# Idols (Dutch TV series)

Idols was a television show on the Dutch television network RTL 4, which is part of the Idols series based on the popular British show Pop Idol. The show is a contest to determine the best young singer in the Netherlands.
The show is divided in two sections, the first being the audition round, an open audition where everyone who wants to try is allowed to sing. The first couple of shows usually show the worst and the best contenders in these auditions. Once the best are selected, the theater round starts. Here the singers who survived the auditions have to prove they really have what it takes to become an idol. In a couple of shows these performers are narrowed down to just 10 finalists, with each contestant performing live.
In the first 2 seasons there were four judges, but starting with season 3 there are just three. The judges provide critiques of each competitor's performance and determine nine of the ten people who enter the final shows. In the final shows they just comment, but don't have any power anymore. After the first part of the show viewers have around one hour to vote by telephone and text messages to vote for their favorite contestant, later in the night the results of 'Idols' starts in which the results are presented and the contestant with the fewest votes is sent home.
On 5 November the Dutch broadcaster RTL announced a fifth season which will be broadcast on RTL 5 in 2016.

## Season 1

Auditions began in 2002 and were held Zeist, Eindhoven, Hoofddorp, Rotterdam and Assen. 7,626 people auditioned in the debut season.
94 successful auditionees progressed to the next stage at the TheaterHotel De Oranjerie in Roermond, Limburg. In a chorus line of ten, contestants re-audition with a self-chosen song. 50 contestants made the second day of the theatre round where groups based on gender were formed to sing one pre-determined song: "Isn't She Lovely?" (Stevie Wonder) and "I'm So Excited" (The Pointer Sisters), for the males and females respectively.

### Semi Final Qualifyings

From this stage, all shows are broadcast live from Studio 22 in Hilversum.
Top 30 Format: 3 out of 10 making the finals each week + one Wildcard
| Date | First | Second | Third |
| 21 December | Jamai Loman | Hind Laroussi | Yuli Minguel |
| 28 December | Jim Bakkum | Roger Peterson$^1$ | Marieke Van Ginneken |
| 4 January | Dewi Pechler | Bas Nibbelke | David Gonçalves |
| 8 January (Wildcard) | Joël De Tombe (Judges Choice) | | |
| Notes: $^1$ Roger Peterson withdrew with Zosja El Rhazi, who placed 4th in that group, replacing him in the top 10. ||||

### Finals Elimination Chart

| Date | Theme | Bottom Three | Bottom Three | Bottom Three |
| 12 January | Number 1 hits | Zosja El Rhazi | David Gonçalves | Joël De Tombe |
| 19 January | Soundtracks | Yuli Minguel | Marieke Van Ginneken | Bas Nibbelke |
| 26 January | Top 40 Hits | Joël De Tombe (2) | David Gonçalves (2) | Marieke Van Ginneken (2) |
| 2 February | Dutch Hits | Bas Nibbelke (2) | Jim Bakkum |
| 9 February | Swinging 80’s | Marieke Van Ginneken (3) | Dewi Pechler |
| 16 February | Love Songs | David Gonçalves (3) | Jim Bakkum (2) |
| 23 February | People's Choice | Dewi Pechler (2) | Jim Bakkum (3) |
| 2 March | Contestant's Choice | Hind Laroussi | Jim Bakkum (4) |
| 9 March | Finale | Jim Bakkum (5) | Jamai Loman |

## Season 2

Boris Titulaer won the contest, with Maud being the runner-up.

### Semi Final Qualifyings

Top 27 Format: 3 (2 Viewers & 1 Judges Choice) out of 9 making the finals each week + 1 additional Wildcard
| Date | First | Second | Judges' Choice |
| 31 January | Marlies Schuitenmaker | Maud Mulder | Ron Link |
| 7 February | Robin Zijlstra | JK | Meike Hurts |
| 14 February | Boris Titulaer | Irma Van Pamelen | Eric Bouwman |
| 21 February (Wildcard) | Alice Hoes (Viewers Choice) | Frank De Graaf (missed out) | Sharon (missed out) |

### Finals Elimination Chart

| Date | Theme | Bottom Three | Bottom Three | Bottom Three |
| 6 March | My Idol | Meike Hurts | Alice Hoes | Irma Van Pamelen |
| 13 March | Motown | Robin Zijlstra | Irma Van Pamelen (2) | Maud Mulder |
| 20 March | Top 40 Hits | Ron Link | Alice Hoes (2) | Eric Bouwman |
| 27 March | Disco | Alice Hoes (3) | JK | Maud Mulder (2) |
| 3 April | Dutch Hits | Eric Bouwman (2) | Irma Van Pamelen (3) | Maud Mulder (3) |
| 10 April | Party | Irma Van Pamelen (4) | Maud Mulder (4) |
| 17 April | Big Band | Marlies Schuitenmaker | Maud Mulder (5) |
| 24 April | People's Choice | JK (2) | Maud Mulder (6) |
| 1 May | Finale | Maud Mulder (7) | Boris Titulaer |

## Season 3

Season 3 started on October 22, 2005 with these notable changes: the two new presenters and the jury now consists of three members instead of the previous four. Raffaëla Paton won the contest, with Floortje being runner-up.

### Semi Final Qualifyings

Top 27 Format: 4 (3 Viewers & 1 Judges Choice) out of 9 making the finals each week + 1 additional Wildcard
| Date | First | Second | Third | Judges' Choice |
| 3 December | Floortje Smit | Charissa van Veldt | I-Jay Cairo | Christon Kloosterboer |
| 10 December | Aäron Ayal | Angelique Koorndijk | Ariël Sietses | Renske van der Veer |
| 17 December | Raffaëla Paton | Harm Jacobs | Marescha van der Stelt | Ellen Eeftink |
| 24 December (Wildcard) | Serge Gulikers (Viewers Choice) | | | |

### Finals Elimination Chart

| Date | Theme | Bottom Three/Four | Bottom Three/Four | Bottom Three/Four | Bottom Three/Four |
| December 31 | Birthyear Songs | Renske van der Veer | Ariel Sietses | Charissa van Veldt |
| January 7 | Dutch Artists | Charissa van Veldt (2) | Marescha van der Stelt | I-Jay Cairo |
| January 14 | Jukebox | I-Jay Cairo (2) | Ellen Eeftink | Christon Kloosterboer |
| January 21 | Rock | Christon Kloosterboer (2) | Marescha van der Stelt (2) | Ellen Eeftink (2) | Aäron Ayal |
| January 28 | Hits 2000 | Marescha van der Stelt (3) | Aäron Ayal (2) | Angelique Koorndijk | Raffaëla Paton |
| February 4 | Disco | Aäron Ayal (3) | Ellen Eeftink (3) |
| February 11 | Love Songs | Serge Gulikers | Ellen Eeftink (4) | Raffaëla Paton (2) |
| February 18 | Dutch Songs | Harm Jacobs | Ellen Eeftink (5) |
| February 25 | Big Band | Angelique Koorndijk (2) | Raffaëla Paton (3) |
| March 4 | Choices | Ellen Eeftink (6) | Floortje Smit |
| March 11 | Finale | Floortje Smit (2) | Raffaëla Paton |

## Season 4

| Date | Theme | Bottom Three/Four | Bottom Three/Four | Bottom Three/Four | Bottom Three/Four |
| 22 December | Las Vegas | Sandy Goeree | Bas van Rijckevorsel |
| 29 December | 80s | Ollie Du Croix | Mirjam de Jager | Nigel Brown |
| 5 January | Dutch Product | Asnat Ferdinandus | Bas van Rijckevorsel (2) | Nigel Brown (2) |
| 12 January | Disco | Mirjam de Jager (2) | Tiffany Maes | Bas van Rijckevorsel (3) | Nikki Kerkhof |
| 19 January | Musical | Bas van Rijckevorsel (4) | Tiffany Maes (2) | Neil Hendriks |
| 26 January | Brit Pop | Tiffany Maes (3) | Nigel Brown (3) |
| 2 February | Dutch Songs | Pauline Zurlohe | Charlene Meulenberg | Neil Hendriks (2) |
| 9 February | Love Songs | Neil Hendriks (3) | Nathalie Makoma | Nigel Brown (4) |
| 16 February | Big Band | Nigel Brown (5) | Charlene Meulenberg (2) |
| 23 February | Choices | Charlene Meulenberg (3) | Nathalie Makoma (2) |
| 1 March | Finale | Nathalie Makoma (3) | Nikki Kerkhof |

## Season 5

Auditions began in January 2016 and were held Novotel Schiphol Airport in Hoofddorp. The first audition show attracted a record-breaking 1.5 million viewers.
93 contestants progressed to the next stage at Theater de Kom in Nieuwegein, Utrecht. In a chorus line of ten, contestants re-audition with a pre-selected song. The songs were "Stay with Me" by Sam Smith, "Chandelier" by Sia, "Stitches" by Shawn Mendes, and "Hello" by Adele. 35 contestants advanced to the second theatre round where groups of three or four had to perform a pre-determined song, either "Marvin Gaye" by Charlie Puth ft. Meghan Trainor, "Never Forget You" by MNEK & Zara Larsson or "Sexy als ik dans" by Nielson. Twenty contestants progressed to the next stage.
The next round took place on Bali. First, the contestants had to perform a duet. Half of the contestants were eliminated. The remaining ten entered an acoustic piano round in which they performed a song of their choice. Two more contestants were sent home, narrowing the number of contestants down to eight that will enter the live shows.
During each live show, two contestants were sent home until two finalists remained. These two finalists faced off in a final during which viewers at home could cast their vote.
| Date | Theme | Bottom Three/Four | Bottom Three/Four | Bottom Three/Four |
| 18 May | This is me | Amber Thijssen | Rowen Aida Ben Rabaa | Jeffrey Saabeel |
| 25 May | Heroes | Jeffrey Saabeel | Thijs Roseman | Tom de Visser |
| 1 June | Semi-final | Tom de Visser | Steve Langreder | — |
| 8 June | Final | Kimberley Fransens | Nina den Hartog |

## Judges

* Edwin Jansen (2003–2004)
* Henkjan Smits (2003–2006)
* Eric van Tijn (2003–2008)
* Jerney Kaagman (2003–2008)
* John Ewbank (2008)
* Gordon Heuckeroth (2008)
* Martijn Krabbé (2016–2017)
* Ronald Molendijk (2016–2017)
* Jamai Loman (2016–2017)
* Eva Simons (2016–2017)

## Hosts

* Tooske Ragas (2003–2004)
* Reinout Oerlemans (2003–2004)
* Chantal Janzen (2006)
* Martijn Krabbé (2006–2008)
* Wendy van Dijk (2008)
* Ruben Nicolai (2016–2017)
* Lieke van Lexmond (2016–2017)