After The Voice final, UCU student Thijs pursues a music career

“People watching on TV see but a small piece of the year I spent working on The Voice of Holland,” says Thijs. His musical journey on the talent show began with an audition, followed by three preliminary rounds and the final, culminating in a live showdown on RTL Tonight on 8 May. His fellow contestant, Ruben, walked away with the coveted record deal.

I call Thijs a few days after the finale of The Voice of Holland (TVOH). Only a short while ago, we were sitting together in Humberto Tan’s studio. Now, he is a finalist on a reality show, and I'm in the audience. The long months in the spotlight have prepared him well for my journalistic questions. As his friend, I can't help but smile a little at his carefully considered answers, but as a journalist, I understand his caution. These days, people can run wild with whatever he says, however trivial it may be. Conscious of these two roles, Thijs and I look back on his TVOH adventure: from a song that originated at University College Utrecht (UCU) to a sold-out concert at Tivoli Vredenburg and an upcoming tour.

At UCU

Thijs' musical side stood out the moment I met him at University College Utrecht. As a first-year student, he participated in the campus bar's open-mic nights every Monday. He was always making music, rounding up classmates to produce songs and practising for hours on UCU's out-of-tune pianos. He studied cell biology and chemistry, but never talked about that. Music was his main focus.

While on exchange in Berlin, he told me over the phone that he had signed up for the new season of TVOH. I was surprised: Thijs' profound approach to lyrics and composition seemed at odds with the show, which aims to reveal a singing star. Was that what he wanted, to take a shot at making it in the music industry? “I just want to try and give my own music a bigger platform,” he explained. 

Writing his own music has always been his greatest passion. Fly Away, a song about the Greek myth of Icarus, which he performed in small venues, was written in his student room. He laughed a little nervously when he admitted that yes, he wanted to give the music industry a go. A text message from his father ultimately tipped the scales, and Thijs submitted an application to TVOH.

The preliminary rounds

In the preliminary rounds, Thijs battled 3,000 other candidates by sending videos shot in Berlin. When he arrived back in the Netherlands, he got a call announcing that he'd been selected for the Blind Auditions. From that moment on, he was very busy. He went to class in the morning and then travelled by train to the TV studios in Hilversum for screenings, family interviews and rehearsals. The university granted him special permission to postpone his dissertation — something that is only permitted at UCU in very exceptional circumstances.

Everything had to be kept secret. No one on campus was allowed to know he was participating in TVOH, apart from a very small circle of friends who were also legally obliged to keep their mouths shut  — a difficult task in a small, close-knit environment such as UCU. “It was a bit strange, to be honest. It was great to be able to make music and study at the same time, but those were two very different lives. Fortunately, I was allowed to let you in on the secret,” reflects Thijs.

After months of secrecy, we were finally in the studio for his Blind Audition. We saw the coaches’ iconic red chairs. It was surreal to know that millions of people would be watching this later. Thijs was given a two-minute slot, like all participants. Onstage and then off again, in the blink of an eye. “If it’s not good, that's it, you're out. All the contestants can sing well, so it all comes down to that one moment.”

"I was taken very seriously"

During the performance, Thijs barely gave the coaches or the audience a thought. He didn’t even notice the huge cameras all around him. “I was just focused on doing it well. I had to prove it to myself.” He still remembered to wave to us after the performance.

His performance of Tom Odell’s Another Love earned him four turned chairs and a whirlwind of compliments from the coaches. Being recognised by professional artists was “bizarre", he says. "I was being taken really seriously, and this became clearer and clearer as the show went on.” His performance racked up millions of views on social media.

I was even more impressed when Thijs was allowed to sing his own song, following a request from the coaches Susan and Freek. Suddenly, Fly Away, the song he wrote at UCU and which we’d listened to so often, was reverberating through the studio. 

The hectic weeks

Thijs chose Dinand Woesthoff, from the band Kane, as his coach. The two hit it off straight away. “We were on the same wavelength, artistically.” Thanks to this, it was a version of TVOH with room for alternative performances, allowing Thijs’s musical preferences to remain virtually intact. He even had a say in the styling: the trousers he wore for the grand finale were made by his friend’s grandmother, and the red suit was an iconic piece at UCU dinners.

His performances in the semi-final and final were the crowning glory of his participation and development. For the semi-finals, he went for Rufus Wainwright's "Going to Town," a socially conscious song that resonated with his political concerns. The performance drove him to tears. “I was watching it yesterday, and I thought, 'Wow... I’m so proud of this performance.'” His choice of song for the final was similarly philosophical: All These Things I’ve Done, by The Killers. We even saw him jumping on a piano with protesting dancers all around him. “So, you can make artistic statements like that on TVOH,” he says.

The final was recorded in 2025 but aired only in May 2026. So, Thijs had to wait several months to know if he was the winner. 

Working on his own song

The finalists produced their own tracks during the "time off" in between. Thijs spent a few weeks in the studio, once again keeping everything a closely guarded secret. He was incredibly busy. When the song was ready, he called me, absolutely thrilled: for the first time, he had "a proper, fully finished track".

Thijs teamed up with a producer to turn Fly Away into a fully-fledged studio production. The lyrics remained virtually unchanged; only the title was changed to Lovely Day.

Meanwhile, a new episode of TVOH was airing every week. Thijs instantly became a crowd favourite. His Instagram grew to 50,000 followers and was flooded with private messages: compliments, suggestions for improvement, personal stories... His performances were streamed monthly by 185,000 Spotify accounts.

It’s quite unusual to find yourself in the public eye over something recorded half a year earlier. “Usually, you build up your fame step by step. With a show like that, you skip the whole process in one go,” says Thijs. People started recognising him on the street more and more often, especially in the final stages. Children would look at him and giggle at the movie theatre. “Then I was like, OK, this has really changed my life.”

The biggest challenge is learning to stay true to yourself while getting all that attention

In that sense, Thijs feels as though he has been on two journeys. The first was the talent show itself; the second was the media storm that followed. According to him, the biggest challenge is learning to stay true to yourself amid all that attention. 

Fortunately, UCU also helps him put things into perspective. On the international campus, many students aren’t familiar with the show. At UCU, he remains, above all, just a student.

A future in music

Ruben was the winner of TVOH 2026. The finalists, who had grown close during their shared adventure, were happy for each other. Thijs did not mind not winning, as he had long achieved his goal: “My goal of finding a bigger stage certainly worked out in the end.”

After the winner was announced, countless cameras rushed towards the performers, who, dressed in grand gowns and sparkling suits, only joined the after-party later on. The transformation from a dressed-up performer back to "just" Thijs happened quickly.

And just like that, after months of studios, cameras and secrecy, Thijs finally had a "normal" moment again. Catching up with him became a bit easier. Not that Thijs sat still for long: the day after the final, he posted an Instagram video announcing his first concert, at his home venue, TivoliVredenburg. 

The show was completely sold out after just five minutes. He announced more dates due to high demand, making his first tour of the Netherlands a reality. This autumn, Thijs will play eight sold-out venues while also finishing his thesis. 

He’s putting his master’s degree on hold for now. His sights are entirely set on a music career. 

Thijs’s grandfather
People who have been working at Utrecht University for a while would recognise his grandfather's name: Thijs is the grandson of Jan Veldhuis, Utrecht University President. Right after Jan Veldhuis retired, he intended to attend the university's anniversary celebrations, but couldn't because his grandson was born. Ublad, DUB's predecessor in print, wrote: “The happy grandfather spent the university's anniversary by the cradle of his grandson Matthijs, who weighs almost eight pounds.”