Op zoek naar Maria

Op zoek naar Maria (Looking for Maria) is a talent competition program that aired in Belgium on Vtm. It premiered on 25 March 2009. The premise of the series was to find a musical theatre performer to play the role of Maria von Trapp in the 2009 Albert Verlinde and Roel Vente revival of The Sound of Music at the Efteling Theatre. The show is hosted by Koen Wauters and featured Frank Van Laecke, Linda Lepomme, and Peter de Smet as the judges for the show.

Following a public telephone vote, 27-year-old Deborah De Ridder was chosen as Maria with 25-year-old Fleur Brusselmans as the runner up and Liv Van Aelst in 3rd place.

A commercial advertising the show, featuring over 200 dancers dancing, seemingly spontaneously, to "Do-Re-Mi" in Antwerpen-Centraal railway station, has received over 20,000,000 hits on YouTube.[1]

Format

Finalists

Live Shows

The live shows saw the finalists eliminated one by one following both individual and group performances. Once eliminated, the leaving contestant ended the programme by leading a performance of "Adieu-Vaarwel" from The Sound of Music with the remaining contestants.

Performances

Deborah De Ridder

• Week 1 - I Want You Back
• Week 2 - It's Oh So Quiet
• Week 3 - Can You Feel the Love Tonight
• Week 4 - Mannen (Men)
• Week 5 - When You Believe
• Week 6 - Ik leef voor jou
• First Seventh Week Song - Buenos Aires
• Second Seventh Week Song - Heel alleen (On My Own)
• First Eighth Week Song - Minutewals
• Second Eighth Week Song - Memory
• First Final Song - Repeat of Voor wie gelooft (When You Believe)
• Second Final Song - De boer en de boerin (The Lonely Goatherd)
• Third Final Song - Astonishing

Fleur Brusselmans

• Week 1 - I Kissed A Girl
• Week 2 - Hopelessly Devoted to You
• Week 3 - The Boy Does Nothing
• Week 4 - Big Spender
• Week 5 - Brussel
• Week 6 - I Could Have Danced All Night
• First Seventh Week Song - Jij woont in mijn hart (You'll Be in My Heart)
• Second Seventh Week Song - Popular
• First Eighth Week Song - Het glipt door m'n vingers (Slipping Through My Fingers)
• Second Eighth Week Song - If You Hadn't, But You Did
• First Final Song - Repeat of The Boy Does Nothing
• Second Final Song - Do-Re-Mi (Dutch version)
• Third Final Song - Ik ben de perfectie (Practically Perfect)

Liv van Aelst

• Week 1 - So What
• Week 2 - License to Kill
• Week 3 - Because of You
• Week 4 - Hij kan niet zonder mij (As Long As He Needs Me)
• Week 5 - I Feel Pretty
• Week 6 - Roxanne
• First Seventh Week Song - Get Happy
• Second Seventh Week Song - Al je koffers op de gang maar weer (Another Suitcase in Another Hall)
• First Eighth Week Song - Anyone Who Had a Heart
• Second Eighth Week Song - Een nieuw leven (A New Life)
• First Final Song - Repeat of Hij kan niet zonder mij (As Long As He Needs Me)
• Second Final Song - Iets waar ik zielsveel van hou (My Favourite Things)

Katrien Smets

• Week 1 - Samson
• Week 2 - Love Song
• Week 3 - Sparkling Diamonds
• Week 4 - Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious
• Week 5 - Na Die Ontmoeting (Now That I've Seen Her)
• Week 6 - Hij speelt een spel (May Be I Like It This Way)
• First Seventh Week Song - Ik ben een brassband (I'm a Brass Band)
• Second Seventh Week Song - Maybe This Time
• First Eighth Week Song - Love You I Do
• Second Eighth Week Song - Zalig Zijn (Wouldn't It Be Loverly)

Elke Buyle

• Week 1 - Chasing Pavements
• Week 2 - I Don't Want to Dance
• Week 3 - Dag vreemde man
• Week 4 - Mamma Mia
• Week 5 - Non, je ne regrette rien
• Week 6 - Huil niet voor mij Argentina (Don't Cry for Me Argentina)
• First Seventh Week Song - Meisje en het beest (Beauty and the Beast)
• Second Seventh Week Song - Good Morning Baltimore

Elisabeth Herman

• Week 1 - All By Myself
• Week 2 - Fever
• Week 3 - Papa
• Week 4 - If I Were a Boy
• Week 5 - Shout
• Week 6 - Het is over

Marian van Klaveren

• Week 1 - Over the Rainbow
• Week 2 - 9 to 5
• Week 3 - Sway
• Week 4 - Afscheid nemen bestaat niet
• Week 5 - Makin' Whoopee

Sandra Paelinck

• Week 1 - Mad About You
• Week 2 - Girls Just Want to Have Fun
• Week 3 - One Day I'll Fly Away
• Week 4 - Al Die Jazz (All That Jazz)

Ellen Vandervieren

• Week 1 - I Say a Little Prayer
• Week 2 - Stepping Stone
• Week 3 - Cabaret

Helen Geets

• Week 1 - Flashdance... What a Feeling
• Week 2 - One Moment in Time

Dorien Ackx

• Week 1 - Sweet About Me

Opening Songs

• Week 1 - How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
• Week 2 - How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?
• Week 3 - My Favorite Things
• Week 4 - The Sound of Music
• Week 5 - The Lonely Goatherd
• Week 6 - I Have Confidence
• Week 7 - Dingen waar ik zoveel van hou (My Favorite Things)
• Week 8 - De boer en de boerin (The Lonely Goatherd)
• Final (All Marias) - Kunnen we iets beginnen met Maria (How Do You Solve a Problem Like Maria?)

Group Songs

• Week 1 - Don't Stop Me Now
• Week 2 - Sisters Are Doin' It for Themselves
• Week 3 - Get the Party Started
• Week 4 - Dreamgirls
• Week 5 - Ain't No Mountain High Enough
• First Week 6 song - Do-Re-Mi featuring the Von Trapp children
• Second Week 6 song - Cell Block Tango
• Week 7 - Don't Rain on My Parade
• Week 8 - Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In
• Final (Fleur & Deborah) - Ik kan heel de wereld aan (I Have Confidence)

Sing-offs The Bottom 2 voted by the public each week had to sing with one other Maria a contrasting song from a musical, then Albert Verlinde would choose one of them to carry on in the competition. In the final, the first viewer's vote put Deborah & Liv in the bottom two, but they didn't have to do a sing-off. Liv was automatically eliminated by the viewers putting her in third place.

• Week 1 - Dorien & Elisabeth - One of Us
• Week 2 - Deborah & Helen - I Know Him So Well
• Week 3 - Sandra & Ellen - Take That Look Off Your Face
• Week 4 - Elisabeth & Sandra - For Once in My Life
• Week 5 - No sing off
• Week 6 - Elisabeth & Liv - De Roos
• Week 7 - Elke & Liv - The Winner Takes It All
• Week 8 - Katrien & Fleur - Let It Be

Elimination chart

External links

• Official Program Website at vtm.be