Melissa Khalaj has offered fans a glimpse of her early years by sharing a childhood photograph taken around her 37th birthday. The image shows the future television presenter smiling in a flower bed, with the energy and joy that have since become part of her public performances.
Today, Khalaj is one of the presenters of The Voice of Germany, but her connection with the stage began long before she appeared on the singing competition. As a child, she enjoyed dancing and singing in front of friends and relatives. Speaking to the women’s and family magazine Glow, she said the stage had always been a place where she felt comfortable and able to be herself.
The Munich-born presenter, who has Iranian roots, first entered the public eye as a participant and singer on the sixth season of Popstars. Although she did not become part of the band the programme was looking for, she later joined Charly Bravo. With that group, she also took part in Stefan Raab’s Bundesvision Song Contest.
Khalaj left the band in 2013 and successfully applied for a presenting role at youth channel Joiz Germany. According to her interview with Glow, she had only three weeks to move to Berlin after receiving the job offer. Over the following two years, she hosted several talk shows, presented a web show connected to Germany’s Next Topmodel and appeared on Circus Halligalli.
After departing Joiz, Khalaj moved to sixx and hosted the channel’s highlights programme for the 2015 Grammy Awards. In 2017, she presented several programmes linked to Promi Big Brother with Aaron Troschke, including Promi Big Brother – Die Late Night Show.
Her work in music television continued in 2019, when she began hosting The Voice Kids. Three years later, she also became a presenter on The Voice of Germany, placing her on one of German television’s major music stages. In the current season, she appears alongside Matthias Killing after Thore Schölermann stepped down from his long-running presenting role.
Singing has remained part of Khalaj’s career as well. She competed as the Frottee Elephant in the eighth season of The Masked Singer and finished in fourth place. Her childhood photograph therefore offers a simple visual link between the young performer smiling among the flowers and the presenter who continues to combine television work with her passion for music.
