The Voice Kids is a Germanrealitytalent show created by John de Mol and a junior version of The Voice of Germany. Based on the original The Voice Kids of Holland, the show was developed for children between the ages of seven and fifteen years old. It began airing on Sat.1 on April 5, 2013. There are five different stages to the show: producers' auditions, blind auditions, battle rounds, sing-offs, and final. There have been eight winners to date: Michele Bircher, Danyiom Mesmer, Noah-Levi Korth, Lukas Janisch, Sofie Thomas, Anisa Celik, Mimi & Josefin and Lisa-Marie Ramm. Since its inaugural season, Thore Schölermann has served as host. A second main presenter was introduced in 2015, with Chantal Janzen from 2015 to 2016, Debbie Schippers from 2017 to 2018 and Melissa Khalaj from 2019 onward. Aline von Drateln was a backstage presenter in 2013 and was replaced by Nela Lee in 2014. The original coaches for the first season were Lena Meyer-Landrut, Henning Wehland and Tim Bendzko. Johannes Strate replaced Bendzko in the second season. Since season three Mark Forster has been a coach. Sasha Schmitz came on board on season four replacing Strate. Nena & Larissa Kerner were the first duo coaches in The Voice Kids who joined in season five. Max Giesinger served as coach for season six only. In season seven, four coaches are featured on the panel instead of three, with new coaches The BossHoss and Stefanie Kloss joining the show. From season eight, the two double-chair newbies from the band :de:Deine Freunde |Deine Freunde, :de:Lukas Nimscheck|Lukas Nimscheck & :de:Florian Sump|Flo Sump, are the new coaches. On April 2020, the show was renewed for a ninth season, which will begin airing in 2021.
Format
On 25 October 2012, Sat1 announced that they will produce the a children's version of The Voice of Germany with Talpa and Schwartzkopff TV Productions. The new show, The Voice Kids, is based on the format of the original show and focuses on children aged from 8 to 14 years. Performers for the first season had to apply to participate, and about 70 children were cast for the first phase, the "Blind Auditions". The children are onstage with a large, curved curtain around them, effectively concealing their identity from the judges, audience, and viewers. The 3 jury members are sitting in swivel chairs with their backs to the stage. During the performance, they can elect to support a candidate by pressing a buzzer, which will automatically turn their seat towards the stage. At the end of their performance, the curtain drops, revealing the singer who then learns whether any chairs turned for them. If only one judge turns their chair, the candidate is automatically on their team. If more than one chair turns, the candidate chooses who they would like to have as their coach. The second week of the competition is training week in which the coaches prepare their candidates for the second phase of competition, called the "Battle Round." In the Battle Round three candidates of the same coaching group are chosen to sing the same song as a trio. Each coach then picks one of their three candidates to continue on to the Final round. The winner of the talent competition receives a training stipend of €15,000 and an optional recording contract. The parents of the victor decide whether they pursue this option or not. The Voice Kids Germany is the most internationally popular version of The Voice concept with a large YouTube audience for its clips with strong audience interest that stretches far beyond fellow Europeans from Brazil to Vietnam, the Philippines and New Zealand. This is in part due to the fact that the contestants often have a multicultural background with one German parent and one immigrant parent or are first generation German born to an immigrant family. This YouTube impact is exemplified by then-13-year-old performer Laura Kamhuber, born in Austria, whose performance of Dolly Parton's anthem "I Will Always Love You" in the blind audition of the first series has garnered over 200 million views on YouTube, and is the most watched YouTube video by an Austrian artist.
Coaches and presenters
Coaches
Presenters
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Coaches and finalists
Winners are in bold, the finalists that went in the televoting are in italicized font, and the eliminated artists are in small font.
The first season of The Voice Kids in Germany premiered on 5 April and ended on 10 May 2013 on Sat.1. The coaches were Tim Bendzko, Lena Meyer-Landrut and Henning Wehland. The series was hosted by Thore Schölermann. The winner was Michele Bircher from Team Henning Wehland.
The second season of The Voice Kids in Germany premiered on 21 March and ended on 9 May 2014 on Sat.1. Lena Meyer-Landrut and Henning Wehland returned for their second season as coaches. Johannes Strate completed the panel, replacing Tim Bendzko. Thore Schölermann returned for his second season as host. The winner was Danyiom Mesmer from Team Henning Wehland.
Season 3 (2015)
The third season of The Voice Kids in Germany premiered on 27 February and ended on 24 April 2015 on Sat.1. Lena Meyer-Landrut returned for her third season as coach, and Johannes Strate returned for his second season as coach. Mark Forster completed the panel, replacing Henning Wehland. Thore Schölermann returned for his third season as host. The winner was Noah-Levi Korth from team Lena Meyer-Landrut.
Season 4 (2016)
The fourth season of The Voice Kids in Germany premiered on 5 February and ended on 25 March 2016 on Sat.1. Lena Meyer-Landrut returned for her fourth season as coach, and Mark Forster returned for his second season as coach. Sasha Schmitz completed the panel, replacing Johannes Strate. Thore Schölermann returned for his fourth season as host. The winner was Lukas Janisch from team Mark Forster.
Season 5 (2017)
The fifth season of The Voice Kids in Germany premiered on 5 February and ended on 26 March 2017 on Sat.1. Mark Forster returned for his third season as coach, and Sasha Schmitz returned for his second season as coach. Former coach from the adult version, Nena and her daughter Larissa Kerner completed the panel as a duo coach replacing Lena Meyer-Landrut. Thore Schölermann returned for his fifth season as host. The winner was Sofie Thomas from team Nena & Larissa.
Season 6 (2018)
The sixth season of The Voice Kids in Germany premiered on 11 February and ended on 15 April 2018 on Sat.1. Mark Forster returned for his fourth season as coach, while Nena & Larissa Kerner returned for their second season as coaches. The Voiceseason 1 finalist Max Giesinger joined the panel as a new coach replacing Sascha Schmitz. Thore Schölermann returned for his sixth season as host. The winner was Anisa Celik from team Mark Forster.
Season 7 (2019)
The seventh season of The Voice Kids in Germany premiered on 17 February 2019 on Sat.1. For the first time in the show's history, the coaching panel would consist of four coaches instead of three. Mark Forster was joined by Lena Meyer-Landrut who returned after two seasons of absence, with Stefanie Kloss and The BossHoss joining as new coaches. Thore Schölermann returned for his seventh season as host, with Melissa Khalaj as the new host replacing Debbie Schippers. The Iggy Kelly joined as new Backstage-Online. The winners were sisters Mimi & Josefin from Team The BossHoss.
Season 8 (2020)
The eighth season of The Voice Kids in Germany premiered on February 23, 2020 on Sat.1. Lena Meyer-Landrut was joined by Max Giesinger, who last coached in the sixth season, after 2 seasons Sasha Schmitz returned and with the new duo coach :de:Lukas Nimscheck|Lukas Nimscheck & :de:Florian Sump|Flo Sump. Thore Schölermann returned for his eighth season and Melissa Khalaj returned for her second season as hosts. However, the backstage moderators are new: Last year's winners, the sibling duo Mimi & Josefin, return to the music show in this function. The winner was Lisa-Marie Ramm from Team Sasha. The live shows were filmed at an empty auditorium following Germany's COVID-19 pandemic.
Season 9 (2021)
The ninth season of The Voice Kids in Germany will premiere on 2021 on Sat.1.
