In familiar style, there are nerves and excitement when the participants enter the stage and four mentors sit with their backs to them. Will someone push the button and turn around?
One of this year’s The Voice participants is Thomas Tvedt (30) from Rogaland.
The memories of when he performed at the blind audition last autumn are vague. When Thomas heard through his performance for the first time, his hands were sweating.
QUEEN CLASSICS: Thomas Tvedt sang the Queen song Love of My Life at a blind audition. Photo: Jesper Malthus-Andersen / TV 2
– I was pleasantly surprised. I remember a lot of what it was like to be on stage, but very little of how it sounded. There was chaos inside me, because it was a terrible situation, he says.
Watch Thomas’ blind audition in the video at the top of the story.
True blind audition
His version of the Queen classic “Love of My Life” impressed mentor Ina Wroldsen (38) so much that she chose to turn around. However, it was not a given that Thomas would get it with him.
Thomas is blind, something he has been all his life. This is the first time, in a Norwegian context, that a visually impaired participant has taken part. It therefore became, as he describes himself, one genuine blind audition.
– At the sound test before the audition, we were supposed to test what it was like to be on stage, and whether you hear the sound when one of the mentors turns around. You could hear it well if you were sitting in the hall, but when you’re on stage you had to pay close attention because the sound was so weak, he explains.
SCENEVANT: Thomas Tvedt has been making music since he was a child, and has been on several stages during his life. Photo: Ditlev Eidsmo / TV 2
Because he can’t see, he knew in the heat of battle that if any of the mentors turned, there was a certain chance he wouldn’t make it.
– When the song is finished, I’m the only one in the room who doesn’t know if anyone has turned around. And at least I don’t know who has turned around, he says, laughing.
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Fortunately, Thomas heard the sound which secured him further in the singing competition.
– I didn’t know who it was, but I heard that now someone had turned around. I couldn’t quite take it in, because I was in battle mode, he says.
He had to sing his way through the song before the mentor made up his mind.
– I got well over the halfway mark. Then I had come to a place inside me where I thought: “Okay, f*ck you. Shit and go. Now no one turns around, then I finish singing. I’m not going to give them a tearful reaction. Then I’d rather stand the race with a stone face,” he says with a laugh.
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When he heard through his performance for the very first time, he was surprised.
– You hear very little of my machine gun of thoughts buzzing in my head. It’s not heard when I sing, but I know it was like that, so it’s very two-sided, he explains.
Unexpectedly good match
When Wroldsen made herself known and told him that she was going to be his mentor, he had one immediate thought.
– «Ah, my God. Was it her?”, he says, laughing.
Thomas, who has followed The Voice for a number of years, had repeatedly told his girlfriend that he hoped to avoid Wroldsen as a mentor.
SECURED: Ina Wroldsen chose to press the button, and secured Thomas Tvedt on her team. Photo: Thomas Andersen / TV 2
– It’s not because she’s not a good lady, but because she’s a bit tough and quick with her lines. I don’t know if I could have taken it, he explains.
When she was the only one who turned, he thought, “Of course it was you.”
Without revealing how far Thomas reaches in the competition, he can say as much as that he got a wake-up call when the two were supposed to work together.
– The fact is that I’m a bit like that myself, which is funny. I can be a little rude in the line myself, if I first get the hang of it. We actually fit together much better than I thought from the beginning, he says with a laugh.
QUICK IN THE REPLY: The witty comment is loose with Thomas Tvedt. Eventually he realized how similar he was to mentor Ina Wroldsen. Photo: Ditlev Eidsmo / TV 2
He explains that her energy was a little different from what you might see on the TV screen.
– Of course, I did not imagine that it was a bad match, but it turned out better than I had thought.
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Right time
Since Thomas was a child, he has always been interested in music. What started as a fun hobby developed over the years.
– Many people may have a dream of becoming a footballer all their lives, and then they become one or not. I’ve never had a clear goal with the music stuff. I’ve just always thought it was great to keep going, he says.
HEART FOR MUSIC: Thomas Tvedt has always been involved in music, but it would take several years before he took the plunge and signed up for a singing competition. Photo: Ditlev Eidsmo / TV 2
Although he has practiced a lot over the years, it felt like a coincidence when he decided to take the next step and study his passion.
– I had hoped that I would be able to continue with music professionally, but I never thought that now I would invest. I have held concerts here and there, but it has been alongside my studies. As I have studied music, I have realized that it was more than a hobby.
When he chose to sign up for The Voice last year, the idea of participating in a singing competition had already been there for several years.
– It didn’t feel right before. A little wrong, a little too soon. But last year I thought: “Shit, now I have to test it out”. Deep down, I most of all want to keep doing this – to sing and perform in front of people. It felt like a very good time to test it out. It wasn’t a dream when I was ten, but it has become one now.
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