VERONIQUE JANSE VAN RENSBURG REDEEMS HERSELF WHEN SHE RETURNS TO THE STAGE FOR THE SECOND TIME IN M-NET’S ‘THE VOICE SA’
IF AT FIRST you don’t succeed, try, try again. And that’s exactly what Veronique Janse van Rensburg did on The Voice SA last night.
Hers is quite an interesting journey, more so with her being the daughter of legendary bass player, Denny Lallouette.
The 35-year-old singer says, “He’s been in the industry for almost 40 years. And my mum was dancing in shows. So the musical gene definitely runs in the family. But they never kind of pushed it.”
While she gravitated towards singing at a young age, it was only when she was older that the bug really bit.
Her small screen journey towards realising this dream started on Idols SA.
She offers, “I auditioned in the third season (as Veronique Lallouette). Everyone called me ‘V’ then. I came fourth in the competition.”
After that, she released her debut album, As I am, independently.
Janse van Rensburg notes, “We weren’t offered any deals then. But I did have creative freedom over the album. It’s still available on iTunes. It is a mixed bag (of genres). There’s some country in there. Overall, it’s an adult pop contemporary release.”
Amid all of this, she also got to experience the bittersweet joys of motherhood.
She shares, “My baby has just turned four. It was an emotional time for me. We planned for him. And while I consider myself a very maternal person, it was harder than I could ever have imagined. But I got medication for my postpartum depression and then got myself off it.”
Interestingly, music played a strong hand in prying her out of her state of despair. Well, that and her supportive family, of course.
She admits, “I don’t know how I would have done it without my mum, mother-in-law and sister… My husband has been amazing. He has no problem watching our son if I have gigs or need to go to the studio.”
On her decision to take the plunge and compete in The Voice SA for a second time, she laughs, “At the beginning of last year, I had quite a kick up my ass. I wasn’t getting booked and what was going on with me was taking away from my passion. That’s when I realised that I needed to get back to doing what I love. I needed to put my big girl panties on and do this.”
Also, she felt she had to redeem herself after a not-so-memorable audition for the first season.
Rather than go with an unfamiliar tune, she opted to belt out Tina Turner’s River Deep, Mountain High.
She recalls, “It’s a song I can sing with my eyes closed. And I knew I could give it my all. When I was singing and they weren’t turning, I was like, ‘Argh, it’s fine. I’m enjoying myself.’ At that moment, Lira and Karen (Zoid) turned. I almost burst into tears.”
What made the moment even more special was having her dad, who is in The Voice SA band, witness her triumphant return.
She laughs, “I think it was a lot more pressurised for him.”
As for her focus – career wise – right now, she says, “I want to make the most of every time I get on stage as you never know when it’s going to be your last performance. And I want to take my performance as far as I possibly can.”
With her perseverance paying off, it looks like Janse van Rensburg will be leaving an indelible impression. Good luck to her! M-Net (DStv Channel 101) Sundays at 5.30pm.