Struggled to become comfortable in a new role: – It was difficult

This spring, artist Jarle Bernhoft (46) can be seen as a mentor in the eighth season of The Voice. Among the participants, he is a popular name.

When TV 2 asks how it feels to be a sought-after mentor, he grins.

– It is very flattering. I don’t really know what to say about it, other than I think it’s really nice. As a freshman, I came into this with – not bowed my head exactly – but a kind of humility that I will continue to have. But it’s super cool. Who doesn’t like to be popular, honestly?, he says with a laugh.

– Do not have the same ammunition

Bernhoft took over the mentor role after Tom “Matoma” Stræte Lagergren (31). During the blind auditions, he has found a place among the quartet that he is satisfied with.

– I will be myself, and not fill anyone’s shoes. I think that’s why I was asked – because I had something to offer. Not that it was necessarily different to what Tom has, but I was asked by virtue of being me, he points out.

The TV viewers constantly got to see a moved Matoma. Although Bernhoft’s tear ducts are not as open, he praises such reactions.

– I will not try to be more easily touched than I am. I don’t have the same ammunition that Tom has, but it’s an incredibly nice quality – to have your heart so on the outside of your shirt. I’m not going to say that I not has it, but it’s not as soft.

Fit in

When Bernhoft was asked if he wanted to become part of the mentor group, he had to think twice. The artist had not seen much of the TV 2 program before.

– I got the impression that it was a nice group that I could fit in well. It has worked very “smooth”.

The impression corresponded well with the reality. Among the mentors, Ina Wroldsen (38) was the only one he had not met before.

– She is quite similar to how she appears. That’s the beauty of them – it’s not like Espen is one type on screen, but a completely different one. They are themselves, so it is very easy to relate to them, he says.

Teasing jargon

In the battle to hijack the talents of their respective teams, the comments sit loose among the mentors. When the participants step off the stage, and the mentor chairs turn their backs, it doesn’t take long for the teasing jargon to start.

Bernhoft describes being the newcomer in the group as extremely fun.

– I notice that they are perhaps a bit testing me at first. You don’t quite see it in the programmes, because they are edited, but at the start it was a bit of a trial run, he says, and laughs.

He quickly noticed that Wroldsen and mentor Yosef Wolde-Mariam (45) were harder on each other than they were with him at the beginning.

– You notice that everyone gets warm in their jerseys over time. They test a bit, and perhaps try their hand at the newcomer. A bit careful at first, because they don’t know if I’m going to be offended, he continues.

Even Bernhoft doesn’t hold back on anything if joking jabs are sent to each other.

– It’s very sweet. I’m not easily offended by things. I’m not holding anything back, but none of us are badass. It is super fun. Now all guns are loose, he says jokingly.

Challenging transition

When Bernhoft talks to TV 2, he has just returned from Los Angeles in the USA. A new album is in the works.

– It has been a globetrotting start to 2023. But you are suddenly dragged down to earth again. In terms of disease, 2023 will deliver like 2022 ended – pure chills and fever, he says.

Gradually, he has started to cross the border. When the corona pandemic ravaged the world, he had to rethink his work trips abroad. Stream concerts and backyard concerts arose when the need for cultural events arose.

– At the very beginning, I think everyone wondered what the hell we were going to do now. Eventually, there was a rather large need for culture among people.

In a normal everyday life, the 46-year-old is very aware of his role. When the pandemic broke out, however, he felt an uncertainty.

– For my part, it was a small period of a little more playing for people who had not asked me to play. The role one plays becomes very clear when I play a concert for a paying audience. That’s where the embarrassment comes in, he says.

“Pushing” on people who had not expressed a desire to be entertained felt special to the artist.

– When I have to somehow push myself on people, as was the case with streaming concerts, I get a completely different role. It wasn’t easy to get comfortable with it, because I can be very private, he explains.

Paradoxical situation

When the pandemic took root, everyday life was turned upside down for the whole world. The uncertainty led to him experiencing the time as somewhat difficult.

At the same time as he felt shy, he also had a need for expression.

– I can stand up – just me and a guitar, and give an hour and a half concert. But there is not necessarily a very saturated field of artists who can do it. Some bands need a little more production to make a concert. I don’t necessarily do that. There are some who can do it, he says, referring to Sondre Lerche (40) and Jan Eggum (71), among others.

After a time when the gigs did not appear, things turned around.

– The paradox was that I got to do more during the pandemic than what I had planned to do in those years if there had been no pandemic. I could play many intimate concerts – preferably three concerts per evening, he says.

At the same time as the number of gigs increased, he also felt difficult feelings.

– I also thought it was difficult because of solidarity with others in the industry. I felt it was a huge loss of life. Simply a paradoxical situation. But here we are, he concludes.

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