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Last night at the Voice Of Germany finale, something wonderful happened; Ivy Quainoo won the competition, and Kim Sanders came in second. With their respective victories, my belief in the old saying “quality counts” was restored. Here’s why. The concept of “quality” is, of course, a matter of individual taste. That concept was tested a number of times in this show, starting in the Battle Rounds with the exit of many fantastic singers such as Butch Williams, Pamela Falcon, Giovanni Costello and others, and continued during the live shows with the highly questionable departures of Rüdiger, Percival, Rino, Ramona and yours truly. Indeed, many in Germany – rightly so, in my opinion – questioned the credibility of the show,...

The finale of The Voice of Germany is here. Many people know by now the many emotional phases the I’ve gone through regarding this show, but for all the ups and downs I’ve experienced, I’m filled with a sense of pride that one of my best friends and musical twin sister, Kim Sanders, has made it to the place I once hoped to be. For me, Kim embodies what the “Voice of Germany” is (or should have been) all about. Here’s why. I’ve known Kim since 1995, when we were both active in the Eurodance scene. We met one night at a Sony label party in Krefeld (we were label mates at that time); I was with my project The Free, she was performing her first solo single. As most lasting friendships go, we did not hit it off immediately, but...

[DISCLAIMER: these are my personal views and do not reflect any insider information about "The Voice of Germany".] “I thought it was a singing competition, but in the end it’s just a television show”, Butch Williams proclaimed after his departure from “The Voice of Germany”. Back then I thought his statement was just a case of sour grapes; only later did I realize the wisdom of his words. His opinion resonates with the majority of the pro and semi-pro musicians who were a part of the show who, like me, asked the question: is this finally a talent show “for us”, or are we pawns in a game designed to boost the credibility of yet another new casting show? As many who watched the show in the beginning recognized, a little less...

It’s been two weeks now since my departure from the casting show “The Voice Of Germany”, and a lot has gone through my mind in that time. I’ve gone through many different stages of dealing with the situation: denial, sadness, anger, depression, and acceptance, all finally helping me come to the conclusion that maybe it wasn’t meant to be after all. Strangely, it was this conclusion that lead me recently to revisit one of those stages: the anger stage. Here’s why. I’ve been trying to break into the German music scene since 1989. The main reason I came back to Germany was to persue my dream of being in the music business and becoming a star. I have done everything one could possibly do to break into the business. I’ve...