Emma Kok (Utrecht, Netherlands), winner of The Voice Kids 2021 (when she was 12 years old) and Ministars 2023, interpreting the theme by Barbara Pravi who represented France at Eurovision 2021 in Rotterdam, together with the Johann Strauss orchestra conducted by the well-known André Rieu. Emma suffers from a rare gastric disease, so she created her own foundation called Gastrostars to raise funds.
15 Year Old Emma Kok
Sings: « Voilà »
André Rieu, Maastricht 2023
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Paroles🇫🇷📜🇺🇸Lyrics🇬🇧 @ Bottomof Page 👀
Emma Kok suffers from a rare disease calledgastroparesiswhich causes her stomach muscles to paralyze and she can't eat, so she is connected to a feeding tube since the age of nine months.
«I have a chronic illness called “gastroparesis” which means that my stomach is paralyzed and it really hurts. And the only medicion that works for me is singing! »
In February 2023, Kok won the inaugural season of Ministarswith her rendition of "Voilà" by Barbara Pravi. Dutch violinist and conductor André Rieu,
also from Maastricht, was reportedly so impressed with Kok's
performance that he invited her to perform "Voilà" at his annual concert
series at the Vrijthof in July 2023.
This performance soon went viral, amassing 2.6 million views in five days. She went on to release three covers with Rieu in 2023: "Voilà", "White Christmas".
Gastroparesis means paralysis of the stomach. It's a functional disorder affecting your stomach nerves and muscles. It makes your stomach muscle contractions weaker and slower than they need to be to digest your food and pass it on to your intestines. This leads to food sitting too long in your stomach.