The Perfect Gentleman – René Bishop

René Bishop, a 71-year-old whose smooth, silky voice took the competition by storm. The senior from Deventer (located in the Overijssel province of the Netherlands) travelled to The Voice Senior auditions hoping to make his lifelong dream come true. For his audition, he chose to sing the 1950s song “Unchained Melody.”

The album René Bishop - A Perfect Gentleman was released in August on the Master Tape and CD. “Unchained Melody” was written for the 1955 prison movie Unchained, where the lead character contemplates escaping prison to live life on the run or finishing his sentence to return home to his wife and family. The song, most notably popularized by The Righteous Brothers, describes a person longing for a lover whom they haven’t seen in a very long time.

When René took the stage in a sleek, pin-stripe suit, his rich voice immediately caught the judges by surprise.

"Pretty talented pensioners on The Voice Senior, but Bishop stood out to us for his beautiful rendition of an Elvis Presley classic". Talent comes in all shapes and sizes and for some people, age is nothing but a number. For a lot of singers, they don’t lose their ability in their later years which is what The Voice Senior wanted to prove. For the judges, hearing René’s stunning vocals reminded them of ‘The King’ himself.

The show starts the same as any other, the judges are facing the opposite direction in the red chairs as the contestant starts to sing. But as soon as René started belting out ‘Unchained Melody’ the whole room erupted into cheers.

We can’t help but think he was truly channelling Elvis in his performance. At 71 years old, his vocals were flawless and his stage presence was a marvel. But when René hit that high note, wow!

Don’t let the age fool you, this man is a powerhouse with some seriously strong vocals. The whole room was applauding and the judges, of course, turned around for René Bishop after his flawless performance.

Tracks

01 Voy a pagar la luz/ contigo aprendi - René Bishop Luis Miguel
02 Can’t help falling in love - René Bishop Hugo Peretti
03 You raised me up - René Bishop Rolf Lovland
04 Amor externo - René Bishop Juan Gabriel
05 Love is all - René Bishop Berry Mason
06 Am I that easy to forget - René Bishop Carl Beliew
07 And I love you so - René Bishop Don Mclean
08 Secret love - René Bishop Paul Francis Webster
09 Unchained melody - René Bishop Alex North
10 She - René Bishop Herbert Kretzman
11 Island in the sun - René Bishop Lord Burgess
12 When I close my eyes - René Bishop Herman Beeftink