{"id":10027,"date":"2025-09-19T00:48:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-18T21:48:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/istori.website\/?p=10027"},"modified":"2025-09-19T01:28:52","modified_gmt":"2025-09-18T22:28:52","slug":"lukas-journey-winning-the-voice-touring-with-hooverphonic-and-starting-over","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/istori.website\/?p=10027","title":{"rendered":"Luka\u2019s Journey: Winning The Voice, Touring with Hooverphonic, and Starting Over"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

When Luka Cruysberghs stepped onto The Voice van Vlaanderen<\/em> stage in 2017, she was just 16 years old. Nervous but focused, she sang a dark, brooding version of \u201cSweet Dreams\u201d<\/em> \u2014 inspired by Marilyn Manson\u2019s cover, not the original. It was bold, unexpected, and it worked. All four coaches turned around. Luka chose Alex Callier from Hooverphonic as her coach \u2014 a choice that would shape her future in ways no one fully expected.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the end of the season, Luka had won the whole competition. She made history as the youngest winner of the show in Flanders. But what followed wasn\u2019t just fame or celebration \u2014 it was real work, real pressure, and a fast entry into the music industry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not long after her win, Luka was invited to join Hooverphonic as their new lead singer. She was only 17. The band was already well-established, with a huge fanbase and international tours lined up. For Luka, it was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity \u2014 and a huge leap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Over the next two years, she toured across Europe, the U.S., and Japan. She stood on big stages, sang in front of thousands, and gained experience most young artists can only dream of. But it wasn\u2019t all smooth sailing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In late 2020, the band announced that their former singer, Geike Arnaert, was returning \u2014 and that Luka was out. She says she found out just one hour before the news went public, over a Zoom call. The decision hit her hard, not just because it ended a major chapter of her life, but because of the way it was handled. It felt cold. Distant. Like a business transaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting From Scratch, But This Time Her Way<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Source: Screenshot from the official The Voice van Vlaanderen<\/em> YouTube channel<\/sup><\/p>\n\n\n\n

After leaving Hooverphonic, Luka had a choice: step away from music entirely, or try to find her own voice \u2014 separate from the band, the TV show, and the expectations.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She chose to keep going, but this time, on her own terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Her first solo single, \u201cNot Too Late\u201d<\/em>, came out in 2021. It was followed by an EP called Insomnia, and eventually her debut full-length album, Need You In The Light, in 2024. The sound was more stripped-down. Less polished. More real.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This wasn\u2019t just a shift in style \u2014 it was a shift in control. Luka turned down offers from big record labels in favor of independence. She built a small team, self-funded her projects, and made the music she actually wanted to make \u2014 even if that meant slower growth, smaller stages, or fewer guarantees.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

One of the most personal songs she\u2019s written is the title track of her album Need You In The Light<\/em>. It\u2019s about her grandmother, who passed away after a long struggle with Alzheimer\u2019s. The song is soft and vulnerable \u2014 not a performance, but a tribute.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That experience didn\u2019t just inspire music \u2014 it also led Luka to get involved with Alzheimer\u2019s awareness campaigns. She became an ambassador for the Alzheimer Research Foundation in Belgium, using her platform to talk about memory, identity, and loss \u2014 themes that echo throughout her work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2024, Luka returned to television \u2014 not as a solo artist, but as part of a duo called Aqua Riyaz, alongside singer Justin Degryse. They competed in Sing Again<\/em> on VTM, reaching the final stages with a cover of \u201cHabibi\u201d<\/em> by Tamino. It was a quiet reminder that Luka\u2019s voice still resonates \u2014 but now, on her own terms.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Where She Is Now<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

At 24, Luka is still figuring things out \u2014 but now with more clarity. She\u2019s not chasing stardom. She\u2019s focused on honest music, real connection, and creative control. It\u2019s not always easy. There\u2019s less certainty, less security. But there\u2019s also more freedom.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She\u2019s no longer the teenager who surprised everyone on The Voice<\/em>. She\u2019s a young artist carving her own path \u2014 slowly, deliberately, and with a deep understanding of what the industry gives\u2026 and what it can take away.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

No filters. No fake smiles. Just real music, from someone who\u2019s lived more than most artists twice her age.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n