tania Kross and Dennie Christian took part in the series. Anita Meyer and Tania Kross jointly won the series

Season 11 (2018)

Lee Towers,

Trijntje Oosterhuis Judith Katrijntje "Trijntje" Oosterhuis (; born 5 February 1973) is a Dutch singer and songwriter. She formed the band Total Touch in 1990 with her brother Tjeerd Oosterhuis before she started as a solo singer. She represented the Netherlands ...

Alain Clark Alain Clark (born 4 June 1979) is a Dutch musician and producer. Biography Alain Clark (born 4 June 1979), is a Dutch- Aruban singer, songwriter, and record producer. Alain's father is Dane Clark, a Dutch soul singer who had his own success ...

, Tino Martin, Glen Faria, Maria Fiselier and

Davina Michelle Michelle Davina Hoogendoorn (born 12 November 1995), known by her stage name Davina Michelle, is a Dutch singer and YouTuber. In 2018, her cover of the song "Duurt te lang" reached the number one spot on the Dutch Top 40, becoming the first w ...

took part. Lee Towers and Trijntje Oosterhuis jointly won the series.

Season 12 (2019)

After having started hosting the show since season 4 in 2012, this 12th series became the last consecutive to be hosted by the singer Jan Smith until his return in 2021. Smith hosted for a total of 9 consecutive seasons in a span of 8 years. The singers taking part were Emma Heesters,

Floor Jansen Floor Jansen (; born 21 February 1981) is a Dutch singer and songwriter. She is the third and current lead vocalist of Finnish symphonic metal band Nightwish. Jansen first became known as the lead vocalist of symphonic metal band After Forever f ...

, Henk Poort, Rolf Sanchez, Ruben Annink, Samantha Steenwijk and Tim Akkerman. Rolf Sanchez and Samantha Steenwijk were the joint winners for the season.

Season 13 (2020)

New hosts Nick & Simon took over hosting for Jan Smit, as he had been sick during filming this season. The participating singers are: Diggy Dex,

Milow Jonathan Ivo Gilles Vandenbroeck (; born 14 July 1981), known professionally as Milow, is a Belgian singer-songwriter. Milow released his debut album, ''The Bigger Picture'', in 2006 on his own label Homerun Records. The fourth single from that ...

, Sanne Hans known as Miss Montreal, Stef Bos,

Suzan & Freek Suzan & Freek are a Dutch musical duo from Achterhoek, Netherlands. The now husband-and-wife couple of Suzan Stortelder and Freek Rikkerink released music together beginning in 2014. The duo first went viral when The Chainsmokers shared their co ...

, Tabitha and Wulf. Stef Bos was the winner of the season.

Season 14 (2021)

Jan Smit returned as host after being sick during the previous season. This is the first season since season 3 to not be hosted in Ibiza, due to the ongoing

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

. Instead, it was hosted in Limburg. The participating singers are: Roel van Velzen, Bökkers,

Belle Perez Maribel Pérez (born 29 January 1976), best known by her stage name Belle Perez, is a Belgian-Spanish musician and songwriter. Born in Neerpelt to Spanish parents as María Isabelle Pérez Cerezo, the Flemish singer was discovered for her musi ...

, Alides Hidding,

Karsu Karsu Dönmez (born 19 April 1990), known mononymously as Karsu, is a Turkish singer. While her music style is a blend of various genres, jazz pop is probably the best description for it. Biography Karsu was born in Amsterdam. Her family ...

, Joe Buck, and

Anneke van Giersbergen Anna Maria "Anneke" van Giersbergen (born 8 March 1973) is a Dutch singer, songwriter and guitarist who became known worldwide as the lead singer for the rock band The Gathering between 1994 and 2007. She also has a solo career. The project wa ...

. The winners of the season were Bökkers and Roel van Velzen.

Season 15 (2022)

This season took place in Seville, Spain. The cast includes: Blanks, Claudia de Breij, Ferdi Bolland, Jaap Reesema,

Nielson Nielson is a surname. Notable people with the surname include: * Claire Nielson (born 1937), British television actress * Howard C. Nielson (1924–2020), American politician from Utah; U.S. Representative 1983–91 * Niel Nielson (born 1954), Amer ...

, Roxeanne Hazes, and Sarita Lorena.

References

{{The Best Singers series Dutch reality television series Dutch music television series 2009 Dutch television series debuts NPO 1 original programming