The Voice Kids is a German reality talent show created by John de Mol Jr. 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 7 and 15. 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 fourteen winners to date: Michèle Bircher (12), Danyiom Mesmer (14), Noah-Levi Korth (13), Lukas Janisch (13), Sofie Thomas (11), Anisa Celik (10), Mimi & Josefin (13 & 15), Lisa-Marie Ramm (15), Egon Werler (15), Georgia Balke (11), Emma Filipović (14), Jakob Hebgen (15), Neo Klingl (14), and Katelyn Harrington (12).
Since its inaugural season, Thore Schölermann has served as host until his departure in the 14th season. 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 coaches for the most recent fourteenth season were Álvaro Soler, Heiko & Roman Lochmann, Leony, and Michael Patrick Kelly. Other coaches from previous seasons include Lena Meyer-Landrut, Henning Wehland, Tim Bendzko, Johannes Strate, Mark Forster, Sasha Schmitz, the duo Nena & Larissa Kerner, Max Giesinger, the duo The BossHoss, Stefanie Kloß, Lukas Nimscheck & Flo Sump from the band Deine Freunde, the duo Michi Beck & Smudo, Wincent Weiss, Ayliva, and Clueso.
Format
On 25 October 2012, Sat.1 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 between the ages of 8 and 15. 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. In season 9, coaches can steal one losing artist from the battle rounds via "Steal Deal." Also, in the same season, the coaches can send an artist directly to the final via "Fast Pass." The Steal Deal discontinued in the following two seasons, before making its return on season 12.
The winner of The Voice Kids 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 classic "I Will Always Love You" (popularized by Whitney Houston) in the blind audition of the first (2013) series has garnered over 200 million views on YouTube (as of April 17), and is the most watched YouTube video by an Austrian artist. However, the channel deleted that video and re-uploaded in July 2021.
Coaches +The Voice Kids coaches Coach Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Lena colspan="2" colspan="2" Henning colspan="12" Tim colspan="13" Johannes colspan="11" Mark colspan="2" colspan="7" Sasha colspan="3" colspan="2" colspan="6" colspan="4" colspan="8" Max colspan="5" colspan="6" Stefanie colspan="6" colspan="3" colspan="1" BossHoss colspan="6" colspan="7" Deine Freunde colspan="7" colspan="6" Wincent colspan="8" colspan="1" Álvaro colspan="8" colspan="1" colspan="8" colspan="2" Ayliva colspan="12" colspan="1" Clueso colspan="12" colspan="1" Leony colspan="13" colspan="13" colspan="13"
Lineup of coaches + Coaches' line-up by chairs order Season Year Coaches 1 2 3 4 1 2013 Tim Lena Henning rowspan="6" 2 2014 Johannes 3 2015 Mark 4 2016 Sasha 5 2017 Nena & Larissa 6 2018 Mark Max 7 2019 Stefanie BossHoss Lena 8 2020 Max Lena Deine Freunde Sasha 9 2021 Álvaro Michi & Smudo Stefanie Wincent 10 2022 Lena 11 2023 12 2024 13 2025 Wincent Ayliva Clueso Stefanie 14 2026 Álvaro HE/RO Leony Michael Patrick
Presenters Key Main presenter Backstage presenter Backstage-online presenter + The Voice Kids presenters Presenter Seasons 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Thore Chantal colspan="2" colspan="10" Debbie colspan="4" colspan="8" Melissa colspan="6" Aline colspan="13" Nela colspan="12" Marc colspan="11" Noah-Levi colspan="3" colspan="10" Jonas colspan="4" colspan="9" Iggi colspan="6" colspan="7" colspan="7" colspan="6" Keanu colspan="8" colspan="3" Egon colspan="9" colspan="3" Chiara colspan="10" colspan="3"
Coaches and finalists Winner Runner-up Third Place Fourth Place Fast past to the Final
Winners are in bold, the finalists that went in the televoting are in italicized font, and the eliminated artists are in small font.
Season Coaches and their finalists 1 Tim Bendzko Lena Meyer-Landrut Henning Wehland scope="col" rowspan="12" Rita GueliFinn Hackenberg Tim PeltzerAulona Michèle BircherStephanie Schmidt 2 Johannes Strate Lena Meyer-Landrut Henning Wehland Carlotta TrumanJamica Blackett Richard IstelSelin Atici Danyiom MesmerHanna Michalowicz 3 Johannes Strate Lena Meyer-Landrut Mark Forster Cosma LeonieNestor Noah-Levi KorthSamuel Wernik ZoëAntonia 4 Sasha Schmitz Lena Meyer-Landrut Mark Forster Shanice ÖzbicerNoël Lunguana Ridon JakupiMatteo Markus Lukas JanischLara Bloß 5 Sasha Schmitz Nena & Larissa Kerner Mark Forster Luca Emmanuel KuglmeierMarie-SophieLeonie Sofie ThomasLeonPia Diana DonatellaEricLina Kuduzović 6 Mark Forster Nena & Larissa Kerner Max Giesinger Anisa CelikKlaas MüllerOliwia Czerniec Santiago GhiganiAlyciaNatalia Joy Benicio BryantFlavio RizzelloJonah Wichmann 7 Mark Forster Stefanie Kloß The BossHoss Lena Meyer-Landrut Davit NikalayanTeodora Vio Lea DeFrantLazaros Mimi & JosefinErik Panich Thapelo MashianeDio Dragaj 8 Max Giesinger Lena Meyer-Landrut Deine Freunde Sasha Schmitz Phil SchallerGianna Nikolas HarrisonLiana Leroy ErxlebenPaula Sophie Lisa-Marie RammMarc Altergott 9 Álvaro Soler Michi & Smudo Stefanie Kloß Wincent Weiss Isabella ParuzzoVivienne HofmannOscar and Mino Orué RahelConstanceMarko Budja Egon WerlerEmily LazarusKiara Henriette StieghanPapunaRockzone 10 Álvaro Soler Michi & Smudo Lena Meyer-Landrut Wincent Weiss Benjamin GedeonSolveig Birta Georgia BalkeNadia Gonzalez ElasilyVivien EmilJemima Esteves Benjamin N.Marvin 11 Andrea MilutinovicFiona VargasAdrian Emma FilipovićKhady DoumbiaEywa FiaAlexandraDaniella Holzmann Toby SchloesserElliceJayden Swingewood 12 Lana MelodyMadeleine FridaMalya Anand BansalMaris Siegin Jakob HebgenErika Tanase 13 Wincent Weiss Ayliva Clueso Stefanie Kloß Neo KlinglTuanaJosh Blake EvaIan SchneiderMalou SohumPietDaryan LunaHelenaArhanna Sandra Arbma 14 Álvaro Soler Heiko & Roman Lochmann Leony Michael Patrick Kelly FabioSusey WendyDanaya Illia KonovchenkoLionella JakajLevy Müller Max BehenskýMarieAngelina Katelyn HarringtonHediRenat Popovschi
Series overview Warning: the following table presents a significant amount of different colors.
+ Teams color key Artist from Team Henning Artist from Team Sasha Artist from Team Deine Freunde Artist from Team Lena Artist from Team Nena & Larissa Artist from Team Michi & Smudo Artist from Team Tim Artist from Team Max Artist from Team Wincent Artist from Team Johannes Artist from Team BossHoss Artist from Team Michael Patrick Artist from Team Mark Artist from Team Stefanie
+ German The Voice Kids series overview Season Aired Winner Other finalists Winning coach Presenter(s) 1 2013 Michèle Bircher Rita Gueli Tim Peltzer rowspan="6" Henning Wehland Thore Schölermann 2 2014 Danyiom Mesmer Carlotta Truman Richard Istel 3 2015 Korth Cosma Leonie Zoë Lena Meyer-Landrut Schölermann, Chantal Janzen 4 2016 Lukas Janisch Ridon Jakupi Shanice Özbicer Mark Forster 5 2017 Sofie Thomas Diana Donatella Luca Kuglmeier Nena & Larissa Schölermann, Debbie Schippers 6 2018 Anisa Celik Benicio Bryant Santiago Ghigani 7 2019 Mimi & Josefin Davit Nikalayan Lea DeFrant Thapelo Mashiane The BossHoss Schölermann, Melissa Khalaj 8 2020 Ramm Leroy Erxleben Nikolas Harrison Phil Schaller Sasha Schmitz 9 2021 Egon Werler Note: Eleven artists finished second in season nine. Stefanie Kloß 10 2022 Georgia Balke Note: Eight artists finished second in season ten. Michi & Smudo 11 2023 Emma Filipović Note: Eleven artists finished second in season eleven. 12 2024 Jakob Hebgen Note: Seven artists finished second in season twelve. Wincent Weiss 13 2025 Neo Klingl Note: Eleven artists finished second in season thirteen. 14 2026 Katelyn Harrington Note: Eleven artists finished second in season fourteen. Michael Patrick Kelly Melissa Khalaj
Seasons' synopsis
Winner Runner-up Third Place Fourth Place Fast pass to the Final Eliminated in the Final Stolen in the Sing-offs Eliminated in the Sing-offs/Semifinals Stolen in the Battles Eliminated in the Battles Eliminated in the Knockouts
Season 1 (2013) The first season of The Voice Kids in Germany premiered on 5 April 2013 and ended on 10 May on Sat.1. The coaches were Tim Bendzko, Lena Meyer-Landrut and Henning Wehland. The inaugural season was hosted by Thore Schölermann. The winner was Swiss-born Michèle Bircher from Team Henning Wehland.
Coaches Top 36 Kids Tim Rita Finn Aitziber Kieu Alexandra Dana Gregory Hannah Elisa Lara Marie Sarah Sean Thea Lena Tim Aulona Chelsea Laurin Emma Judith Laura Lisa Luisa Mike Nicole Olivia Henning Michèle Stéphanie Fabienne Maira Alexandra Giuliana & Gilliana Iman Julika Louisa Malin Marie Tim
Season 2 (2014) The second season of The Voice Kids in Germany premiered on 21 March 2014 and ended on 9 May 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.
Coaches Top 46 Kids Johannes Carlotta Jamica Joel Samuel Soufjan Hannah Leif Nadine Pia Renaz Sabeschni Sarah Tamara Vanessa Vanessa Lena Richard Selin Lara Naomi Patrizia Stepan Caitlin Helena Jasmin Julia Lene Lukas Noah Selma Simon Theodore Henning Daniyom Hanna Chiara Larissa Melissa Alexandra Amina Carlo Emmie Lee Ilayda Lukas Michele Naomi Salvatore Saphira
Season 3 (2015)