Idol is up and running again! In the premiere episode, the jury is in Stockholm and among many applicants, Liridon “Doni” Jusufi is one of them. With the self-written song “The Rain”, he touches all four.
– It feels like there is a pain behind that just comes out, says jury member Katia Mosally.
Cut off contact with his parents
Before Doni gets his golden ticket, Katia’s words prompt him to tell about the pain he carries.
– I have lost so many people in my life. My parents do not accept my sexual orientation. I’ve tried and tried and tried, but it doesn’t work, he says.
In one feature, we hear him share his family history, how he broke off contact with his parents two years ago.
– I got the feeling that I just fell, I couldn’t grasp a life without mum and dad. I always knew I was gay. I have understood that this will be tough, that this will be a pain in the ass, says Doni in the segment.
– I was constantly afraid that someone would find out. I guess I had no one… No one. Point. I had none, he continues.
“That’s why I do this”
For TV4, Doni now talks about his feelings before the episode is to be broadcast.
– Finally I feel, it’s time for me to be seen and heard a little. It feels great, he says.
Sharing your story has not been obvious before.
– I have been in the public world before and then I kept it a secret. But I now feel in this context that I have to stand up for myself, having said that it felt very natural to be able to say that to the jury, he says.
– But of course there was also a fear in that, what others will think and think. But I’m so damn ready to be motivated by it instead of scared.
He hasn’t thought about how his parents will react, until now.
– I haven’t given it any thought, now that I think about it, it’s clearly a delight mixed with horror. I don’t want to hurt them, somewhere there is love both ways. But there is a charm in daring to be who I am. It is both. I’m most interested in meeting the audience’s reactions, including people from Kosovo like me, or similar cultures who can relate. That’s why I do this, he says.
– That price is worth more than worry.
Stream Idol on TV4 Play
Swedish music entertainment where unknown talents get the chance to show what they can do in front of a critical jury.