Henkjan Smits was the big man behind the jury tables of singing talent yachts on television for years. At Idols and X Factor you couldn’t ignore him for years. Did he abuse it?
The RTL 4 show The Voice of Holland has been infected forever by the misconduct of a number of men behind the scenes, including former band leader Jeroen Rietbergen, the beloved of Linda de Mol. Men in power positions sometimes do strange things, but what about the former talent shows Idols and X Factor? Has nothing happened there?
Rumbled
Henkjan states in the newest Story That nothing happened there at all. “Idols was a different format anyway, the jury members and candidates were kept very separate.”
He continues: “Even with X Factor there has never been misconduct. I can say by hand on my heart and on the lives of my children that anything has never happened and that we have never fiddled with candidates.”
“You didn’t do that!”
The other men at those shows have not eaten anything, says Henkjan. “I not only speak from myself, because Eric van Tijn, Edwin Jansen and Maurice Wijnen also have never done that, as far as I know. The temptation wasn’t there either. You just didn’t do that!”
Has he ever been approached for The Voice? “No, my name never falls as a coach at The Voice. The jury members must be executive musicians. Marco Borsato and Ali B are that, but they were certainly not the best coaches!”
“Their risk!”
It is better to put professionals there in the field of talent coaching, says Henkjan. So someone like him. “The makers choose executive musicians, that is their choice and their risk.”
Who did he like? Anouk. But she is no longer there because she has insulted the RTL management. “She just said why the performance was good or bad, I also come from that school.”