Soundmixshow

Soundmixshow is the original Dutch version of Stars In Their Eyes; it was hosted by Henny Huisman[1][2], as a live-vocals version of the increasingly obsolete Playback Show. It has since been sold to other countries[3], for instance the European Soundmix Show.

Contents

History

Early days

Huisman, who spent the 1970s drumming for Lucifer (of House For Sale-fame) and spin-off group Match, toured the early 1980s with his Hitkrant Drive-In Show; this prototype-version of the Playback-show was a joint venture with pop-weekly Hitkrant. In 1983 he brought the format on television during the summer-evening slot as KRO's Zomeravondshow ; contestants performed on a hit-or-miss basis.

Breakthrough

In 1984 the name was changed to Playbackshow and contestants were now given full performance time. Soon afterwards Huisman decided to do a spin-off with real vocals; thus the Soundmixshow was born with artists being judged by a jury of three professionals featuring long-time stalwarts Jacques d'Ancona and Barry Stevens.

The Soundmixshow meant a breakthrough for quite some talented young Dutch artists, as it was a platform with a relative low threshold and a broad audience. The Soundmixshow was produced by Endemol. Till 1990 for the KRO, afterwards for RTL4 til 2002 [4].

In the finals of 1988, Huisman asked viewers to phone a specific number for televoting. However, this caused such a big amount of phone calls, that the whole telephone grid was down for a while, and even the emergency services (police, ambulance, firefighters) were out of reach in some parts of the country[4].

Other spin-offs

From the latter half of the 1980s till the early 1990s Huisman presented the Miniplaybackshow as a platform for children; plans to do a Minisoundmixshow never materialised.

There was also a Seniorenplaybackshow, aimed at the elderly, and more successfully [2]. the Sterrensoundmixshow (Celebrity Stars In Their Eyes).

In 2002 the Soundmixshow was the platform for a debate between politicians just before the parliamental elections.

Aftermath

In 2002 the format was discontinued in favor of Idols and other talent contests. Huisman, like many other contemporaries, was thanked for his services and spent a few years with evangelical broadcaster EO; he documented his quest for God and hosted the Dutch version of Last Choir Standing (Korenslag). In 2010 he reunited with former Soundmixshow-contestants om KRO's anniversary-programme.

Successful contestants

List of winners in the Dutch Soundmixshow

Year Artist Original artist Song Additional information
1985 Glenda Peters Randy Crawford One Day I'll Fly Away Gerard Joling was third this year
1986 Gina De Wit Linda Ronstadt Desperado
1987 Peter Douglas Frank Sinatra New York,New York
1988 Jos Van den Brom John Denver Leaving on a Jet Plane Desirée "Des'Ray" Manders made her tv debut. This was in a legendary final, where people could televote, but because of the huge number of votes, the whole phone grid was down.
1989 Carina Bos Timi Yuro Hurt Helmut Lotti was also contestant
1990 Marco Borsato Billy Vera At This Moment
1991 Jorge Castro Luciano Pavarotti Caruso Kathleen Prattis sang as Anita Baker, Watch Your Step.
1992 Nhelly Dela Rosa Shirley Bassey This Is My Life
1993 Ellen Fransz Whitney Houston I will always love you
1994 Glennis Grace Whitney Houston One Moment In Time
1995 Arno Kolenbrander Simon Bowman (uit de musical Miss Saigon Why God, Why Tooske Breugem was also contestant
1996 Edsilia Rombley Oleta Adams I Just Had To Hear Your Voice
1997 Mary Ann Morales Lea Salonga (from the musical Miss Saigon
1998 Cherwin Muringen Seal Kiss From A Rose Floortje Smit was also contestant
1999 Erna Otte-Hemmink Emma Shapplin Spente Le Stelle
2000 Bart Schwertman Ian Gillan uit de rock-opera Jesus Christ Superstar Ghetsemane
2001 Mary Amora Tina Turner River Deep, Mountain High
2002 Valerie Dwarkasing Alicia Keys Fallin'

References

  1. ^ Biography of Henny huisman on the IMDB
  2. ^ a b CV on Henny Huismans official website
  3. ^ Soundmixshow goes USA (Dutch)
  4. ^ a b Description of the success of the Soundmixshow (Dutch)