| Starring: | Frits Sissing (Host) Pia Douwes (Judge) Erwin van Lambaart (Judge) Paul de Leeuw (Judge) |
| Channel: | AVRO |
| Num Seasons: | 1 |
| Country: | Netherlands |
| Producer: | Eyeworks |
Op zoek naar Joseph (Looking for Joseph) was a 2008 talent show-themed television series produced by the AVRO in the Netherlands. It searched for a new, unknown lead to play Joseph in a 2009 Dutch revival of the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
The show was hosted by Frits Sissing, who announced Freek Bartels as the winner of the final public telephone vote on 26 October 2008.
It was the second Dutch talent show to be produced by the AVRO/Willem Nijholt, after Op zoek naar Evita. A third talent show, this time called Op zoek naar Mary Poppins aired in 2009, Op zoek naar Zorro aired in late 2010, Op zoek naar Annie aired in 2012, Op zoek naar Maria aired in 2021 and Op zoek naar Danny & Sandy aired in late 2022.
A similar format has been used as well in the United Kingdom in 2007, with the show Any Dream Will Do taking an unknown singer and placing the winner in the lead role for the 2007 performances in the West End. On 9 June 2007, Lee Mead was announced the winner of this show.
It is speculated that a Canadian edition will be produced in the wake of Mirvish Productions' production of the same musical.
An expert panel provided advice to the contestants throughout the series, and provided comments during the live shows. The panel was made up of:
The final eleven contestants competed in the live studio finals held on Sunday nights over eight weeks. Each week the contestants sang and performed during the live show, receiving comments from the judges following their performance. The public then got a chance to vote for their favourite Joseph, and the two contestants with the fewest votes performed a sing-off in front of Nijholt, who then decided which Joseph to keep in the contest. This was repeated with the top ten, the top nine, the top eight, the top seven, the top six, the top five and the top four.
Nijholt had no say in the final casting decision, when in the concluding edition of the series it was left to the public to choose who should play Joseph out of the final two contenders, Freek Bartels and John Vooijs. After more votes were cast, the winning entrant was revealed as Bartels, who won a contract to play Joseph at the Stadsschouwburg in Amsterdam.
Eleven potential Josephs made it through the auditions process to perform during the live shows.
| Finalist | Age* | Date of birth | Coat colour | Status | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robbert van den Bergh | 25 | March 10, 1983 | Pastel blue | Eliminated 1st in week 1 | |
| Adriaan Korrnenberg | 25 | October 1, 1982 | Pink | Eliminated 2nd in week 2 | |
| Hein Gerrits | 27 | May 9, 1981 | Lime green | Eliminated 3rd in week 3 | |
| Remko Harms | 26 | November 5, 1981 | Dark green | Eliminated 4th in week 3 | |
| Baer Jonkers | 24 | May 29, 1984 | Dark blue | Eliminated 5th in week 4 | |
| Amir Vahidi | 18 | August 1, 1990 | Red | Eliminated 6th in week 5 | |
| Mathijs Pater | 24 | January 17, 1984 | Light blue | Eliminated 7th in week 6 | |
| Robin van den Akker | 29 | July 21, 1979 | Turquoise | Eliminated 8th in week 7 | |
| Roy van Iersel | 21 | September 11, 1986 | Yellow | Third place | |
| John Vooijs | 29 | March 26, 1979 | Purple | Second place | |
| Freek Bartels | 21 | October 24, 1986 | Orange | Winner |
| Place | Contestant | Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5 | Week 6 | Week 7 | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Part 1 | Part 2 | ||||||||||
| 1 | Freek | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Winner | |
| 2 | John | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom 2 | Safe | Safe | Second place | |
| 3 | Roy | Bottom 2 | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom 2 | Third place | |
| 4 | Robin | Safe | Safe | Safe | Bottom 2 | Bottom 2 | Safe | Bottom 2 | Eliminated | Eliminated | |
| 5 | Mathijs | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated | ||
| 6 | Amir | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated | |||
| 7 | Baer | Safe | Safe | Bottom 2 | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated | ||||
| 8 | Remko | Safe | Safe | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated | |||||
| 9 | Hein | Safe | Bottom 2 | Eliminated | Eliminated | ||||||
| 10 | Adriaan | Safe | Eliminated | Eliminated | |||||||
| 11 | Robbert | Eliminated | Eliminated | ||||||||
The live shows saw the finalists eliminated one by one following both individual and group performances. Once eliminated, eliminated Joseph then performed "Arme Jozef (Poor, Poor Joseph)\Sluit alle deuren (Close Every Door)" together with the remaining Josephs as his grand exit song, symbolically handing back his dreamcoat.
Following the first week of competition, Robbert was the first Joseph to be eliminated from the competition. The show performances were:
| Performance Pair | Order | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roy van Iersel | Pair 1 | 1 | "Nu (Now)" | Bottom 2 |
| Freek Bartels | 2 | "I Want to Break Free" | Safe | |
| Remko Harms | Pair 2 | 3 | "Waarom God (Why God Why)" | Safe |
| Adriaan Kroonenberg | 4 | "Vlieg met me mee" | Safe | |
| Hein Gerrits | Pair 3 | 5 | "Toen ik je zag" | Safe |
| Robbert van den Bergh | 6 | "Walking on Sunshine" | Bottom 2 | |
| Mathijs Pater | Solo Performance | 7 | "Go the Distance" | Safe |
| Robin van den Akker | Pair 4 | 8 | "Faith" | Safe |
| Baer Jonkers | 9 | "Maria" | Safe | |
| Amir Vahidi | Pair 5 | 10 | "Your Song" | Safe |
| John Vooijs | 11 | "Livin' On A Prayer" | Safe |
Sing-Off
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Roy van Iersel | "You'll Never Walk Alone" from Carousel | Saved by Nijholt |
| Robbert van der Bergh | Eliminated |
Adriaan was the second contestant to be eliminated from the series. The show performances were:
| Performance Pair | Order | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amir Vahidi | Pair 1 | 1 | "Ik leef niet meer voor jou" | Safe |
| Adriaan Kroonenberg | 2 | "On the Street Where You Live" | Bottom 2 | |
| John Vooijs | Pair 2 | 3 | "Lang is de nacht (Endless Night)" | Safe |
| Baer Jonkers | 4 | "Mack the Knife" | Safe | |
| Freek Bartels | Pair 3 | 5 | "Het gaat beginnen (Something's Coming)" | Safe |
| Remko Harms | 6 | "It's Not Unusual" | Safe | |
| Robin van den Akker | Pair 4 | 7 | "Papa" | Safe |
| Hein Gerrits | 8 | "Working My Way Back to You" | Bottom 2 | |
| Mathijs Pater | Pair 5 | 9 | "Fever" | Safe |
| Roy van Iersel | 10 | "Alsof je bij me bent" | Safe |
Sing-Off
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Hein Gerrits | "Ergens in de sterren (Written in the Stars)" from Aida | Saved by Nijholt |
| Adriaan Kroonenberg | Eliminated |
In a double elimination, two Josephs were voted off the series. The show performances were:
| Performance Pair | Order | Song | Results Part 1 | Results Part 2 | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Baer Jonkers | Pair 1 | 1 | "Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours" | Bottom 2 | Safe |
| Mathijs Pater | 2 | "Sandy" | Safe | Safe | |
| Roy van Iersel | Pair 2 | 3 | "Paint It, Black" | Safe | Safe |
| Remko Harms | 4 | "Van Haar Te Houden (If I Can't Love Her)" | Safe | Bottom 2 | |
| Hein Gerrits | Solo Performance | 5 | "Radeloos (First and Last\Tragedy)" | Bottom 2 | N/A (already eliminated) |
| Amir Vahidi | Pair 3 | 6 | "All I Care About is Love" | Safe | Safe |
| John Vooijs | 7 | "De vleugels van mijn vlucht (Wind Beneath My Wings)" | Safe | Safe | |
| Freek Bartels | Pair 4 | 8 | "Man in the Mirror" | Safe | Safe |
| Robin van den Akker | 9 | "Zij leven voort (They Live In You)" | Safe | Bottom 2 |
Sing-off 1:
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Baer Jonkers | "The Impossible Dream" from Man of La Mancha | Saved by Nijholt |
| Hein Gerrits | Eliminated |
Sing-off 2:
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Remko Harms | "Laat Me" by Ramses Shaffy | Eliminated |
| Robin van den Akker | Saved by Nijholt |
Baer became the fourth contestant to hear he was not Joseph. The show performances were:
| Performance Pair | Order | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robin van den Akker | Pair 1 | 1 | "Ain't That a Kick in the Head?" | Bottom 2 |
| Baer Jonkers | 2 | "Alles is liefde" | Bottom 2 | |
| Freek Bartels | Pair 2 | 3 | "Yesterday" | Safe |
| John Vooijs | 4 | "Oorlog in mij" | Safe | |
| Roy van Iersel | Solo Performance | 5 | "Everything" | Safe |
| Mathijs Pater | Pair 3 | 6 | "Proud of Your Boy" | Safe |
| Amir Vahidi | 7 | "Ik vroeg te veel" | Safe |
Sing-Off
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Baer Jonkers | "Hoog vloog je, te hoog (High Flying Adored)" from Evita | Eliminated |
| Robin van den Akker | Saved by Nijholt |
With only six finalists remaining, the Josephs were announced in sets of three and performed in a trio as well as their individual performances. Amir became the fifth contestant to hear he would not be Joseph. The show performances were:
| Performance Pair | Order | Song | Result | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| John Vooijs | Pair 1 | 1 | "Kon ik nog maar even bij je zijn" | Bottom 2 |
| Freek Bartels | 2 | "Kom Kees" | Safe | |
| Mathijs Pater | Pair 2 | 3 | "Laat me niet alleen (Ne me quitte pas)" | Safe |
| Amir Vahidi | 4 | "Terug naar toen (Journey to the Past)" | Bottom 2 | |
| Robin van den Akker | Pair 3 | 5 | "Verloren Verleden (Everything That I Am)" | Safe |
| Roy van Iersel | 6 | "Waar is de zon?" | Safe |
Sing-Off
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| John Vooijs | "Zij gelooft in mij (She Believes in Me)" by André Hazes | Saved by Nijholt |
| Amir Vahidi | Eliminated |
In the quarter-final, the sixth Joseph to be eliminated was Mathijs. The show performances were:
| Order | First song | Order | Second song | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Robin van den Akker | 1 | "Crazy Little Thing Called Love" | 6 | "Sinds een dag of twee" | Bottom 2 | |
| John Vooijs | 2 | "One Song Glory" | 8 | "Hocus Pocus" | Safe | |
| Freek Bartels | 3 | "Ga Nou Maar Gewoon (Ease on Down the Road)" | 7 | "This is the Moment" | Safe | |
| Mathijs Pater | 4 | "Chim Chim Cher-ee" | 10 | "Copacabana" | Bottom 2 | |
| Roy van Iersel | 5 | "Jailhouse Rock" | 9 | "Lege Stoelen, Lege Tafels (Empty Chairs at Empty Tables)" | Safe |
Sing-Off
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Robin van den Akker | "Pak maar m'n hand" by Nick & Simon | Saved by Nijholt |
| Mathijs Pater | Eliminated |
In the semi-final, the seventh and final Joseph to be eliminated was Robin. The show performances were:
| Order | First song | Order | Second song | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Freek Bartels | 1 | "Vanmorgen vloog ze nog" | 5 | "You Raise Me Up" | Safe | |
| Roy van Iersel | 2 | "New York, New York" | 6 | "Onbeschirjfelijk Mooi (Indiscribablely Beautiful)" | Bottom 2 | |
| Robin van den Akker | 3 | "Lef" | 7 | "Mr. Bojangles" | Bottom 2 | |
| John Vooijs | 4 | "Anyone Who Had a Heart" | 8 | "Nooit een acht" | Safe |
Sing-Off
| Sing Off Song | Results | |
|---|---|---|
| Roy van Iersel | "Telkens weer" by Willeke Alberti | Saved by Nijholt |
| Robin van den Akker | Eliminated |
The grand finale saw Freek win the competition, with John coming second and Roy third. The show performances were:
| Order | First song | Order | Second song | Result | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Roy van Iersel | 1 | "Daar Buiten (Out There)" | N/A | N/A (already eliminated) | Eliminated | |
| Freek Bartels | 2 | "Gethsemane" | 4 | "Sluit Alle Deuren (Close Every Door)" | Winner | |
| John Vooijs | 3 | "Verwarrend bestaan (Elaborate Lives)" | 5 | "Sluit Alle Deuren (Close Every Door)" | Runner-up |
Freek Bartels, along with the winner of the previous Nijholt reality show Op zoek naar Evita, Brigitte Heitzer, were the stars of a one-off Christmas Day special to air on AVRO, entitled Kerst met Joseph en Evita (Christmas with Joseph and Evita).