Thomas Tvedt made history when he sang for the mentors in the singing competition “The Voice”. The 30-year-old is the first participant in Norway who is blind.
He moved on when mentor Ina Wroldsen turned around.
– I made a small point of humor out of it afterwards, but the fact is that I didn’t know who had turned around. I really wondered who it was who had turned around, so that was what I was thinking about the most, says Thomas Tvedt.
Thomas and his sister Lotte were both born blind, but that hasn’t stopped the siblings.
Thomas follows his singing dream and Lotte works as a lawyer at Regjeringsadvokaten.
Touched the sister
Thomas has been involved in music and singing for many years. And he has been asked to participate in several talent shows in the past, but he has always declined.
BLIND AUDITION: Thomas Tvedt went on after his audition in The Voice. Photo: Jesper Malthus-Andersen / TV 2
This time it was different. He thought it was about time.
– I’ve held back a bit, because as soon as you don’t see, people think you’re so incredibly special just because of that. But I don’t want to be known because I don’t look, it’s hopefully because I sing well, he says, and continues:
FOLLOWING THE DREAM: Thomas Tvedt has been making music and singing for many years. He has been skeptical of talent competitions in the past, but this time he accepted. Photo: Ditlev Eidsmo / TV 2
– And they didn’t know that when they sat with their backs to it, so I thought that if someone turns around, I know that it has nothing to do with it.
The sister says that she was moved by Thomas’ performance.
– I have heard Thomas sing for many years, and for many years we argued a bit because I think he made a lot of noise at home and made a lot of noise with his strange singing exercises, she says and continues:
– I have never been so moved by hearing Thomas sing before. Even though I knew he was so good, there is something about seeing it in context and not just live at concerts or at home, but with a proper production. It was very fun.
Cycled and plunged in childhood
The sibling pair grew up on Randaberg in Rogaland and describe their upbringing as completely normal. Pretty common, anyway.
– Our upbringing was probably not entirely by the book if you ask vision educators about facilitation and how to do things. But if you ask a normal sighted family, it was very ordinary, says Lotte and elaborates:
– We have parents who, for better or for worse, have never set limits for us and let us test things out. We cycled around Randaberg, jumped off both diving boards and ledges and did things that I’m not sure if I would have let my blind child do, she says and laughs.
They also remember well the trampoline play they did as children in the garden.
– We had a trampoline, without a safety net, that we jumped on, and occasionally we jumped off the roof. We pulled it against the wall and jumped down, he says.
– And then we somersaulted down, then, she continues.
Works as a lawyer
Lotte therefore works as a professional lawyer at the Government Attorney’s Office and is one of two blind people in Norway who have completed the entire law school and work as a lawyer at this level.
– I was not the first to study law, it must be said. But it’s clear, there aren’t that many of us, and it’s a demanding course that requires you to spend many, long hours. As long as I get the text available, either in the form of braille or audio, it’s all right.
JOB AT LAWYER: While Thomas is following his dream of singing, his sister Lotte Tvedt has studied law and works as a lawyer. Photo: Camilla Blok/ Good Morning Norway
However, she describes that what has been demanding is all the things around.
– Entering a legal industry that is not exactly known for diversity and for recruiting people who stand out has been a bit challenging, she says and explains:
– It’s been a great job, both making sure that I’m professionally good enough, but also that I have the skills required – not just to be theoretically good and sit in an office, but also to go to court and work my way up against clients.
– It has been difficult and very fun!
The siblings use echo to read their surroundings
Thomas and Lotte both use echolocation and clicking sounds with their mouths to read their surroundings.
– Echolocation is exactly the same as dolphins and bats use. This means that you send out a sound signal, or a sound that hits things around you, then it is reflected back as an echo. It’s just like when you’re in the mountains and shout and it echoes. You kind of get an answer, he explains.
READING THE SURROUNDINGS: Lotte and Thomas Tvedt use clicking sounds to read their surroundings. Photo: Camilla Blok / Good morning Norway
Then they have learned to interpret the echoes that come back from their surroundings.
– It’s the same as if you walk out in the dark and shine a flashlight and then you see it, whereas echolocation is just that you do it with sound.
– Or typically when you walk in the dark, people often say that they feel that there is something next to me. When I was little I called it sound shadows, it is a very physical feeling that there is something here, she concludes.
