Talang 2007 was the first season of the show Talang, the Swedish version of Got Talent. Talang 2007 had its premiere on 13 April 2007 and ended on 1 June 2007. The winner of the show was Zillah & Totte. This season was hosted by Peppe Eng, and the judges were: Tobbe Blom, Hanna Hedlund and Bert Karlsson.[1]

Talang 2007
GenreInteractive reality game show
Presented byPeppe Eng
StarringTobbe Blom
Hanna Hedlund
Bert Karlsson
Country of originSweden
Original languageSwedish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes8
Production
ProducerKarin Stjärne
Running time1 hr
Final: 1.5 hr
Original release
NetworkTV4
Release13 April (2007-04-13) –
1 June 2007 (2007-06-01)
Related
Talang 2008

Popularity

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The show became an instant success and was consistently one of the top three television shows in Sweden each week.

Episode Date Three most watched TV shows in Sweden by week
No. 1 No. 2 No. 3
1[2] 2007-04-13 Wallander – Innan frosten
(movie, part 1 of 13)
TV4, Sunday
1 590 000
Talang 2007
TV4, Friday
1 535 000
Playa del Sol
(comedy)
SVT1, Sunday
1 315 000
2[3] 2007-04-20 Talang 2007
TV4, Friday
1 620 000
Wallander – Byfånen
(movie, part 2 of 13)
TV4, Sunday
1 595 000
Postkodmiljonären
(quiz game show)
TV4, Friday
1 260 000
3[4] 2007-04-27 Wallander – Bröderna
(movie, part 3 of 13)
TV4, Sunday
1 375 000
Talang 2007
TV4, Friday
1 315 000
Postkodmiljonären
TV4, Saturday
1 005 000
4[5] 2007-05-04 Wallander – Mörkret
(movie, part 4 of 13)
TV4, Sunday
1 495 000
Talang 2007
TV4, Friday
1 490 000
Postkodmiljonären
TV4, Saturday
1 075 000
5[6] 2007-05-11 Eurovision Song Contest, final
SVT1, Saturday
3 425 000
Wallander – Afrikanen
(movie, part 5 of 13)
TV4, Sunday
1 570 000
Talang 2007
TV4, Friday
1 480 000
6[7] 2007-05-18 Talang 2007
TV4, Friday
1 260 000
Bonde söker fru
(match-making)
TV4, Saturday
1 205 000
Postkodmiljonären
TV4, Saturday
1 155 000
7[8] 2007-05-25 Talang 2007
TV4, Friday
1 145 000
Sommarkrysset med lottodragningen
(song and music)
TV4, Saturday
1 070 000
Anna Pihl
(crime drama series)
TV4, Monday
950 000
8[9] 2007-06-01 Talang 2007
TV4, Friday
1 640 000
Time out
(comedy)
TV4, Friday
1 290 000
Sportspegeln
(sports news)
SVT1, Sunday
1 085 000

"De gör upp om finalplatserna". Expressen (in Swedish). 25 May 2007. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 13 June 2007. </ref> and shown during and after each performance. Public voting started when the program aired on Friday and ended at midnight Sunday.[10] Unlike the American TV series, where the public voted for free by calling a toll free number, the Swedish audience paid 5.70 Swedish kronor (June 2007, approximately US$0.82) for each call they made.[11]

After the second semi-final aired, TV4 surprised the contestants by announcing that two wild card finalists would be chosen from the eliminated semi-finalists. One wild card finalist was chosen by the jury whilst the other was chosen by public vote.[12] With only two days to prepare for the final competition, the wild card finalists had little chance of winning.[citation needed]

For the final program (episode 8), the winner was chosen only by public vote.[13] Despite that, the jury still voted and commented on each performance. Voting started when the program started at 8 pm and concluded at some undisclosed time during the 1.5 hr long program. The voting procedure potentially gave an unfair advantage to contestants who performed early in the show. Indeed, the winner of Talang 2007 performed first. Furthermore, all of the phone numbers for each contestant were published before the show, allowing the public to vote for their favorite contestant before they had given their final performance.[14]

Auditions Summary

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  Judge Disapproved |   Judge Approved
  All 3 Judges Approved |   All 3 Judges Disapproved

Semi-finalists By Jury

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Name Act Jury's Vote
Karlsson Hedlund Blom
Fantastic Four Motown singers      
Zillah & Totte Ventriloquist      
Maria Lundgren Hula Hoop Dancer      
Swebounce Stilt Performers      
Artan Kajtazi Dancer      
Mimmi Sandén Singer      
Slowmotion Phax Slow Motion Act      
Baby Bang Dancer      
Funky 4 Brothers Dance Group      
Diamond Dogs Drag Show      
Mahyar Samadi Beatboxer
Simon Trollkarlen Magician      
Landslide Band      
Robotman Novelty Act      
Eric Lindeen Yo-yo Artist      
Melissa Jacobsson-Velandia Pianist      
Julien Dauphin Magician      
Male Singing Group      
Skånske Elia Singer      
Hilda Stenmalm Singer      
Linda Johansson Aerialist      
Sara Nordenberg-Borch Singer & Conguero      
Johan Ståhl Magician      
Harlem Hot Shots Dance Troupe      

Non Semi-Finalist By Jury

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Name Act Jury's Vote
Karlsson Hedlund Blom
Fabian Nikolajeff Tumbling Acrobat      
Tommy Adolfsson Sea Shell Musician      
Olana Troupe Acrobats      
Elin Andersson Acrobat      
Irish Dance Project Irish Dance Group      
Paulina Fröling Singer      
Filiokus Fredrik Comedian/Shadow Artist      
Hanna Linné & Timo Lattu Acrobatic Duo      
Sophie Sjörén Singer      
Three D Singing Group      
Changiz John Record Breaker      
Mattias Jönsson Juggler      
Nikisha Fogo Ballet Dancer      

Eliminated By Jury

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Name Act Jury's Vote
Karlsson Hedlund Blom
The Big Ass Barbecue Lassoo Artists      
Svetlana Biba Mime      
Mr Ekooo Echo Comedian      
The Bläckfisks Singing & Dancing Group      
Artistgruppen Regnbågen Singing Group      
Anna Kråik Singer & Drummer    
Octagon Crew Breakdancers
Nomad Fire Baton Twirler
Greece Singing Group  
Tommie Meyer Human Pin Cushion
Capoeira group Capoeira artists    
Alexandra Telluselle Hula Dancer      
Burnt Out Punks Fire Act      
Coffee Beans Show Choir      
Ismannen Ice Sculptor
Sanne Hansen Closed Mouth Singer      
Ania & Sara Albertsson Singing Duo      
Victor Rubilar Football Juggler      
Cyclingteam Unicycle Group    
Sandra Camenish Singer
Moa Lichtenstein & Sarah Runsten Acrobatic Duo      
Stockholms gaykör och pomperipossaband Band & Choir      
Johnny Wahlqvist Strongman      
Marina Prada & Ibirocay Regueira Salsa Dancers      
Gycklargruppen Jesters      
Siw-Marie Andersson Yodeller      
Ormtjusaren Tina Holmgren Snake Charmer  
The Battle Dwarfs Breakdance Crew  
Lilia Tchoumatchenko Singer      
Eddie Karlsson Singer & Guitarist    
Tony Livonen Accordion Player
David Barnes Singer    
Garvsyra Dance & Music Duo      
Tommy Tångs Clowns      
Zoo Orkestern Dancing Band      
Vendela Duclos Singer      
The Bucketeers Bucket Jugglers      
Monica Ramos Singer & Harpist      
Karina Nilsson Accordion Player      
Jessica Wimert Singer & Pianist    
Jesper Joe Chainsaw Juggler  
Beef noodles Dance Troupe  
Ava Bahari Violinist

Semi-finals Summary

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During the three semi-finals (episodes 5–7), two finalists were chosen from each program, one by the jury and another by public vote. The public voted for a contestant by phoning a specific telephone number, which was published before the show aired.

  Judge Disapproved |   Judge Approved
  Won the public vote |   Won the Jury's vote |   All 3 Judges Disapproved

Semi-final 1

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Semi-Finalist Order Act Jury's Vote Results
Karlsson Hedlund Blom
Funky 4 Brothers 1 Dance Group       Eliminated
Zillah & Totte 2 Ventriloquist       Jury's choice
Robotman 3 Novelty Act       Eliminated
Maria Lundgren 4 Hula Hoop Dancer       Eliminated
Artan Kajtazi 5 Dancer       Eliminated
Fantastic Four 6 Motown Group       Eliminated
Swebounce 7 Stilt Performers       Eliminated
Baby Bang 8 Dancer       Won Public Vote

Semi-final 2

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Semi-Finalist Order Act Jury's Vote Results
Karlsson Hedlund Blom
Slowmotion Phax 1 Slow Motion Act       Eliminated
Skånske Elia 2 Singer       Won Public Vote
Landslide 3 Band       Eliminated
Linda Johansson 4 Aerialist       Eliminated
Hilda Stenmalm 5 Singer       Eliminated
Mahyar Samadi 6 Beatboxer       Eliminated
Simon Trollkarlen 7 Magician       Eliminated
Harlem Hot Shots 8 Dance Troupe       Jury's choice

Semi-final 3

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Semi-Finalist Order Act Jury's Vote Results
Karlsson Hedlund Blom
Julien Dauphin 1 Magician       Jury's choice
Mimmi Sandén 2 Singer       Won Public Vote
Eric Lindeen 3 Yo-yo Artist       Eliminated
Sara Nordenberg-Borch 4 Singer & Conguero       Eliminated
Johan Ståhl 5 Magician       Eliminated
Male 6 Singing Group       Eliminated
Melissa Jacobsson-Velandia 7 Pianist       Eliminated
Diamond Dogs 8 Drag Show       Eliminated

Final

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  Judge Disapproved |   Judge Approved
  Winner |   All 3 Judges Disapproved
Finalist Order Act Jury's Vote Results
Karlsson Hedlund Blom
Zillah & Totte 1 Ventriloquist       Winner
Julien Dauphin 2 Magician       Eliminated
Baby Bang 3 Dancer       Eliminated
Harlem Hot Shots 4 Dance Troupe       Eliminated
Mimmi Sandén 5 Singer       Eliminated
Slowmotion Phax 6 Slow Motion Act       Eliminated
Skånske Elias 7 Singer       Eliminated
Diamond Dogs 8 Drag Show       Eliminated

Winner

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Zillah & Totte when the winner was announced.

Zillah & Totte[15]

Totte is Zillah's three-year-old (stuffed animal) chimpanzee. The duo talk, sing, and perform magic tricks together for their comical performances. For the winning performance, Zillah & Totte sang Herreys "Diggi-loo diggi-ley" on a stage with large letters that spelled TOTTE. In the middle of the song, Zillah fell backwards over the letters and Totte blamed her for destroying their chance to win. "Now you owe me a million!" said Totte to Zillah before first demanding the audience to vote for him and then sweetly asking for their vote. The strategy worked as they not only won the jury's votes but also votes of the public.[16]

Contestants

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Many of the contestants in Talang 2007 are professional entertainers, have family ties in the entertainment business, had previously won talent competitions, or were completing an education specializing in their art form. Participating on the show gave them free publicity for their business and/or art form. A couple of contestants were requested by TV4 or a jury member to participate in the show.[citation needed]

  • Julien Dauphin is a professional magician who won the 2006 Swedish Championships in Magic and the 2004 Nordic Championships in Magic, and placed 6th in the 2006 World Championships in Magic.[17] Prior to Talang 2007, he performed one time with jury member Blom.[18] He was requested by TV4 to participate in Talang 2007 and first turned down the request before finally agreeing to compete.[19] Julien Dauphin made it to the finals and was one of the jury's favorite contestants.
  • The Harlem Hot Shots is a professional dance troupe that specializes in African American dances such as Lindy Hop, Tap dance and Blues dance. The members are internationally recognized dance instructors and performers. They organize and/or teach at the annual Herräng Dance Camp, the world's largest dance camp of its genre. For Talang 2007, their talent was Lindy Hop and they primarily performed Lindy Hop routines at high tempos with many acrobatics. For their final performance however, they started with a short segment of blues dancing and were criticized by jury member Blom for social dancing on stage. The Harlem Hot Shots participated in Talang 2007 to interest the public in the Lindy Hop dance.[citation needed]
  • While the parents of Mimmi Sandén are not singers,[20] Mimmi has two older sisters who are: Molly Sandén and Frida Sandén. The sisters have competed in several talent competitions including Stjärnskott 2006 (Molly placed 1st) and Stage Junior 2006 (Molly placed 1st, Frida and Mimmi qualified). They are often backing singers for each other. For example, Molly and Frida were backing singers for Mimmi during her final performance for Talang 2007. Also Frida and Mimmi were backing singers for Molly during her final performance for Stage Junior 2006.[20] The three sisters met jury member Karlsson during Stage Junior 2006.
  • The father of Skånske Elias (Elias Andersson), Richard Andersson, is a musician and songwriter that has created several neo-classical metal bands. In 2006, Skånske Elias competed and won the Ung Talang 2006 talent competition[21][22] and placed 2nd in Stjärnskott 2006.[23] Skånske Elias made it to the finals of Talang 2007 and was one of Karlsson's and the audience's favorite contestants.
  • Diamond Dogs is a professional drag show team that was created in 2002 by Peter Englund and Reine Tapper. Many popular Swedish artists, such as Linda Bengtzing, Shirley Clamp[24] and Sonja Aldén,[25] have recorded parodies of themselves for the team. Diamond Dogs was surprised to be selected as a wild card finalist but managed to create a new performance, a parody of Talang 2007, for the final show. While jury members Blom and Hedlund thought that Diamond Dogs should not win the competition and gave them red Xs, they found their performance to be very entertaining and also gave them green checks.
  • The female country music band Landslide had disbanded after graduating from gymnasium, but were requested to participate in Talang 2007 by jury member Karlsson. Karlsson had paid for a large colored advertisement in the evening newspaper Expressen to search for them, which they didn't see. Three days before the program recording date, Karlsson called one of the band members and asked them to participate in the show.[26][27] After some discussion, they agreed to do so and spent the next few days practicing together. They received green check marks from Karlsson during both their audition and semi-final performances.
  • During Talang 2007, Melissa Jacobsson-Velandia was a student in the music program at Södra Latin, an elite gymnasium in Stockholm for Sweden's best artists and musicians. She won several scholarships and contests for piano playing, e.g., she won the 2006 SPPF (Swedish Piano Instructor Association) Inspiration Scholarship,[28] the 2007 Steinway Student VIP Prize, and the 2007 Steinway Piano Festival.[29] For Talang 2007, she played difficult classical music pieces that the general public was not familiar with, such as "Gnomenreigen" by Franz Liszt (episode 3). Unfortunately this worked against her. Jury member Karlsson felt that her talent did not belong in the program, partly because it was not a profitable enough talent,[citation needed] and she did not receive enough votes to continue to the finals.

Controversy and criticism

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To make the show appeal to a wide audience, the producers attempted to change the jury's decision during the filming of episode 3.[30] TV4 wanted a mix of males and females to continue from the auditions whereas Karlsson felt that quality should determine whether a contestant continued or not.

During the semi-finals, the jury intentionally only selected adult competitors to continue to the finals since they thought the public would only vote for children and the final program would become a children's show.[31] Debates in the TV4 Talang 2007 forum about the public's tendency to vote for child acts and whether adults and children should compete in the same show were ongoing throughout the entire season.[32] The host, Peppe Eng, had to rush the jury through their comments for each contestant to keep the show on schedule. Furthermore, TV4 sabotaged the show's climax by showing the name of the winner to the TV audience before the winner was announced; when the card containing the winner's name was removed from the envelope, the winner's name faced the camera.[33]

Footnotes

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  1. ^ Henley, Rickard (21 February 2007). "Hårfin gräns mellan talang och dårskap" (in Swedish). TV4.se. Archived from the original on 16 May 2007. Retrieved 21 February 2007.
  2. ^ "Succéstart för "Talang 2007" i TV4". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 16 April 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
  3. ^ ""Talang 2007" överst på tv-toppen". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 23 April 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
  4. ^ "Wallander överst på tv-toppen". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 30 April 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
  5. ^ "TV 4 dominerar på tv-toppen". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 7 May 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
  6. ^ "Schlagerfinalen etta bland tittarna". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 14 May 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
  7. ^ ""Lyxfällan" går hem på tv-toppen". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 21 May 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
  8. ^ "Bra start för "Sommarkrysset"". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 28 May 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
  9. ^ "Fotboll en framgång för Kanal 9". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 4 June 2007. Retrieved 5 June 2007.
  10. ^ Wejbro, Sandra (25 May 2007). "Magiker-Julien till final". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  11. ^ "Bert vill ha ett vuxnare "Talang"". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 31 May 2007. Retrieved 2 June 2007.
  12. ^ Joo, Nathalie (23 May 2007). "Jokrarna chockar deltagarna". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 2 June 2007.
  13. ^ Andersson, Christer (31 May 2007). "Nu är det slutkryssat för Talangjuryn" (in Swedish). TV4.se. Archived from the original on 3 June 2007. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
  14. ^ "Här är Talangerna!". Expressen (in Swedish). 1 June 2007. Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 3 June 2007.
  15. ^ Jonsson, Sandra (1 June 2007). "Zillah: "Det är hur kul som helst"" (in Swedish). TV4.se. Archived from the original on 3 June 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2007.
  16. ^ "Buktalaren Zillah vann 'Talang 2007'". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 1 June 2007.
  17. ^ "Julien Dauphin: Nordens främste illusionist i internationella sammanhang!" (in Swedish). Artist & Eventbolaget. Archived from the original on 28 September 2007. Retrieved 13 June 2007.
  18. ^ Andersson, Christer (25 May 2007). "Magikern Julien klar för Talang-finalen" (in Swedish). TV4.se. Archived from the original on 27 May 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
  19. ^ Brander, Maria (26 May 2007). "Tackade nej till Talang – nu är Julien i final". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 14 June 2011.
  20. ^ a b Julin, Thomas (2006). "Molly tar ton i stor Europafinal" (PDF). Vårt Huddinge (in Swedish). No. 6–2006. p. 10. Archived from the original (PDF) on 27 September 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
  21. ^ "UNG TALANG 2006" (in Swedish). Ung Talang. 22 February 2006. Archived from the original on 27 May 2008. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
  22. ^ Jönsson, Matz (22 February 2006). "Oh boy! Vilken talangfull finalfest det blev". Ystads Allehanda (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 27 February 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
  23. ^ Risberg, Britt (11 June 2006). "Elias knep andra platsen i Stjärnskott 2006". Ystads Allehanda (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
  24. ^ "Diamond Dogs: Glamorös dragshow för 2000 talet!" (in Swedish). Artist & Eventbolaget. Archived from the original on 28 February 2007. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
  25. ^ Klier, Marcus (19 December 2006). "Special – Interview: Sonya Alden". esctoday.com. Retrieved 14 June 2007.
  26. ^ Fredriksson, Johanna (18 May 2007). "Talangjakt i tv blev nystart för Landslide" (in Swedish). Sundsvalls Tidning. Archived from the original on 26 September 2007. Retrieved 7 June 2007.
  27. ^ Höglin, Jens (2 May 2007). "Återförenade på Bert Karlssons begäran". Dagbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 28 September 2007.
  28. ^ "pianopedagogiska nyheter & information" (in Swedish). Svenska Pianopedagogförbundet. 29 May 2006. Archived from the original on 7 January 2009. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  29. ^ "PRISTAGARE I STEINWAY PIANO FESTIVAL 2007" (PDF) (in Swedish). No. 2. SVENSKA PIANOPEDAGOGFÖRBUNDET: VÅRBULLETIN 2007 och kallelse till Årsmöte. 2007. pp. 9–10. Retrieved 16 June 2007.
  30. ^ Johansson, Linna (28 April 2006). "Juryn gör uppror". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
  31. ^ Brander, Maria; Nathalie Joo (19 May 2007). "Taktiken mot barnen". Expressen (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 14 June 2011. Retrieved 31 May 2007.
  32. ^ Björkman, Anders (April 2010), "Ingen talang var värd en miljon", Expressen (in Swedish), archived from the original on 18 April 2013, retrieved 1 June 2007
  33. ^ Wejbro, Sandra (1 June 2007). "Peppes tv-fiasko". Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 3 June 2007. Retrieved 1 June 2007.

References

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