''Soundmixshow'' is a Dutch talent show which was a live-vocals version of the '' Playback Show''. It aired from 17 November 1985 to 27 April 2002 and was hosted by

Henny Huisman Hendrikus Josephus Huisman (born 18 June 1951) is a Dutch television presenter and musician. Biography Huisman had a catholic upbringing. Originally trained as a window dresser, he was a drummer, DJ and event host before he enrolled in the wo ...

.CV on Henny Huismans official website
/ref> The format has since been sold to other countries,Soundmixshow goes USA
(Dutch) notably as the ''

European Soundmix Show The ''European Soundmix Show'' was an imitation talent competition held yearly from 1996 to 1999, with two special shows in 2001 and 2002. The show was an international version of Joop van den Ende's "Henny Huisman Soundmixshow", which was air ...

''.

History

Early days

Huisman, former drummer of 1970s band

Lucifer Lucifer is one of various figures in folklore associated with the planet Venus. The entity's name was subsequently absorbed into Christianity as a name for the devil. Modern scholarship generally translates the term in the relevant Bible passage ...

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 weekly pop-magazine '' Hitkrant'' in which he had a column. In 1983, Huisman 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 notably Jacques d'Ancona and Barry Stevens; the latter's ''"Vooral doorgaan!"'' (''"Keep up the good work!"'') became a catchphrase. The ''Soundmixshow'' meant a breakthrough for several young Dutch artists, as it was a platform with a relative low threshold and a broad audience. The ''Soundmixshow'' was first produced by

Endemol Endemol B.V. was a Dutch-based media company that produced and distributed multiplatform entertainment content. The company annually produced more than 15,000 hours of programming across scripted and non-scripted genres, including drama, reality ...

for

Katholieke Radio Omroep KRO, or (Catholic Radio Broadcasting), was a Dutch public broadcasting organization founded on 23 April 1925. Broadly Catholic in its spiritual outlook, KRO broadcast the bulk of its television output on the NPO 1 channel. KRO was also responsi ...

(KRO) and afterwards for

RTL 4 RTL 4 (Radio Télévision Luxembourg 4) is a Dutch free-to-air, free-to-cable television channel; it is the most-watched commercial station in the country, popular especially with those aged between 20 and 49. RTL 4 is a general entertainment chan ...

from 1990 until 2002.Description of the success of the Soundmixshow
(Dutch) In the finals of 1988, Huisman asked viewers to phone a specific number for

televoting Televoting, telephone voting or phone voting is a method of decision making and opinion polling conducted by telephone. Televoting can also extend to voting by SMS text message via a mobile cell phone. Broadcast contest televoting 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.

Other spin-offs

From the latter half of the 1980s till the early 1990s, Huisman presented the ''Miniplaybackshow'' as a platform for children; a ''Minisoundmixshow'' was announced, but it never happened. There was also a ''Seniorenplaybackshow'' with elder contestants, and more successfully 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 reunited with former ''Soundmixshow''-contestants on KRO's anniversary-programme in 2010. He used the backdrop whilst playing himself in a children's movie chronicling the events of two aspiring popstars. In 2014, Huisman appeared on the ''Showtime'' programme to revisit his time as presenter of ''Soundmixshow''.

Successful contestants

Kate Ryan Kate Ryan (born Katrien Verbeeck, 22 July 1980) is a Belgian singer and songwriter, and the winner of a World Music Award. She began her singing career in 2001 and later found fame with a string of dance hits. These included covers, mostly of M ...

Petra Berger Petra Berger, born ''Petronella Burger'' (Amstelveen, 23 October 1965), is a Dutch classical crossover singer, composer, and musical actress. Biography Petra Berger was born into a musical family, but did not pursue a musical career until late ...

Marco Borsato Marco Roberto Borsato (; born 21 December 1966) is a Dutch singer. Born in Alkmaar, North Holland, he started performing in Italian before switching to Dutch in 1994. He has consistently been one of the most successful and biggest grossing arti ...

Tooske Breugem Antonia Grietje "Tooske" Ragas-Breugem (; born 3 June 1974), is a Dutch actress and television host. She played a stewardess in '' 06/05'', a movie by Theo van Gogh about the murder of Pim Fortuyn. She was video jockey (VJ) at TMF Netherlands ...

Georgie Davis Georgie Davis (stage name Kees Rietveld; born 1969 in The Hague, Netherlands) is a Dutch singer, who was one of the first participants of the Soundmixshow in 1985. Career David performed a song by Stevie Wonder. Later in the year Davis scored ...

Glennis Grace Glenda Hulita Elisabeth Batta (born 19 June 1978), known professionally as Glennis Grace, is a Dutch singer. In 2005, she represented the Netherlands in the 50th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest, and in 2018 she appeared on the 13th seas ...

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 ...

Helmut Lotti Helmut Lotti (born Helmut Barthold Johannes Alma Lotigiers; 22 October 1969), is a Belgian tenorGoldsmith B (2009)Belgian tenor Helmut Lotti wants to find his own style ''WDEZ''. Retrieved 23 April 2010. and singer-songwriter. Lotti performs in ...

* Désirée Manders *

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 ''S ...

List of winners

International versions

Spain's Antena 3 created a similar format, under the title '' Tu cara me suena'', in 2011. A UK version of this was also produced by ITV in 2013 and, like ''Stars in Their Eyes'' and ''Soundmixshow'', is also a format owned by

Endemol Shine Group Endemol Shine Group B.V. (stylized in all spaceless) was a Dutch production and distribution company of scripted and non-scripted content, responsible for programmes such as '' Big Brother'', '' Deal or No Deal'', '' The Money Drop'', '' Fear F ...

References

{{Reflist 1980s Dutch television series 1990s Dutch television series 2000s Dutch television series 1985 Dutch television series debuts 2002 Dutch television series endings Dutch music television series Dutch reality television series Dutch-language television shows Singing talent shows European Soundmix Show Television series by Endemol