Op zoek naar Joseph (Looking for Joseph) was a 2008 talent show-themed television series produced by the AVRO in the Netherlands. It searched for a new, unknown lead to play Joseph in a 2009 Dutch revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.

Op zoek naar Joseph
StarringFrits Sissing
(Host)
Pia Douwes
(Judge)
Erwin van Lambaart
(Judge)
Paul de Leeuw
(Judge)
Country of originNetherlands
No. of seasons1
Production
ProducerEyeworks
Original release
NetworkAVRO
Release30 August (2008-08-30) –
26 October 2008 (2008-10-26)
Related

The show was hosted by Frits Sissing, who announced Freek Bartels as the winner of the final public telephone vote on 26 October 2008.

It was the second Dutch talent show to be produced by the AVRO/Willem Nijholt, after Op zoek naar Evita. A third talent show, this time called Op zoek naar Mary Poppins aired in 2009, Op zoek naar Zorro aired in late 2010, Op zoek naar Annie aired in 2012, Op zoek naar Maria aired in 2021 and Op zoek naar Danny & Sandy aired in late 2022.

A similar format has been used as well in the United Kingdom in 2007, with the show Any Dream Will Do taking an unknown singer and placing the winner in the lead role for the 2007 performances in the West End. On 9 June 2007, Lee Mead was announced the winner of this show.

It is speculated[by whom?] that a Canadian edition will be produced in the wake of Mirvish Productions' production of the same musical.

Format

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Expert panel

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An expert panel provided advice to the contestants throughout the series, and provided comments during the live shows. The panel was made up of:

Live finals

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The final eleven contestants competed in the live studio finals held on Sunday nights over eight weeks. Each week the contestants sang and performed during the live show, receiving comments from the judges following their performance. The public then got a chance to vote for their favourite Joseph, and the two contestants with the fewest votes performed a sing-off in front of Nijholt, who then decided which Joseph to keep in the contest. This was repeated with the top ten, the top nine, the top eight, the top seven, the top six, the top five and the top four.

Nijholt had no say in the final casting decision, when in the concluding edition of the series it was left to the public to choose who should play Joseph out of the final two contenders, Freek Bartels and John Vooijs. After more votes were cast, the winning entrant was revealed as Bartels, who won a contract to play Joseph at the Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam.

Finalists

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Eleven potential Josephs made it through the auditions process to perform during the live shows.

Finalist Age* Date of birth Coat colour Status
Robbert van den Bergh 25 March 10, 1983 Pastel blue Eliminated 1st in week 1
Adriaan Korrnenberg 25 October 1, 1982 Pink Eliminated 2nd in week 2
Hein Gerrits 27 May 9, 1981 Lime green Eliminated 3rd in week 3
Remko Harms 26 November 5, 1981 Dark green Eliminated 4th in week 3
Baer Jonkers 24 May 29, 1984 Dark blue Eliminated 5th in week 4
Amir Vahidi 18 August 1, 1990 Red Eliminated 6th in week 5
Mathijs Pater 24 January 17, 1984 Light blue Eliminated 7th in week 6
Robin van den Akker 29 July 21, 1979 Turquoise Eliminated 8th in week 7
Roy van Iersel 21 September 11, 1986 Yellow Third place
John Vooijs 29 March 26, 1979 Purple Second place
Freek Bartels 21 October 24, 1986 Orange Winner

* at the start of the contest

Results summary

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Results summary
Place Contestant Week 1 Week 2 Week 3 Week 4 Week 5 Week 6 Week 7 Final
Part 1 Part 2
1 Freek Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Winner
2 John Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom 2 Safe Safe Second place
3 Roy Bottom 2 Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Bottom 2 Third place
4 Robin Safe Safe Safe Bottom 2 Bottom 2 Safe Bottom 2 Eliminated Eliminated
5 Mathijs Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Eliminated Eliminated
6 Amir Safe Safe Safe Safe Safe Eliminated Eliminated
7 Baer Safe Safe Bottom 2 Safe Eliminated Eliminated
8 Remko Safe Safe Safe Eliminated Eliminated
9 Hein Safe Bottom 2 Eliminated Eliminated
10 Adriaan Safe Eliminated Eliminated
11 Robbert Eliminated Eliminated

Live shows

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The live shows saw the finalists eliminated one by one following both individual and group performances. Once eliminated, eliminated Joseph then performed "Arme Jozef (Poor, Poor Joseph)\Sluit alle deuren (Close Every Door)" together with the remaining Josephs as his grand exit song, symbolically handing back his dreamcoat.

Week 1 (September 7, 2008)

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Following the first week of competition, Robbert was the first Joseph to be eliminated from the competition. The show performances were:

Contestants' performances on the first live show
Contestant Performance Pair Order Song Result
Roy van Iersel Pair 1 1 "Nu (Now)" Bottom 2
Freek Bartels 2 "I Want to Break Free" Safe
Remko Harms Pair 2 3 "Waarom God (Why God Why)" Safe
Adriaan Kroonenberg 4 "Vlieg met me mee" Safe
Hein Gerrits Pair 3 5 "Toen ik je zag" Safe
Robbert van den Bergh 6 "Walking on Sunshine" Bottom 2
Mathijs Pater Solo Performance 7 "Go the Distance" Safe
Robin van den Akker Pair 4 8 "Faith" Safe
Baer Jonkers 9 "Maria" Safe
Amir Vahidi Pair 5 10 "Your Song" Safe
John Vooijs 11 "Livin' On A Prayer" Safe
  • Jury's favourite Joseph:
    • Erwin van Lambaart: Mathijs
    • Pia Douwes: Mathijs
    • Paul de Leeuw: Amir

Sing-Off

Act Sing Off Song Results
Roy van Iersel "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel Saved by Nijholt
Robbert van der Bergh Eliminated

Week 2 (September 14, 2008)

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Adriaan was the second contestant to be eliminated from the series. The show performances were:

Contestants' performances on the second live show
Contestant Performance Pair Order Song Result
Amir Vahidi Pair 1 1 "Ik leef niet meer voor jou" Safe
Adriaan Kroonenberg 2 "On the Street Where You Live" Bottom 2
John Vooijs Pair 2 3 "Lang is de nacht (Endless Night)" Safe
Baer Jonkers 4 "Mack the Knife" Safe
Freek Bartels Pair 3 5 "Het gaat beginnen (Something's Coming)" Safe
Remko Harms 6 "It's Not Unusual" Safe
Robin van den Akker Pair 4 7 "Papa" Safe
Hein Gerrits 8 "Working My Way Back to You" Bottom 2
Mathijs Pater Pair 5 9 "Fever" Safe
Roy van Iersel 10 "Alsof je bij me bent" Safe
  • Jury's favourite Joseph:
    • Erwin van Lambaart: Freek
    • Pia Douwes: Roy
    • Paul de Leeuw: Robin

Sing-Off

Act Sing Off Song Results
Hein Gerrits "Ergens in de sterren (Written in the Stars)" from Aida Saved by Nijholt
Adriaan Kroonenberg Eliminated

Week 3 (September 21, 2008)

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In a double elimination, two Josephs were voted off the series. The show performances were:

Contestants' performances on the third live show
Contestant Performance Pair Order Song Results Part 1 Results Part 2
Baer Jonkers Pair 1 1 "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" Bottom 2 Safe
Mathijs Pater 2 "Sandy" Safe Safe
Roy van Iersel Pair 2 3 "Paint It, Black" Safe Safe
Remko Harms 4 "Van Haar Te Houden (If I Can't Love Her)" Safe Bottom 2
Hein Gerrits Solo Performance 5 "Radeloos (First and Last\Tragedy)" Bottom 2 N/A (already eliminated)
Amir Vahidi Pair 3 6 "All I Care About is Love" Safe Safe
John Vooijs 7 "De vleugels van mijn vlucht (Wind Beneath My Wings)" Safe Safe
Freek Bartels Pair 4 8 "Man in the Mirror" Safe Safe
Robin van den Akker 9 "Zij leven voort (They Live In You)" Safe Bottom 2
  • Jury's favourite Joseph:
    • Erwin van Lambaart: John
    • Pia Douwes: Robin
    • Paul de Leeuw: Freek

Sing-off 1:

Act Sing Off Song Results
Baer Jonkers "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha Saved by Nijholt
Hein Gerrits Eliminated

Sing-off 2:

Act Sing Off Song Results
Remko Harms "Laat Me" by Ramses Shaffy Eliminated
Robin van den Akker Saved by Nijholt

Week 4 (September 28, 2008)

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Baer became the fourth contestant to hear he was not Joseph. The show performances were:

Contestants' performances on the fourth live show
Contestant Performance Pair Order Song Result
Robin van den Akker Pair 1 1 "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" Bottom 2
Baer Jonkers 2 "Alles is liefde" Bottom 2
Freek Bartels Pair 2 3 "Yesterday" Safe
John Vooijs 4 "Oorlog in mij" Safe
Roy van Iersel Solo Performance 5 "Everything" Safe
Mathijs Pater Pair 3 6 "Proud of Your Boy" Safe
Amir Vahidi 7 "Ik vroeg te veel" Safe
  • Jury's favourite Joseph:
    • Erwin van Lambaart: Mathijs
    • Pia Douwes: Roy
    • Paul de Leeuw: Roy

Sing-Off

Act Sing Off Song Results
Baer Jonkers "Hoog vloog je, te hoog (High Flying Adored)" from Evita Eliminated
Robin van den Akker Saved by Nijholt

Week 5 (October 5, 2008)

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With only six finalists remaining, the Josephs were announced in sets of three and performed in a trio as well as their individual performances. Amir became the fifth contestant to hear he would not be Joseph. The show performances were:

Contestants' performances on the fifth live show
Contestant Performance Pair Order Song Result
John Vooijs Pair 1 1 "Kon ik nog maar even bij je zijn" Bottom 2
Freek Bartels 2 "Kom Kees" Safe
Mathijs Pater Pair 2 3 "Laat me niet alleen (Ne me quitte pas)" Safe
Amir Vahidi 4 "Terug naar toen (Journey to the Past)" Bottom 2
Robin van den Akker Pair 3 5 "Verloren Verleden (Everything That I Am)" Safe
Roy van Iersel 6 "Waar is de zon?" Safe
  • Jury's favourite Joseph:
    • Erwin van Lambaart: Mathijs
    • Pia Douwes: John
    • Paul de Leeuw: John

Sing-Off

Act Sing Off Song Results
John Vooijs "Zij gelooft in mij (She Believes in Me)" by André Hazes Saved by Nijholt
Amir Vahidi Eliminated

Week 6 (October 12, 2008)

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In the quarter-final, the sixth Joseph to be eliminated was Mathijs. The show performances were:

Contestants' performances on the sixth live show
Contestant Order First song Order Second song Result
Robin van den Akker 1 "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" 6 "Sinds een dag of twee" Bottom 2
John Vooijs 2 "One Song Glory" 8 "Hocus Pocus" Safe
Freek Bartels 3 "Ga Nou Maar Gewoon (Ease on Down the Road)" 7 "This is the Moment" Safe
Mathijs Pater 4 "Chim Chim Cher-ee" 10 "Copacabana" Bottom 2
Roy van Iersel 5 "Jailhouse Rock" 9 "Lege Stoelen, Lege Tafels (Empty Chairs at Empty Tables)" Safe
  • Jury's favourite Joseph:
    • Erwin van Lambaart: Freek
    • Pia Douwes: Freek
    • Paul de Leeuw: John

Sing-Off

Act Sing Off Song Results
Robin van den Akker "Pak maar m'n hand" by Nick & Simon Saved by Nijholt
Mathijs Pater Eliminated

Week 7 (October 19, 2008)

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In the semi-final, the seventh and final Joseph to be eliminated was Robin. The show performances were:

Contestants' performances on the seventh live show
Contestant Order First song Order Second song Result
Freek Bartels 1 "Vanmorgen vloog ze nog" 5 "You Raise Me Up" Safe
Roy van Iersel 2 "New York, New York" 6 "Onbeschirjfelijk Mooi (Indiscribablely Beautiful)" Bottom 2
Robin van den Akker 3 "Lef" 7 "Mr. Bojangles" Bottom 2
John Vooijs 4 "Anyone Who Had a Heart" 8 "Nooit een acht" Safe
  • Jury's favourite Joseph:
    • Erwin van Lambaart: Freek
    • Pia Douwes: John
    • Paul de Leeuw: John

Sing-Off

Act Sing Off Song Results
Roy van Iersel "Telkens weer" by Willeke Alberti Saved by Nijholt
Robin van den Akker Eliminated

Week 8 (October 26, 2008)

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The grand finale saw Freek win the competition, with John coming second and Roy third. The show performances were:

Contestants' performances on the first live show
Contestant Order First song Order Second song Result
Roy van Iersel 1 "Daar Buiten (Out There)" N/A N/A (already eliminated) Eliminated
Freek Bartels 2 "Gethsemane" 4 "Sluit Alle Deuren (Close Every Door)" Winner
John Vooijs 3 "Verwarrend bestaan (Elaborate Lives)" 5 "Sluit Alle Deuren (Close Every Door)" Runner-up
  • Jury's verdict on who is Joseph:
    • Erwin van Lambaart: Freek
    • Pia Douwes: could not choose between Freek and John
    • Peter Van de Velde: John
    • Willem Nijholt: Roy
  • After being announced as the series winner, Freek concluded the series with a performance of "Laat je droom bestaan (Any Dream Will Do)\Geef Mij Mijn Dromenjas (Give Me My Coloured Coat)".

After the series

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Freek Bartels, along with the winner of the previous Nijholt reality show Op zoek naar Evita, Brigitte Heitzer, were the stars of a one-off Christmas Day special to air on AVRO, entitled Kerst met Joseph en Evita (Christmas with Joseph and Evita).

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