What’s this? This Friday sees the grand final of the latest series of Swedish Idol. Though in an unusual twist, rather than waiting for the winner to release their winner’s single after the show, this year they’ve gone and released both version of the winner’s song – pre-contest. And that song is ‘Rain’.
And who are the finalists? Meet Freddie Liljeberg and Tusse Chiza!
What’s Freddie been capable of this series? Known for his rockier vocal and song preferences, his standout was when he stepped out of that comfort zone and delivered a surprinsingly banging rendition of ‘Uptown Funk‘.
And Tusse? Well Tusse has undeniably been the breakout star of the series. And watching this performance of ‘Rise Like A Phoenix’ will go some way towards explaining that.
And ‘Rain’? Now after twelve years online, you should all by now that we are big fans of an Idol winner’s single. ‘Rain’ however, serves as one of the best in years. It takes the inspirational ballad template and turns every element of that blueprint up a notch, turning it into a three-minute epic of truly great proportions. Avoiding the usual lyrical cliches of the Idol or X Factor winner’s single, ‘Rain’ instead offers up a more universal message about having already found the strength and courage that one needs in life. And with the production for both releases staying the same, it’s left to each singer’s vocal performance to do mark itself out as the winner of the two recordings. Judge for yourself below!
Written by? Patrik Jean, Melanie Wehbe and Herman Gardarfve.
SONG: Freddie – ‘Rain’ and Tusse – ‘Rain’
