Idol 2008 (Sweden)
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The fifth season of Swedish Idol premiered on 3 September 2008 and continued until its grand finale on 12 December, when 22-year-old Kevin Borg was crowned winner. It was the first season to feature new judges Laila Bagge, Anders Bagge and Andreas Carlsson, a move that made it the first Idol series in the world to completely replace its judging panel. The series took advantage of guest judges including Charlotte Perrelli, Desmond Child and Cyndi Lauper, and the final 3 results show featured a performance by Leona Lewis, who sang "Forgive Me". For the second year running, the grand finale was held in Stockholm's Globen Arena with a live audience of 16,000 people, where operatic group Il Divo also sang live. Season 5 of Swedish Idol marked only the second time in worldwideIdol history where neither of the final two contestants were born in the show's home country. Winner Kevin Borg was born in Malta and runner-up Alice Svensson was born in Vietnam. The only other Idol contest to have this occur was Greece's Super Idol in 2004.
Judges
- Laila Bagge - Sony BMG manager
- Anders Bagge - Record producer
- Andreas Carlsson - Songwriter
Hosts
- Peter Jihde - Host during Idol and Idol Eftersnack
- Katrin Zytomierska - Host during Idol Eftersnack
Auditions
Auditions were held in the Swedish cities of Gothenburg, Luleå, Karlstad, Lund and Stockholm during the spring of 2008.
Finals
Finalists
(ages stated at time of contest)
| Contestant | Age | Hometown | Voted Off | Liveshow Theme |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Kevin Borg | 22 | Arvidsjaur | Winner | Grand Finale |
| Alice Svensson | 17 | Hedesunda | 12 December 2008 | |
| Robin Bengtsson | 18 | Svenljunga | 5 December 2008 | Judges' Choice |
| Johan Palm | 16 | Mjölby | 28 November 2008 | Gospel Hits |
| Anna Bergendahl | 16 | Nyköping | 21 November 2008 | Love Songs |
| Robin Ericsson | 21 | Stockholm | 14 November 2008 | Soul & Duets |
| Lars Eriksson | 28 | Lund | 7 November 2008 | Rock Hits |
| Sepideh Vaziri | 24 | Stockholm | 31 October 2008 | Swedish Hits |
| Loulou Lamotte | 27 | Burträsk | 24 October 2008 | Hits by ABBA |
| Yazmina Simic | 16 | Växjö | 17 October 2008 | The 90s |
| Jesper Blomberg | 22 | Floda | 10 October 2008 | Idol's 5-Year Celebration |
Live Show Details
Heat 1 - Top 8 Girls (29 September 2008)
| Order | Artist | Song (original artists) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Victoria Dogan | "Secret Love" (JoJo) | Eliminated |
| 2 | Loulou Lamotte | "I Wanna Dance with Somebody" (Whitney Houston) | Safe |
| 3 | Alice Svensson | "Beautiful Disaster" (Kelly Clarkson) | Safe |
| 4 | Jenny Karevik | "Licence to Kill" (Gladys Knight) | Bottom two |
| 5 | Sepideh Vaziri | "I Will Survive" (Gloria Gaynor) | Safe |
| 6 | Yazmina Simic | "What a Wonderful World" (Eva Cassidy) | Safe |
| 7 | Anna Bergendahl | "Time After Time" (Eva Cassidy) | Safe |
| 8 | Linda Pritchard | "All the Man That I Need" (Whitney Houston) | Safe |
Heat 2 - Top 8 Boys (30 September 2008)
| Order | Artist | Song (original artists) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Jesper Blomberg | "Everything" (Michael Bublé) | Bottom two |
| 2 | Elias Ringquist | "No Diggity" (Blackstreet) | Safe |
| 3 | Kevin Borg | "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (Michael Bolton) | Safe |
| 4 | Rasmus Ingdahl | "Someone Should Tell You" (Lemar) | Eliminated |
| 5 | Robin Bengtsson | "Bridge Over Troubled Water" (Simon & Garfunkel) | Safe |
| 6 | Johan Palm | "When You Were Young" (The Killers) | Safe |
| 7 | Lars Eriksson | "Everybody Hurts" (R.E.M.) | Safe |
| 8 | Robin Ericsson | "Maybe Tomorrow" (Stereophonics) | Safe |
Heat 3 - Top 7 Girls (1 October 2008)
| Order | Artist | Song (original artists) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Linda Pritchard | "Stop" (Sam Brown) | Eliminated |
| 2 | Anna Bergendahl | "Love You I Do" (Jennifer Hudson) | Safe |
| 3 | Yazmina Simic | "Heaven" (Bryan Adams) | Safe |
| 4 | Jenny Karevik | "Be the Man" (Celine Dion) | Safe |
| 5 | Alice Svensson | "Fighter" (Christina Aguilera) | Safe |
| 6 | Sepideh Vaziri | "One Night Only" (Jennifer Hudson) | Bottom two |
| 7 | Loulou Lamotte | "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" (Aretha Franklin) | Safe |
Heat 4 - Top 7 Boys (2 October 2008)
| Order | Artist | Song (original artists) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Elias Ringquist | "Ordinary People" (John Legend) | Eliminated |
| 2 | Robin Bengtsson | "Chariot" (Gavin DeGraw) | Safe |
| 3 | Lars Ericsson | "Politik" (Coldplay) | Safe |
| 4 | Jesper Blomberg | "Hallelujah I Love Her So" (Ray Charles) | Safe |
| 5 | Robin Eriksson | "I Surrender" (Rainbow) | Bottom two |
| 6 | Kevin Borg | "Footloose" (Kenny Loggins) | Safe |
| 7 | Johan Palm | "You Don't Know What Love Is (You Just Do as You're Told)" (The White Stripes) | Safe |
Heat 5 - Top 12 (3 October 2008)
| Order | Artist | Song (original artists) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Johan Palm | "When You Were Young" (The Killers) | Advanced |
| 2 | Jenny Karevik | "Licence to Kill" (Gladys Knight) | Eliminated |
| 3 | Jesper Blomberg | "Everything" (Michael Bublé) | Advanced |
| 4 | Alice Svensson | "Beautiful Disaster" (Kelly Clarkson) | Advanced |
| 5 | Robin Bengtsson | "Chariot" (Gavin DeGraw) | Advanced |
| 6 | Anna Bergendahl | "Love You I Do" (Jennifer Hudson) | Advanced |
| 7 | Robin Eriksson | "I Surrender" (Rainbow) | Advanced |
| 8 | Loulou Lamotte | "Until You Come Back to Me (That's What I'm Gonna Do)" (Aretha Franklin) | Advanced |
| 9 | Kevin Borg | "How Am I Supposed to Live Without You" (Michael Bolton) | Advanced |
| 10 | Sepideh Vaziri | "I Will Survive" (Gloria Gaynor) | Advanced |
| 11 | Lars Ericsson | "Politik" (Coldplay) | Advanced |
| 12 | Yazmina Simic | "Heaven" (Bryan Adams) | Advanced |
Live Show 1 (10 October 2008)
Theme: Idol's 5 Year Celebration
| Order | Artist | Song (original artists) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kevin Borg | "Natalie" (Ola Svensson) | Safe |
| 2 | Loulou Lamotte | "Hurt" (Christina Aguilera) | Safe |
| 3 | Robin Bengtsson | "Mercy" (Duffy) | Safe |
| 4 | Yazmina Simic | "Don't Stop the Music" (Rihanna) | Bottom two |
| 5 | Lars Eriksson | "You're Beautiful" (James Blunt) | Safe |
| 6 | Alice Svensson | "These Words" (Natasha Bedingfield) | Safe |
| 7 | Jesper Blomberg | "So Sick" (Ne-Yo) | Eliminated |
| 8 | Sepideh Vaziri | "I Kissed a Girl" (Katy Perry) | Bottom three |
| 9 | Johan Palm | "Viva la Vida" (Coldplay) | Safe |
| 10 | Anna Bergendahl | "Release Me" (Oh Laura) | Safe |
| 11 | Robin Ericsson | "It's My Life" (No Doubt) | Safe |
Live Show 2 (17 October 2008)
Theme: 90s Hits
| Order | Artist | Song (original artists) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robin Ericsson | "Angels" (Robbie Williams) | Safe |
| 2 | Yazmina Simic | "Born to Make You Happy" (Britney Spears) | Eliminated |
| 3 | Anna Bergendahl | "Nothing Compares 2 U" (Sinéad O'Connor) | Safe |
| 4 | Robin Bengtsson | "Torn" (Natalie Imbruglia) | Bottom two |
| 5 | Johan Palm | "Beautiful Ones" (Suede) | Safe |
| 6 | Lars Eriksson | "One" (U2) | Safe |
| 7 | Sepideh Vaziri | "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" (Bryan Adams) | Safe |
| 8 | Loulou Lamotte | "Stars" (Simply Red) | Safe |
| 9 | Kevin Borg | "All I Wanna Do Is Make Love To You" (Heart) | Safe |
| 10 | Alice Svensson | "Ironic" (Alanis Morissette) | Safe |
Live Show 3 (24 October 2008)
Theme: Songs by ABBA
| Order | Artist | Song (original artists) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Loulou Lamotte | "SOS" | Eliminated |
| 2 | Lars Eriksson | "Money Money Money" | Safe |
| 3 | Alice Svensson | "Lay All Your Love on Me" | Safe |
| 4 | Robin Ericsson | "Waterloo" | Safe |
| 5 | Anna Bergendahl | "Mamma Mia" | Bottom three |
| 6 | Kevin Borg | "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" | Safe |
| 7 | Robin Bengtsson | "Does Your Mother Know" | Safe |
| 8 | Johan Palm | "The Winner Takes It All" | Safe |
| 9 | Sepideh Vaziri | "Dancing Queen" | Bottom two |
Live Show 4 (24 October 2008)
Theme: Swedish Songs Guest Judge: Charlotte Perrelli
| Order | Artist | Song (original artists) | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Robin Bengtsson | "När vindarna viskar mitt namn" (Roger Pontare) | Bottom two |
| 2 | Sepideh Vaziri | "Främling" (Carola Häggkvist) | Eliminated |
| 3 | Kevin Borg | "Lyssna till ditt hjärta" (Friends) | Safe |
| 4 | Alice Svensson | "Min kärlek" (Shirley Clamp) | Bottom three |
| 5 | Johan Palm | "Johnny the Rucker" (Magnus Uggla) | Safe |
| 6 | Robin Ericsson | "Michelangelo" (Björn Skifs) | Safe |
| 7 | Anna Bergendahl | "Stad i ljus" (Tommy Körberg) | Safe |
| 8 | Lars Eriksson | "Det börjar verka kärlek banne mig" (Claes-Göran Hederström) | Safe |
Elimination chart
| Place | Contestant | Result | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Stages: | Semi-Finals | Finals | ||||||||||||||
| Weeks: | 29 Sep | 30 Sep | 1 Oct | 2 Oct | 3 Oct | 10 Oct | 17 Oct | 24 Oct | 31 Oct | 7 Nov | 14 Nov | 21 Nov | 28 Nov | 5 Dec | 12 Dec | |
| 1 | Kevin Borg | Winner | ||||||||||||||
| 2 | Alice Svensson | Btm 3 | Btm 2 | Runner-up | ||||||||||||
| 3 | Robin Bengtsson | Btm 2 | Btm 2 | Btm 2 | Btm 3 | Elim | ||||||||||
| 4 | Johan Palm | Btm 3 | Btm 3 | Btm 2 | Elim | |||||||||||
| 5 | Anna Bergendahl | Btm 3 | Elim | |||||||||||||
| 6 | Robin Ericsson | Btm 2 | Btm 2 | Elim | ||||||||||||
| 7 | Lars Eriksson | Elim | ||||||||||||||
| 8 | Sepideh Vaziri | Btm 2 | Btm 3 | Btm 2 | Elim | |||||||||||
| 9 | Loulou Lamotte | Elim | ||||||||||||||
| 10 | Yazmina Simic | Btm 2 | Elim | |||||||||||||
| 11 | Jesper Blomberg | Btm 2 | Elim | |||||||||||||
| 12 | Jenny Karevik | Btm 2 | Elim | |||||||||||||
| Semi | Elias Ringquist | Elim | ||||||||||||||
| Linda Pritchard | Elim | |||||||||||||||
| Rasmus Ingdahl | Elim | |||||||||||||||
| Victoria Dogan | Elim |
| Women | Men | Top 11 | Top 16 | Eliminated | Safe | not performed |
Finalist Song Choices
Rock
Guest judge: Desmond Child
- Johan Palm - Poison (Alice Cooper)
- Lars Eriksson - Smells Like Teen Spirit (Nirvana)
- Anna Bergendahl - Save Up All Your Tears (Cher)
- Robin Ericsson - You Give Love a Bad Name (Bon Jovi)
- Robin Bengtsson - Dude Looks Like a Lady (Aerosmith)
- Alice Svensson - Heaven's on Fire (Kiss)
- Kevin Borg - Livin' on a Prayer (Bon Jovi)
Soul & Duets
Soul
- Kevin Borg - Signed, Sealed, Delivered I'm Yours (Stevie Wonder)
- Robin Ericsson - Reach Out I'll Be There (Four Tops)
- Robin Bengtsson - (Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay (Otis Redding)
- Johan Palm - You Can't Hurry Love (The Supremes)
- Alice Svensson - I Say a Little Prayer (Dionne Warwick)
- Anna Bergendahl - Bleeding Love (Leona Lewis)
Duets
- Johan Palm & Robin Ericsson - We Built This City (Starship)
- Kevin Borg & Anna Bergendahl - (I've Had) The Time of My Life (Bill Medley & Jennifer Warnes)
- Robin Bengtsson & Alice Svensson - You're the One That I Want (John Travolta & Olivia Newton-John)
Love
- Robin Bengtsson - Let Me Entertain You (Robbie Williams) & Fields of Gold (Sting)
- Kevin Borg - If Tomorrow Never Comes (Ronan Keating) & In the Shadows (The Rasmus)
- Anna Bergendahl - Simply the Best (Tina Turner) & Over the Rainbow (Eva Cassidy)
- Johan Palm - I'll Stand By You (The Pretenders) & Friday I'm in Love (The Cure)
- Alice Svensson - Because of You (Kelly Clarkson) & Crazy In Love (Beyoncé)
Gospel
Guest judge: Carola Häggkvist
- Johan Palm - Long Train Runnin' (Doobie Brothers) & Free Fallin' (Tom Petty)
- Alice Svensson - Shackles (Mary Mary) & Independent Women (Destiny's Child)
- Kevin Borg - Higher and Higher (Jackie Wilson) & The Way You Make Me Feel (Michael Jackson)
- Robin Bengtsson - Joyful, Joyful (Lauryn Hill) & My Love Is Your Love (Whitney Houston)
Jury's choice
- Alice Svensson - Keep This Fire Burning (Robyn) & Girlfriend (Avril Lavigne)
- Robin Bengtsson - It's My Life (Bon Jovi) & Black or White (Michael Jackson)
- Kevin Borg - Livin' la Vida Loca (Ricky Martin) & Hot In Herre (Nelly)
Idol 2008 album
Det bästa från Idol 2008 (The Best from Idol 2008) is a sampling Swedish Idol 2008 shows.