I was watching Idol the other day when, to my surprise, Ola Svensson appeared with a bunch of jolly Swedish men in purple singing a Coldplay song. A little research told me the appearance was to promote the new series Körslaget, which would start the next day on the same channel. Körslaget means running team, but can also be translated as ‘choir battle’, and that’s what we have here: 7 popstars auditioning for choirs in their hometowns and competing against each other to be what we Brits would call ‘the last choir standing’. What’s exciting is who the popstars involved are: Ola, Amy Diamond, Andreas Lundstedt, among other Melodifestivalen legends! And Caroline af Ugglas and Rigo… well, we need someone to hate in these shows, it’s half the fun!
Although this programme is in Swedish, much like Idol it is still great fun, even if you don’t understand a word they’re saying. The music is mostly in English, and you still get the random delights of seeing Amy Diamond deep in conversation with Roger Pontare (Vincent‘s dad and twice Eurovision entrant) and meeting Amy Diamond’s sister! Even funnier was the end of Caroline’s choir’s performance, where they all did an owl dance because Caroline’s name literally means “Caroline of Owls”! It’s also amazing every time Amy opens her mouth to sing – she may be the smallest but she has the biggest and best voice of any of the choir-masters.
The performances were all quite enjoyable, and although my support obviously goes to Amy, Ola and Andreas’ choirs, I thought Rigo’s choir’s rendition of I Know You Want Me by Pitbull was surprisingly good. The best thing is that no-one leaves, they just announce the top 3 at the end of each show and presumably the groups who win most often will be in the final in a few weeks’ time. Below is Ola’s choir’s performance, to give you a taste of what you can expect…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M-ABAWk8n7Q&hl=en&fs=1&color1=0xcc2550&color2=0xe87a9f&border=1]
And while we’re on the subject of Viva La Vida, you have to listen to Darin’s cover version of it on the latest Idol advert. So much better than the original! It sounds like Christmas!
Team Caroline – what a hoot hey! (groan)
Would agree with you as to who to back, but she may well do very well!
In previous series they have eliminated, so that may kick in next week?
Beats Last Choir Standing – enjoy it!
Yeah, I liked Last Choir Standing but this is much more fun! I’m surprised there isn’t a UK version yet. Celebrities and choirs on one show? It’s BBC prime time perfection!
Oh my god, i saw this (via you!) on twitter and got all excited! And team ola all the way! Does he have a new single coming? And the Darin cover? Magnificent! Very Christmas. A full studio version MUST be forthcoming surely?!
I’m not sure if he’s got a new single out, but his latest one, Sky’s The Limit, hasn’t been on an album so that suggests there’s an album on the way. I’ll keep an eye out for the full version of Darin, let me know if you find it too!