# Leona Philippo > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Leona_Philippo > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Leona_Philippo.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leona_Philippo > Source revision: 1336289220 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Canadian-born singer of Jamaican descent This biography of a living person needs additional citations for verification. Please help by adding reliable sources. Contentious material about living persons that is unsourced or poorly sourced must be removed immediately from the article and its talk page, especially if potentially libelous. Find sources: "Leona Philippo" – news · newspapers · books · scholar · JSTOR (April 2013) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Leona Philippo Philippo during Bevrijdingsfestival (2012) Background information Born (1979-09-06) 6 September 1979 (age 46) Guelph, Canada Genres Pop, R&B Occupations Singer, songwriter Instruments Vocals, piano Years active 2001 – present Label Lions Den Records Website www.leonaphilippo.com Musical artist **Leona Philippo** (born 6 September[1] 1979 in [Guelph](/source/Guelph)) is a Canadian-born Dutch singer-songwriter of Jamaican origin. On 14 December 2012, she won the title for [season 3](/source/The_Voice_of_Holland_(season_3)) of the Dutch reality television music competition *[The Voice of Holland](/source/The_Voice_of_Holland)*. She is also often credited simply as **Leona**. ## Career Born in Guelph, she started music very early learning the piano. When she was 6, she moved with her adoptive family to the Netherlands. In 1998, she recorded materials in Hollywood, Los Angeles made available as a demo. Later she moved back to Holland, to [Rotterdam](/source/Rotterdam) She also took part with R&B band [Sat-R-Day](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sat-R-Day&action=edit&redlink=1) [[nl](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sat-R-Day)] performing at various locations including at the [Rotterdam Ahoy](/source/Rotterdam_Ahoy). She left the band after three years. Leaving the Conservatory after three years of studies, she joined band [Nits](/source/Nits_(band)) as vocalist and toured with them in their Wool Tour in 2000 performing throughout Europe and in Japan. In 2001, Philippo starred in *[Aida](/source/Aida_(musical))*, a musical directed by [Joop van den Ende](/source/Joop_van_den_Ende). She also took part in a string of musical stage acts, notably [Big, Black & Beautiful](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Big,_Black_%26_Beautiful&action=edit&redlink=1) [[nl](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Big,_Black_%26_Beautiful)]: *A Tribute to the Girl Groups*, and in *A Tribute to The [Blues Brothers](/source/Blues_Brothers)*. In 2004–2005, she appeared in Dutch television series *Het glazen huis* in a leading role of Bibi Kruyswijk. She was also in backing vocals for a number of touring artists including [Trijntje Oosterhuis](/source/Trijntje_Oosterhuis), Total Touch, [Kane](/source/Kane_(Dutch_band)) and [Candy Dulfer](/source/Candy_Dulfer). In 2008, she also made guest appearances during *[Symphonica in Rosso](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Symphonica_in_Rosso_(concert)&action=edit&redlink=1) [[nl](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Symphonica_in_Rosso)]* concert of [Lionel Richie](/source/Lionel_Richie). In 2009, her single "Shake Ya Tailfeather" was promoted as Radio 501 favourite upcoming hit. In 2011, she returned to musical stage theatre with *A Tribute to [Michael Jackson](/source/Michael_Jackson)* and in *The Songs from the movie [Sister Act](/source/Sister_Act)*. In 2012, she acted in the Dutch drama *[Lijn 32](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lijn_32&action=edit&redlink=1) [[nl](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lijn_32)]*, *Stars For Planet Earth* and acted in the 2012 film release *[De groeten van Mike!](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=De_groeten_van_Mike!&action=edit&redlink=1) [[nl](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/De_groeten_van_Mike!)]* as Laetitia Jurna after having appeared in a string of films and TV series in a variety of roles. ## In *The Voice of Holland* In 2012, she auditioned for [season 3](/source/The_Voice_of_Holland_(season_3)) of the Dutch reality television music competition *[The Voice of Holland](/source/The_Voice_of_Holland)* with the song "[Mesmerized](/source/Mesmerized_(song))" on the first day of the blind auditions with all four judges, [Marco Borsato](/source/Marco_Borsato), [Trijntje Oosterhuis](/source/Trijntje_Oosterhuis), [Nick & Simon](/source/Nick_%26_Simon) and [Roel van Velzen](/source/Roel_van_Velzen) pressing their "I Want You" buttons and turning their chairs. She chose to be part of Team Trijntje. Progressing successfully through all rounds, in the final she sang "[Could You Be Loved](/source/Could_You_Be_Loved)" winning with 54.6% of the public vote against runner up [Johannes Rypma](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Johannes_Rypma&action=edit&redlink=1) [[nl](https://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Johannes_Rypma)] from Team Nick & Simon with 45.4% of the votes. **Performances** - Blind Audition: "[Mesmerized](/source/Mesmerized_(song))" Result: Team Trijntje - Battle round: "Always There" (facing Gerrie van Dijk-Dantuma). Result: To the live shows - Live show 1: "[I Just Want to Make Love to You](/source/I_Just_Want_to_Make_Love_to_You)" (full 10.0 from all four judges) - Live show 3: "[Livin' on a Prayer](/source/Livin'_on_a_Prayer)" (average 8.5 from the judges. To next round) - Quarter finals: "[Addicted to Love](/source/Addicted_to_Love_(song))" (9.3 from judges. Total average 74.3. To next round) - Semi-finals: "[(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman](/source/(You_Make_Me_Feel_Like)_A_Natural_Woman)" (9.3 from judges. Total average 129.1. Third best overall. To final) - Final: "[Could You Be Loved](/source/Could_You_Be_Loved)" (winner's song) / "Mesmerized" / "Knocked out" with coach [Trijntje Oosterhuis](/source/Trijntje_Oosterhuis). Result Winner of *Voice of Holland* with 54.6% of the popular votes ## After *The Voice of Holland* After winning, she signed a contract with 8ball Music that released her winning song, a [Bob Marley](/source/Bob_Marley) cover. Leona's release reached number 2 of the [Dutch Top 40](/source/Dutch_Top_40) charts and reached number 1 in Dutch [Single Top 100](/source/Single_Top_100) charts. ## Discography ### Albums **Studio albums** - 2006: *The Official Bootleg Volume 1* - 2009: *Strut It!* **Live albums** - 2010: *Concert for Freedom* ### Singles (Selective) - 2002: "Zomer op je radio / Summer on Your Radio" - 2006: "I'd Like to Teach the World to Sing" - 2012: "Could You Be Loved" (Winning song in *[The Voice of Holland](/source/The_Voice_of_Holland)*) **Other download releases from *The Voice of Holland* interpretations** - 2012: "Mesmerized" - 2012: "I Just Want to Make Love to You" - 2012: "[Livin' on a Prayer](/source/Livin'_on_a_Prayer)" - 2012: "Addicted to Love" ## Filmography - 2003: *[Phileine Says Sorry](/source/Phileine_Says_Sorry)* Joanne - 2005: *[Johan](/source/Johan_(2005_film))* as Hester - 2006: *[Wild Romance](/source/Wild_Romance_(film))* as Bombita 2 - 2006: *Afdwalen* (short film) - 2007: *[Alles is Liefde](/source/Alles_is_Liefde)* - 2008: *Ver van familie* as Filonia - 2010: *[The Happy Housewife](/source/The_Happy_Housewife)* - 2012: *De groeten van Mike!* as Laetitia Jurna **Television** - 2004–2005: *Het Glazen Huis* as Bibi Kruyswijk - 2002–2012: Roles in various episodes of *Trauma 24/7* (2002), *Grijpstra & De Gier* (2004), *Man & Paard* (2006, *Verborgen Gebreken* (2010), *Lijn 32* (2012) ## Theater / Musical theater - *Sinbad the Sailor* - *Wind in the Willow* - *Little Miss Muffet* - *[Aida](/source/Aida_(musical))* - *Big, Black & Beautiful* - *Mussen & Zwanen* - *MC Shake* - *Helden* (musical) - *Kings & Queens* - *Stars for Planet Earth* **Others** - *Concert for Freedom* - *The Official Tribute to the [Blues Brothers](/source/Blues_Brothers)* - *Tribute to Michael Jackson* - *Sister Act* songs ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Latin Emagazine | Leona Philippo"](https://www.latin-magazine.com/NL/interviews/2013/Leona-Philippo.html). *www.latin-magazine.com*. Retrieved 13 May 2025. ## External links - [Official website](http://www.leonaphilippo.com/) - [Leona Philippo](https://www.imdb.com/name/nm1344373/) at [IMDb](/source/IMDb_(identifier)) Awards and achievements Preceded by Iris Kroes The Voice of Holland Winner 2012 Succeeded by Julia van der Toorn Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Leona Philippo](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Leona_Philippo). v t e The Voice of Holland Series 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Winners Ben Saunders Iris Kroes Leona Philippo Julia van der Toorn O'G3NE Maan Pleun Bierbooms Jim van der Zee Dennis van Aarssen Sophia Kruithof Dani van Velthoven Ruben Hillen Notable contestants Leonie Meijer Raffaëla Paton Joan Franka Sharon Doorson Floortje Smit Sandra van Nieuwland Ron Link Niña van Dijk Duncan Laurence Brace Navarone Related articles The Voice Kids The Voice Senior One Thousand Voices Authority control databases International ISNI Artists MusicBrainz --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Leona Philippo](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leona_Philippo) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Leona_Philippo?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.