‘The Voice of Holland’ participant opens up about Marco Borsato: “He promised me the final” | Showbiz

In 2012 Babette, known to us by the single ‘1 Op Een Miljoen’ with Metejoor, took her first chance in ‘The Voice of Holland’. She eventually made it to live shows under the guidance of her coach Marco Borsato. Three years later, she decided to participate in the singing competition again, at the request of the Dutch singer. “On July 8, 2015, I received a call in the night. It was my coach, Marco. My phone rang at 1:00 AM. He asked if I was open to participating again”, Babette starts in ‘And Dan?’. “The auditions were in progress at the time and the last day of shooting took place the day after. The production didn’t have enough nice people. They were looking for people they could focus on again, I think.”

After her participation in 2012, Babette had very dark thoughts. That’s why she doubted for a while whether she wanted to participate again. “I had just finished and I was just doing my thing. And then this came my way. No, I really didn’t want it at all. But you, as a singer, are still looking at: okay, how can I promote my single? You want to keep busy,” she says. So Babette immediately called her management for advice. “They said: “You know, Babette. This is now your business card that you can deliver. You now have the right to speak, they ask you.” Still, the singer was not completely convinced. “They can sell it that way. But my intuition already said: don’t do it. I didn’t want to play all that charade again. I really wanted to make my own music and develop myself.”

Eventually Babette changed her mind due to the positive reactions of her management. She decided to try again in ‘The Voice of Holland.’ She was also promised mental support from the program makers. And that was by no means all. In the conversation with Marco, according to Babette, it was even said that she would make it to the final anyway. That convinced her completely. “He promised me the final. Then I thought, if this is the deal, I’ll just do it. Finally, around 13:00 in the afternoon, I was already singing my song. Then we were about twelve hours further since the call,” said the singer.

After the battles, Babette already flew out of the talent show. “During rehearsals I already felt that something was not right. There was less communication with me”, she looks back. She also doesn’t understand the choice for the song she had to sing. “If you then promise someone to go to the final, do something that I can excel at. I felt something in the air. But I thought: I can’t control it anymore. I found that very scary.” In the end, Marco did not choose Babette. The coach went for another candidate. “The ground sank under my feet. I couldn’t trust anyone anymore. I just wanted to disappear,” said ‘The Voice’ candidate. Then she had to walk up to him and give him a hug. “I was just so wronged,” says Babette. “I felt really humiliated.”

The Public Prosecution Service of the Netherlands has dropped the case against Marco Borsato for ‘The Voice of Holland’. That was announced last week. In January last year, several candidates and employees of the singing competition claimed that he had groped them. They testified anonymously on the “Angry” broadcast. Three of them were minors. The Dutch singer currently has another vice report against him.

Coaches Jeroen Rietbergen and Ali B are being prosecuted following three reports of rape and assault, in 2014 and 2018, of adult women. ‘The Voice of Holland’ has not been seen on television since early 2022. The future of the talent show therefore remains very uncertain. “We think it is good and important that the Public Prosecution Service has carefully investigated the reports regarding ‘The Voice of Holland’ and that there is clarity about the next steps,” a spokesperson for the show said in a response to ‘RTL Boulevard’.

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