Idol (Swedish TV series)

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Idol
TV4
Release	2004 (2004) – present

Idol is a

, which was first aired in 2001 in the United Kingdom.

The program seeks to discover the best singer in Sweden through a series of nationwide auditions. The outcomes of the later stages of the competition are determined by public phone voting. The format features three judges who give critiques of the contestants' performances. Since Idol started in 2004, the show has featured five different line-ups of judges, a total of nine different judges, as well as twelve different presenters (including sidekicks in 2011 and 2013). From 2004 to 2007, each season had two hosts who stayed for just one season. However, from 2008, each season only has one host. For the 2011 season, the eighth season of Idol, Pär Lernström was the host. For the 2013 season, Pär Lernström returned as host and Karin "Kakan" Hermansson as his sidekick.^[1]

The winners of the first nine series were

. Smith is the oldest winner at 29 whilst Fondell and Carlsson are the youngest at only 17. To date, Idol contestants have collectively sold over 1.1 million albums in Sweden alone.

Following the completion of its

Production

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Audition cities

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• Season 1: Karlstad, Gothenburg, Malmö, Umeå, Stockholm
• Season 2: Malmö, Sundsvall, Gothenburg, Piteå, Stockholm
• Season 3: Malmö, Gothenburg, Falun, Umeå, Stockholm
• Season 4: Gothenburg, Skellefteå, Malmö, Borlänge, Stockholm
• Season 5: Gothenburg, Luleå, Karlstad, Lund, Stockholm
• Season 6: Gothenburg, Gävle, Malmö, Umeå, Stockholm
• Season 7: Gothenburg, Karlstad, Malmö, Luleå, Stockholm
• Season 8: Linköping, Gothenburg, Lund, Falun, Stockholm
• Season 9: Stockholm, Linköping, Malmö, Gothenburg, Sundsvall
• Season 10: Malmö, Karlstad, Stockholm, Sundsvall, Gothenburg
• Season 11: Kiruna, Arvidsjaur, Åre, Malmö, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Visby, Växjö, Mjölby, Strömstad, Åmål, Rättvik
• Season 12: Malmö, Östersund, Gothenburg, Skövde, Stockholm

Season synopses

Season 1

The first season of Idol debuted in the summer of 2004 and was an instant phenomenon, following in the success of other Idol competitions from around the world. The show's co-hosts were comedians

which included covers of some of the songs that the final 11 contestants had sung during the competition. The album became a success and was certified gold in Sweden for sales of 20,000 copies.

Winner Daniel Lindström signed a recording contract with Sony BMG, the label in partnership with the show's management. Immediately after the grand final, Lindström released the coronation song "Coming True" which debuted at number 1 on the Swedish singles chart, held the top spot for seven weeks and was certified double platinum. His self-titled debut album Daniel Lindström was released in early December and this too hit number 1. It went on to be certified Platinum, selling over 50,000 copies. His second album Nån slags verklighet was released in August 2006 and peaked at number 3. Recorded completely in his native language, it was less successful than his debut but gained a gold certification. After over two years away from the music industry, Lindström's third album D-Day was released on January 29, 2009. Despite critical acclaim however, the album failed to achieve commercial success, peaking at number 25 and selling less than 5,000 copies.

Runner-up

was released on August 18, 2010. It debuted at number 2, and reached number 1 in its second week, becoming Zanyar's fourth number 1 album.

Fourth-placer Loreen signed a recording contract with Warner in Sweden shortly after being eliminated from the competition. Loreen returned to the public eye when she took part in the Melodifestivalen 2011 with her song "My Heart is Refusing Me", but failed to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. Loreen entered the Melodifastivalen 2012 with her single "Euphoria", written by Thomas G:son and Peter Boström. She won the national final on 10 March with a combined total of 268 points and represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 held in Baku, Azerbaijan. The song also won the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with a total of 372 points from 40 voting countries. Loreen received all 12 marks from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Israel, Latvia, Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Slovakia, Spain and United Kingdom. She also won the Marcel Bezençon Awards for the Artist Award and the Composer Award. After the competition, "Euphoria" received critical acclaim from most music critics, who enjoyed the style of music. Commercially, the song was an instant success, not only in Sweden, but worldwide in Europe and the Oceania. It debuted at number twelve in her home country Sweden, until reaching number one, staying there for six weeks. The song has been certified 5 times Platinum, selling over 100,000 copies in Sweden. In 2023, Loreen returned to Melodifestivalen for a third time. With her song ‘Tattoo’ she won the Swedish ticket to Eurovision for the second time in her career. In Liverpool, UK, Loreen secured her second victory at the Eurovision Song Contest for Sweden. She is the only woman to win the contest twice, and only the second person to do so, following Ireland's Johnny Logan. Tattoo was a streaming and chart success across Europe and the wider world, achieving 400+ million streams to date, and became the fastest Eurovision song to surpass 100 million streams.

Season 2

The second season of Idol debuted in the summer of 2005, and carried on the show's huge success. Television personalities Tobbe Blom and Johan Wiman emerged as the new hosts of the show but the judging panel remained the same. As in season one, Sony BMG released a compilation album towards the end of the finals that included cover versions of some of the songs that the final 11 contestants had sung. The album, Idol 2005 - My Own Idol was a huge success, earning double platinum status in Sweden for the sale of 80,000 copies.

Winner

and sold over 900,000 copies. Carlsson's highly anticipated fourth studio album was expected in the last quarter of 2010 or the first quarter of 2011.

Runner-up Sebastian Karlsson also signed with Sony BMG and his first single "Do What You're Told" peaked at number 1 for four weeks. His self-titled debut album Sebastian was released in March 2006, hit number 1 and gained gold certification, selling over 30,000 copies. His second effort The Vintage Virgin was released a year later in March 2007 and peaked at number two on the Swedish albums chart. It yielded two top 3 singles and was also certified gold for sales exceeding 30,000. Karlsson's third studio album, The Most Beautiful Lie was released on January 29, 2009, but failed to match the success of his previous efforts. The Most Beautiful Lie stalled at number 32 and spent only one week on the Top 60 albums chart.

Third place finisher

was finally released. The critically acclaimed album peaked at number 9 for two weeks on the Swedish albums chart and was accredited gold after selling just over 20,000 copies.

Fifth place finisher

was released on March 25, 2009, and after debuting at number 4, it made a sudden jump from number 26 to number 1 in its ninth week, becoming Zelmerlow's second chart-topping album. It has so far been certified gold with sales in excess of 30,000 copies. Zelmerlow would go onto enter the Melodifestivalen 2015 with the song "Heroes" and would win the competition with 288 points. He went on to the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest in Vienna where he won the competition with a total of 365. He would then host the 2016 Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm alongside Petra Mede.

Eighth place finisher

Unstoppable

" both peaking at number 1 in Sweden.

Semifinalist Jim Almgren Gândara became the guitarist of Swedish/American rock band

.

Season 3

The third season of Idol premiered on August 29, 2006, and holds the record for the most successful season launch, with 1.1 million viewers tuning into the first episode.

. 6000 people auditioned for the third season, and the finalists' compilation album, Det Bästa Från Idol 2006, sold over 40,000 copies.

Winner Markus Fagervall signed with Sony BMG and released his coronation song "Everything Changes" immediately after his win. The single held the number 1 spot for seven weeks and was certified double platinum. His debut album Echo Heart was released in mid-December 2006 and was a massive success. Not only did it stay at number 1 for three weeks, it sold over 80,000 copies, and was accredited double platinum. His second album Steal My Melody was released on 15 October 2008 and was much less successful than his debut, peaking at number 11 but selling just over 20,000 copies to go gold.

Runner-up

was released in November 2009 and became the highest-selling album ever by an Idol alumnus after being certified quadruple platinum for the sale of a massive 160,000 copies.

Sixth place finisher

was released on Christmas Eve and debuted at number 2. In its second week on the chart however, it fell to number 36 and spent only five weeks on the chart.

Season 4

Season four of Idol launched on September 3, 2007, with a brand new hosting team made up of television personalities

. The finale contestants' compilation album Det Bästa Från Idol 2007 was released at the end of November and was certified platinum after selling over 40,000 copies.

Winner

This Moment

" was released immediately after her victory. The single spent two weeks at number one and was certified platinum. Her debut album The Secret was released in mid-December and held the number 1 spot for three weeks. It sold just over 60,000 copies and was accredited platinum. However, the album failed to yield any other successful singles, with the second and final song released, "Winning Streak" missing the Top 60.

Runner-up

Happyland

was released on October 28, 2009. The album debuted at number 3 and has gone on to sell over 60,000 copies, spending more weeks on the official albums chart than her debut.

Fourth place finisher

Daniel Karlsson

released his first single, "Would You Believe?" in late 2008, which peaked at number 8. His debut album was originally set for release in early 2009 but is yet to appear.

Fifth place finisher

E.M.D

in early 2008.

Season 5

Season five of Idol launched on September 3, 2008, with host Peter Jihde returning to the show. The season saw a dramatic line-up change on the juding panel, with all three judges,

in 2004.

Winner

" was released immediately as his debut single. Like the previous four winners' singles, Borg's debuted at number 1 on the singles chart. It went on to hold the top spot for five weeks and was certified double platinum. Unlike his four predecessors, who had their first albums released only weeks after their victories, Borg was given longer to record his own debut. The lead single, "Street Lights" was released in late February 2009 and peaked at number 10 on the Swedish singles chart. The album The Beginning followed on March 4 and debuted at number 3. Although it sold over 10,000 copies in its first week of release, The Beginning was the first Idol winner's album not to debut or peak at number 1. It gained a gold certification for sales in excess of 35,000 copies, but is the only debut Idol winner album not to reach platinum status.

Fourth place contestant Johan Palm signed with Epic Records and his debut single "Emma-Lee", released in early April 2009, reached the number 1 spot on the Swedish singles chart in its third week. His first album, My Antidote was released on 22 May 2009 and debuted at number 3. After nine weeks on the chart it was certified gold for sales in excess of 20,000 copies.

Fifth place contestant

was released on April 21, 2010, and also hit the number one spot in its first week, making Bergendahl the only season five Idol contestant to achieve a chart-topping album. The record was certified gold for Swedish sales of over 20,000 copies.

Season 6

Season six of Idol premiered on September 8, 2009, with Peter Jihde once again returning to host the show, along with judges Laila Bagge, Anders Bagge and Andreas Carlsson. An Idol record of 11,000 people auditioned for the series, which included an 'audition tour' around Sweden by judge Anders Bagge in order to find talent outside the most densely populated areas. The series marked a new change to the format of the show, whereby the bottom two contestants in each week of the finals were required to sing again. Their previous votes were wiped clean and the public re-cast their votes. The rule was brought in as an attempt to prevent 'shock eliminations' of the more talented contestants, and had already proved successful in other countries. The grand finale was once again held in Stockholm's

, who in 2009 had become the first Idol alumni to achieve worldwide success.

Winner Erik Grönwall signed with Sony BMG and released his coronation song ""Higher"", which spent five weeks at number one and was certified platinum. Like all previous Idol winners (with the exception of Kevin Borg), his self-titled debut album Erik Grönwall was released only two weeks after his victory, and went into the official Swedish chart at number one, a position it held for four weeks. The album was certified platinum for the sale of over 40,000 copies. His second album, Somewhere Between a Rock and a Hard Place was released in June 2010 and peaked at number two.

Runner-Up Calle Kristiansson also signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and released his self-titled debut album Calle Kristiansson on December 21, 2009. The album debuted at number two, held off the top spot by season six winner Erik Grönwall. The album held the number two spot for a total of four weeks and was accredited gold for sales of over 20,000 copies.

Third placer Tove Styrke released her debut album in November 2010 named Tove Styrke, peaking at number 10 on the Swedish Albums Chart. The second single of the album, White Light Moment, peaked at number 5 on the Swedish Singles Chart and was nominated to the Song of the Year category on 2012 Swedish Grammis Awards.

Season 7

Season seven of Idol premiered in September 2010 with Peter Jihde returning as host the show, along with judges Laila Bagge, Anders Bagge and Andreas Carlsson. A new Idol record was set during the April and May auditions, with a total of 11,700 applicants. The series was won by Jay Smith.

Season 8

Season eight premiered on

.

Season 9

In January 2013, TV4 announced that Idol returns in 2013, following a one-year hiatus. Pär Lernström returned as host, and had

at the time.

Season 10

After the completion of season 9, TV4 announced a tenth season, Idol 2014, airing in 2014. The season, in addition to the competition, also celebrated the show's 10th anniversary. Alexander Bard, Laila Bagge and Anders Bagge returned as judges from last season. The season's host was Pär Lernström. The winner of the title was Lisa Ajax.

Season 11

The eleventh season started airing on 17 August 2015. This was the last season with the current jury^[4] of Anders Bagge, Laila Bagge Wahlgren and Alexander Bard. The title was won by Martin Almgren.

Season 12

The twelfth season started airing on 12 August 2016. This season there was a new jury

.

Season 13

The 13th season aired in 2017. The judging panel was made up of Anders Bagge,

.

Season 14

The 14th season aired in 2018. The judging panel was made up of Anders Bagge, Nikki Amini, Alexander Kronlund and Kishti Tomita. Title was won by Sebastian Walldén.

Season 15

The 15th season aired in 2019. The judging panel was made up of Anders Bagge, Nikki Amini, Alexander Kronlund and Kishti Tomita. Title was won by Tousin Michael Chiza (Tusse).

Season 16

The 16th season aired in 2020. The judging panel was made up of Anders Bagge, Nikki Amini, Alexander Kronlund and Kishti Tomita. The title was won by Nadja Holm on 4 December 2020. Due to coronavirus, this season was run differently and was filmed without an audience.

Season 17

The 17th season aired on 23 August 2021. The judging panel was made up of Anders Bagge, Katia Mosally, Alexander Kronlund and Kishti Tomita. The title was won by Birkir Blær.

Season 18

The 18th season aired in 2022. The judging panel was made up of Anders Bagge, Katia Mosally, Alexander Kronlund and Kishti Tomita. The title was won by Nike Sellmar.

Season 19

The 19th season aired in 2023. The judging panel was made up of Anders Bagge, Katia Mosally, Alexander Kronlund and Kishti Tomita. New for this season was that four singers would coach the auditinees, those where Hanna Ferm, Chris Kläfford, Pa Modou Badjie and Maxida Märak.^[6][7]

Season details

Season	Year	Winner	Runner-up
1	2004	Daniel Lindström	Darin Zanyar
2	2005	Agnes Carlsson	Sebastian Karlsson
3	2006	Markus Fagervall	Erik Segerstedt
4	2007	Marie Picasso	Amanda Jenssen
5	2008	Kevin Borg	Alice Svensson
6	2009	Erik Grönwall	Calle Kristiansson
7	2010	Jay Smith	Minnah Karlsson
8	2011	Amanda Fondell	Robin Stjernberg
9	2013	Kevin Walker	Elin Bergman
10	2014	Lisa Ajax	Mollie Lindén
11	2015	Martin Almgren	Amanda Winberg
12	2016	Liam Cacatian Thomassen	Rebecka Karlsson
13	2017	Christoffer Kläfford	Hanna Ferm
14	2018	Sebastian Walldén	Kadiatou Holm Keita
15	2019	Tusse Chiza	Freddie Liljegren
16	2020	Nadja Holm	Paulina Pancenkov
17	2021	Birkir Blær	Jacqline Mossberg Mounkassa
18	2022	Nike Sellmar	Albin Tingwall
19	2023	Cimberly Wanyonyi	Saga Ludvigsson

Top Selling Idol Alumni

This list only includes contestants with at least one certified album, and the totals do not include EPs, digital-only albums and/or pre-Idol recordings.

Swedish Gold, Platinum, and/or Multi-Platinum certifications (Worldwide Sales)

	Former contestant Total sales	Debut album	Second album	Third album	Fourth album	Fifth album
1.	Agnes Carlsson (Season 2, Winner) 355,000[8]	Agnes (December 19, 2005) Columbia 93,000 2xPlatinum[9] Peak: #1	Stronger (October 11, 2006) Columbia 52,000 Platinum[9] Peak: #1	Dance Love Pop (October 29, 2008) Roxy Records 200,000 Platinum[9] Peak: #5	Veritas (September 5, 2012) Roxy Records 10,000 N/A Peak: #3
2.	E.M.D (Erik Segerstedt, Mattias Andréasson and Danny Saucedo ) 260,000	A State of Mind (May 14, 2008) Ariola 90,000 2xPlatinum[9] Peak: #1	Välkommen Hem (November 9, 2009) Ariola 160,000 4xPlatinum Peak: N/A1	Rewind (December 3, 2010) Ariola 10,000 N/A Peak: #20
3.	Amanda Jenssen (Season 4, Runner-Up) 203,000	Killing My Darlings (May 7, 2008) Epic 84,000 2xPlatinum[9] Peak: #1	Happyland (October 28, 2009) Epic 94,000 2xPlatinum[9] Peak: #3	Hymns for the Haunted (November 14, 2012) Sony Music Entertainment 25,000 Gold[9] Peak: #2
4.	Darin Zanyar (Season 1, Runner-Up) 186,000	The Anthem (February 14, 2005) RCA 52,000 Platinum[9] Peak: #1	Darin (September 28, 2005) Columbia 71,000 Platinum[9] Peak: #1	Break the News (November 22, 2006) Columbia 22,000 Gold[9] Peak: #1	Flashback (December 3, 2008) Epic 16,000 N/A Peak: #10	LoveKiller (August 18, 2010) Universal 25,000 Gold Peak: #1
5.	Markus Fagervall (Season 3, Winner) 102,000	Echo Heart (December 18, 2006) RCA 81,000 2xPlatinum[9] Peak: #1	Steal My Melody (October 15, 2008) RCA 21,000 Gold[9] Peak: #11
6.	Måns Zelmerlöw (Season 2, 5th Place) 83,000	Stand By For... (March 23, 2007) Warner Records 48,000 Platinum[9] Peak: #1	MZW (March 25, 2009) Warner Records 35,000 Gold[9] Peak: #1
7.	Daniel Lindström (Season 1, Winner) 77,000	Daniel Lindström (December 9, 2004) RCA 53,000 Platinum[9] Peak: #1	Nån Slags Verklighet (August 16, 2006) RCA 22,000 Gold[9] Peak: #3	D-Day (January 29, 2009) LaLuff 3,000 N/A Peak: #25
8.	Sebastian Karlsson (Season 2, Runner-Up) 72,000	Sebastian (March 1, 2006) RCA 38,000 Gold[9] Peak: #1	The Vintage Virgin (March 7, 2007) RCA 32,000 Gold[9] Peak: #2	The Most Beautiful Lie (January 29, 2009) Roxy Records 2,000 N/A Peak: #32
9.	Ola Svensson (Season 2, 8th Place) 71,000	Given to Fly (May 31, 2006) Universal 22,000 Gold[9] Peak: #1	Good Enough (October 3, 2007) Universal 37,000 Gold[9] Peak: #2	Ola (September 15, 2010) Universal 12,000 N/A Peak: #3
10.	Marie Picasso (Season 4, Winner) 62,000	The Secret (December 19, 2007) RCA 62,000 Platinum[9] Peak: #1
11.	Erik Grönwall (Season 6, Winner) 53,000	Erik Grönwall (December 16, 2009) Columbia 43,000 Platinum[9] Peak: #1	Somewhere Between a Rock and a Hard Place (June 2, 2010) Columbia 10,000 N/A Peak: #2
12.	Danny Saucedo (Season 3, 6th Place) 49,000	Heart Beats (May 30, 2007) Ariola 32,000 Gold[9] Peak: #1	Set Your Body Free (December 24, 2008) Ariola 17,000 N/A Peak: #2
13.	Loreen (Season 1, 4th Place) 40,000	Heal (October 22, 2012) Warner Records 40,000 Platinum[9] Peak: #1
13.	Kevin Borg (Season 5, Winner) 37,000	The Beginning (March 4, 2009) Ariola 37,000 Gold[9] Peak: #3
14.	Anna Bergendahl (Season 5, 5th Place) 34,000	Yours Sincerely (April 21, 2010) Universal 34,000 Gold[9] Peak: #1
15.	Calle Kristiansson (Season 6, Runner-Up) 31,000	Calle Kristiansson (December 23, 2009) Columbia 31,000 Gold[9] Peak: #2
16.	Erik Segerstedt (Season 3, Runner-Up) 28,000	A Different Shade (February 21, 2007) Epic 28,000 Gold[9] Peak: #2
17.	Johan Palm (Season 5, 4th Place) 27,000	My Antidote (May 20, 2009) Epic 27,000 Gold[9] Peak: #3
18.	Sibel Redzep (Season 2, 3rd Place) 21,000	The Diving Belle (March 12, 2008) Warner Records 21,000 Gold[9] Peak: #9

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References

1. ^ ^{a b c} "Nu skrotas "Idol"". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). 2011-10-29. Retrieved 2011-10-29.
2. ^ ^{a b} Henriksson, Sally (2013-01-15). "TV 4 tar tillbaka "Idol" i höst". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 2013-01-15.
3. ^ Idol. "Idol". tv4.se. Retrieved 2012-11-06.
4. ^ "Stor auditionturné när idoljuryn gör sin sista säsong - Idol - tv4.se". tv4.se. Retrieved 26 August 2015.
5. ^ "Juryn träffade TV4 i största hemlighet i går". aftonbladet.se. 26 January 2016. Retrieved 26 January 2016.
6. ^ "Idol 2023: Här är artisterna som coachar de tävlande", tv4.se, 29 June 2023, retrieved 14 August 2023
7. ^ ""Idol" görs om i TV4 – så blir nya programmet". Expressen. 30 June 2023. Retrieved 14 August 2023.
8. ^ Welcome. "Welcome « Agnes – Official Website of Agnes Carlsson". Agnescarlsson.se. Retrieved 2012-11-06.
9. ^ ^{a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y z aa ab ac ad} "Sverigetopplistan - Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Hitlistan.se. Archived from the original on 2012-11-05. Retrieved 2012-11-06.

External links

• Official website