Carola Häggkvist, 58, broke through successfully as a 16-year-old when she won the Melodifestivalen in 1983 with “Främling”. After the victory in the Schlagerfestivalen, she has managed to participate four more times, toured with records and Christmas concerts, and appeared in “So much better” – just to name a few merits from her career.
Carola is one of Sweden’s most popular singers and in 2023 she celebrated 40 years as an artist. But the career has not always been bright.
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Carola Häggkvist 2023. Photo: Stina Stjernkvist/SvD/TTCarola Häggkvist takes part in “The question is free”
Recently, SVT premiered the interview program – “The question is free”. The format, originally from France, stands out with unfiltered questions and honest answers in a new way.
“Some of the country’s biggest profiles are interviewed by reporters on the autism spectrum or with intellectual disabilities. Unfiltered questions get unique answers,” writes SVT in the program description.
Carola Häggkvist is interviewed in the second episode of the season after the city minister Ulf Kristerssons premiere episode. Other profiles that will appear in the program are the author Camilla Läckberg, the artist Lars Lerin and the artist Veronica Maggio.
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Opens up about the dark times and the relationship with his father
One of the reporters asks about Carola’s relationship with her father, who was also her manager.
“Your father was your manager. Did you have your own voice against your father?”, asks Ellen.
Carola replies that her father always protected and took care of her while being her manager. However, there have been others on her team who have not always had her best interests at heart.
– It wasn’t easy because I had other board men and old men around me, both record companies and managers who perhaps didn’t really have the fatherly heart that dad had, Carola says.
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Risked prison – “The worst thing I’ve experienced”
Carola receives a follow-up question about whether she felt that she did not have control over her own life. It takes her back to the US when she was supposed to record a record with the “Bee Gees”, which she says she reluctantly did.
– In me it was a red light, it was no no no. But I had a lot of people who still thought I should sign this foreign contract because things were going so well at home.
She wanted to withdraw but was then told that the consequences would be so serious that it was not possible to cancel.
– It would cost so much that my father would have to pay it off in prison, it’s a threat, and it’s probably one of the worst things I’ve ever experienced, says Carola in the program.
Maurice Gibb from “Bee Gees” and Carola Häggkvist. Photo: Archive picture TT
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