Of course, it sounds more “real” to our ears with a song in English, but the English also becomes a bit of a blanket. Something you hold onto to feel secure.
Perhaps purely from something the artist hides behind. Because surely it is the case, for most of us, that if we are to express our deepest feelings, we do so in our mother tongue? If you are going to argue with someone, or for that matter declare your eternal love, you do it most naturally in the language you grew up with.
What I want to see is their soul
What I always want to hear from the participants is who they really are. What I want to see is their soul, who they are on the inside. Authenticity is in my eyes (well, or ears) one of the most important things I look for when meeting a new artist. Do I believe what the person is singing? Does it feel true?
In the reality we’ve found ourselves in in recent years, after AI has gotten so good at making music, I’m absolutely convinced that it’s the authenticity that will separate the humans from the machines. Our little quirks, our personality traits, our commitment.
Our hearts.
That’s why I thought it was extra fun to hear the idols sing in Swedish today, because it’s a little scarier for them, a little more revealing.
When they can’t hide behind the English, my job on the jury becomes a little easier.
My favourites
Some of them did a little extra well tonight, that’s always the case.
My favorites today were Margaux, Leo, Minou and Joel, they really set both the song choice and performance perfectly. Even though they are so different as artists, they have one thing in common that they make me happy, because they seem to have the same first language as me. The music.
I’m giving this quartet a little extra credit today, but the others all came in an honorable fifth place, there were many fine performances on the Idol Stage this evening.
Autism and a lot of ADHD
Regardless of the beautiful singing, I also want to give another compliment to Margaux, who I think is so incredibly impressive. She and I have in common that we both have slightly different functional requirements than everyone else. She has an autism diagnosis and I have a lot of ADHD.
Since I travel around lecturing about ADHD and trying to get people to DARE, it’s extra gratifying when I meet someone who really does and doesn’t let their diagnosis stop them. That warms the Bagge heart and brings a little tear of pride to my eye.
Hate to send participants home
Finally, I want to say that if I were the program director at TV4, Idol would be a strange program. I hate to send participants home, because I think they are all so amazing. I would rather vote IN two new participants every Saturday. But then we would start the autumn with Idol and end with Körslaget and that is a completely different programme. And we can’t have it like that.
Or?