It’s not often that you see senior citizens participating in a talent competition.
But now, The Voice Holland is switching it up by creating a talent competition entirely for seniors.
To participate in The Voice Senior 2018, all contestants must be at least 60 years old. It’s the latest rebirth of John de Mol’s talent competition, following the success of The Voice Kids. Whoever wins The Voice Senior is awarded with an LP and a performance at The Music Festival 2018 in Amsterdam.
If comments are any indication, fans are loving the idea:
“Seriously it is so great to see that they have organized this kind of show for the seniors and the result is so fruitful.”
“SENIORS?? Great idea!!”
“Lovin the seniors for some weird reason. I usually don’t care for singers once they get older… But so far, I’ve listened to 4 of them and loved them all.”
This past August, during a round of blind auditions, the world was introduced to René Bishop, a 71-year-old whose smooth, silky voice took the competition by storm.
The senior from Deventer (located in the Overijssel province of the Netherlands) traveled to The Voice Senior auditions hoping to make his life-long dream come true. For his audition, he chose to sing the 1950s song “Unchained Melody.”
“Unchained Melody” was written for the 1955 prison movie Unchained, where the lead character contemplates escaping prison to live life on the run or finishing his sentence to return home to his wife and family. The song, most notably popularized by The Righteous Brothers, describes a person longing for a lover whom they haven’t seen in a very long time.
When René took the stage in a sleek, pin-stripe suit, his rich voice immediately caught the judges by surprise
Listening to him sing is like taking a journey into the past.
The senior’s smooth voice transports you back to the good ‘ole days.
“Oh, my love my darling
I’ve hungered for your touch
A long, lonely time,” he croons.
Unfortunately, the judges speak in Dutch, so it’s unclear what they are saying. But, one specifically compares René to Elvis Presley, while the others listen in enchantment.
At one point, René hits a strong, high note in the middle of the song— and it makes every single judge turn their chair.
Since being uploaded online, René’s incredible audition has been viewed more than a million times.
People can’t get enough of the senior’s rich voice, and his performance transports them straight into the past:
“This guy has a voice that is smooth as silk.”
“I would have turned around much earlier. Fab voice… brought tears to my eyes.”
“He literally sounds like Elvis, but with a far better range!!”
“Where the hell has this guy been all our lives? The most beautiful rendition I’ve heard in years!”
It’s an audition that truly can’t be missed – watch it below.
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