Beste Zangers

Beste Zangers, formerly De beste zangers van Nederland (English: The Best Singers (of the Netherlands)), is a Dutch reality television show by public broadcaster AVROTROS (a merger of AVRO and TROS, both part of the Netherlands Public Broadcasting). The first series was aired between 5 July and 30 August 2009 and was hosted by Edsilia Rombley. She was first replaced by singer and actor Victor Reinier (2010, 2011) before Jan Smit became the permanent host from 2012 to 2019.

In each series a number of well-known performers take turns as the central artist in the hot seat that gets honoured by the other artists by singing songs that are of significance to that person. It can be a cover of one of his/her own songs, a song that inspires the artist in the hot seat or something from his/her past. In earlier seasons, the central artist decided who had to sing which song, while in later seasons the artists could pick one from a list themselves. The artist in the hot seat ranks the performances and picks a favourite performance, which results in that person being the winner of the episode. The first six seasons also have a final episode where they discuss and vote on their favourites. Later the voting became less important and they stopped doing this. In season 10 they introduced a final episode where the artists sing duets. The show format has since been used in other European countries: Denmark, Norway, Sweden, Finland, Germany, Belgium, Lithuania, Estonia and Switzerland.

In July 2017 two compilations were broadcast in celebration of Beste Zangers'  tenth anniversary.

Season 1 (2009)
The first season the series broadcast from 5 July 2009 to 30 August 2009, and hosted by Edsilia Rombley. Seven Dutch artists (Henk Westbroek, Gordon, Albert West, Danny de Munk, Nick Schilder, Simon Keizer and Thomas Berge) sang songs from each other's repertoire. The episodes were recorded in four days on Ibiza, accompanied by a live band playing the songs.


 * Episode 1 - Henk Westbroek
 * Winner: Albert West


 * Episode 2 - Simon Keizer
 * Winner: Danny de Munk


 * Episode 3 - Danny de Munk


 * Winner: Nick Schilder


 * Episode 4 - Gordon


 * Winner: Nick Schilder


 * Episode 5 - Thomas Berge


 * Winner: Henk Westbroek


 * Episode 6 - Albert West


 * Winner: Thomas Berge


 * Episode 7 - Nick Schilder
 * Winner - Henk Westbroek

In the final episode, the singers are asked to look back at their performances. In addition, they are allowed to choose another eventual replacement and give him/her an extra point. This showed that Simon Keizer was the eventual overall winner of the program by 2 extra points.
 * Episode 8

Season 2 (2010)
The second season was broadcast from 18 July 2010 to 16 September 2010 and hosted by Victor Reinier. Seven Dutch artists (Frans Bauer, Frans Duijts, Jamai, Jan Dulles, Jeroen van der Boom, René Froger and Syb van der Ploeg) sang songs from each other's repertoire. The episodes were recorded in Ibiza, accompanied by a live band playing the songs.


 * Episode 1 - Jeroen van der Boom


 * Winner: Frans Duijts


 * Episode 2 - Jamai Loman


 * Winner: Syb van der Ploeg


 * Episode 3 - René Froger


 * Winner: Jan Dulles


 * Episode 4 - Syb van der Ploeg


 * Winner - Jan Dulles


 * Episode 5 - Jan Dulles


 * Winner: Jeroen van der Boom


 * Episode 6 - Frans Duijts


 * Winner - René Froger


 * Episode 7 - Frans Bauer


 * Winner - René Froger

the final episode was a look back at previous performances to decide on an overall winner for the second season.
 * Episode 8 - Final

Who voted for whom

Number of votes

Overall Winner: Jamai Loman

Season 3 (2011)
The third season ran from 19 March 2011 to 7 May 2011 and was hosted for a second year in a row by Victor Reinier. 2011 participating artists were Xander de Buisonjé, Lange Frans, Wolter Kroes, Anita Meyer, Glennis Grace, Peter Koelewijn, George Baker and the singer Do.


 * Episode 1 - Peter Koelewijn


 * Winner: Xander de Buisonjé


 * Episode 2 - Xander de Buisonjé


 * Winner: Glennis Grace


 * Episode 3 - Anita Meyer


 * Winner: Lange Frans


 * Episode 4 - Do


 * Winner: Glennis Grace


 * Episode 5 - Lange Frans


 * Winner: Peter Koelewijn


 * Episode 6 - George Baker


 * Winner: Anita Meyer


 * Episode 7 - Wolter Kroes


 * Winner: Do


 * Episode 8 - Glennis Grace


 * Winner: Xander de Buisonjé

Participants look back at the performances and nominate their overall favorites and give points
 * Episode 9 - Final

Who voted for whom

Number of votes

Overall Winner: Anita Meyer

Season 4 (2012)
The fourth season was broadcast from 2 May 2012 to 13 June 2012. Jan Smit took over as the host. The participating Dutch artists for the fourth season were Gerard Joling, Ruth Jacott, Berget Lewis, Nikki Kerkhof, Peter Beense, Freek Bartels and Yes-R.


 * Episode 1 - Gerard Joling


 * Winner: Berget Lewis


 * Episode 2 - Ruth Jacott


 * Winner: Yes-R


 * Episode 3 - Yes-R


 * Winner: Nikki Kerkhof


 * Episode 4 - Freek Bartels


 * Winner: Berget Lewis


 * Episode 5 - Berget Lewis


 * Winner: Peter Beense


 * Episode 6 - Peter Beense


 * Winner: Berget Lewis


 * Episode 7 - Nikki Kerkhof


 * Winner: Berget Lewis

The participants look back at earlier performances and nominate for best singer overall giving points
 * Episode 8 - Final

Who voted for who?

Number of votes:

Overall Winner: Berget Lewis

Season 5 (2013)
The fifth season featured Simone Kleinsma, Charly Luske, Rob de Nijs, Angela Groothuizen, Tim Douwsma, Bastiaan Ragas and Raffaëla Paton.
 * Episode 1 - Raffaëla Paton
 * Winner: Rob de Nijs


 * Episode 2 - Charly Luske
 * Winner: Raffaëla Paton


 * Episode 3 - Bastiaan Ragas
 * Winner: Simone Kleinsma


 * Episode 4 - Angela Groothuizen
 * Winner: Raffaëlla Paton


 * Episode 5 - Simone Kleinsma
 * Winner: Angela Groothuizen


 * Episode 6 - Tim Douwsma
 * Winner: Charly Luske


 * Episode 7 - Rob de Nijs
 * Winner: Rafaëlla Paton

Who voted for whom Number of votes Overall Winner: Rafaëlla Paton
 * Episode 8 - Final

Season 6 (Spring 2014)
Niels Geusebroek, Lisa Lois, Sabrina Starke, Jack Poels, Ben Saunders, Mattanja Joy Bradley, Leona Philippo and Dave von Raven, with Sabrina Starke winning the series.

Season 7 (Winter 2014)
René Froger, André Hazes Jr., Monique Klemann, Xander de Buisonjé, Carolina Dijkhuizen and Edsilia Rombley took part with André Hazes Jr. winning the series.

Season 8 (2015)
Jan Keizer, Anouk Maas, Frans Duijts, Lange Frans, Martin Buitenhuis, Julia Zahra and Do took part in the series. Frans Duijts and Julia Zahra were joint winners.

Season 9 (2016)
René van Kooten, Willeke Alberti, Brownie Dutch, Sharon Doorson, O'G3NE and Jeroen van der Boom took part with Willeke Alberti winning the season.

Season 10 (2017)
Anita Meyer, Brace, Kenny B, Maan, Tommie Christiaan, Tania Kross and Dennie Christian took part in the series. Anita Meyer and Tania Kross jointly won the series

Season 11 (2018)
Lee Towers, Trijntje Oosterhuis, Alain Clark, Tino Martin, Glen Faria, Maria Fiselier and Davina Michelle took part. Lee Towers and Trijntje Oosterhuis jointly won the series.

Season 12 (2019)
After having started hosting the show since season 4 in 2012, this 12th series became the last consecutive to be hosted by the singer Jan Smith until his return in 2021. Smith hosted for a total of 9 consecutive seasons in a span of 8 years. The singers taking part were Emma Heesters, Floor Jansen, Henk Poort, Rolf Sanchez, Ruben Annink, Samantha Steenwijk and Tim Akkerman. Rolf Sanchez and Samantha Steenwijk were the joint winners for the season.

Season 13 (2020)
New hosts Nick & Simon took over hosting for Jan Smit, as he had been sick during filming this season. The participating singers are: Diggy Dex, Milow, Sanne Hans known as Miss Montreal, Stef Bos, Suzan & Freek, Tabitha and Wulf. Stef Bos was the winner of the season.

Season 14 (2021)
Jan Smit returned as host after being sick during the previous season. This is the first season since season 3 to not be hosted in Ibiza, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Instead, it was hosted in Limburg. The participating singers are: Roel van Velzen, Bökkers, Belle Perez, Alides Hidding, Karsu, Joe Buck, and Anneke van Giersbergen. The winners of the season were Bökkers and Roel van Velzen.

Season 15 (2022)
This season took place in Seville, Spain. The cast includes: Blanks, Claudia de Breij, Ferdi Bolland, Jaap Reesema, Nielson, Roxeanne Hazes, and Sarita Lorena.