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.
Popularity 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 2007-04-13 Wallander – Innan frosten(movie, part 1 of 13)TV4, Sunday1 590 000 Talang 2007TV4, Friday1 535 000 Playa del Sol(comedy)SVT1, Sunday1 315 000 2 2007-04-20 Talang 2007TV4, Friday1 620 000 Wallander – Byfånen(movie, part 2 of 13)TV4, Sunday1 595 000 Postkodmiljonären(quiz game show)TV4, Friday1 260 000 3 2007-04-27 Wallander – Bröderna(movie, part 3 of 13)TV4, Sunday1 375 000 Talang 2007TV4, Friday1 315 000 PostkodmiljonärenTV4, Saturday1 005 000 4 2007-05-04 Wallander – Mörkret(movie, part 4 of 13)TV4, Sunday1 495 000 Talang 2007TV4, Friday1 490 000 PostkodmiljonärenTV4, Saturday1 075 000 5 2007-05-11 Eurovision Song Contest, finalSVT1, Saturday3 425 000 Wallander – Afrikanen(movie, part 5 of 13)TV4, Sunday1 570 000 Talang 2007TV4, Friday1 480 000 6 2007-05-18 Talang 2007TV4, Friday1 260 000 Bonde söker fru(match-making)TV4, Saturday1 205 000 PostkodmiljonärenTV4, Saturday1 155 000 7 2007-05-25 Talang 2007TV4, Friday1 145 000 Sommarkrysset med lottodragningen(song and music)TV4, Saturday1 070 000 Anna Pihl(crime drama series)TV4, Monday950 000 8 2007-06-01 Talang 2007TV4, Friday1 640 000 Time out(comedy)TV4, Friday1 290 000 Sportspegeln(sports news)SVT1, Sunday1 085 000
Public voting started when the program aired on Friday and ended at midnight Sunday. 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.
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. With only two days to prepare for the final competition, the wild card finalists had little chance of winning.
For the final program (episode 8), the winner was chosen only by public vote. 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.
Auditions Summary
Judge Disapproved | Judge Approved
Semi-finalists By Jury
NameActJury's Vote 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
NameActJury's Vote 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
NameActJury's Vote 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
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
Semi-final 1
Semi-FinalistOrderActJury's VoteResults Funky 4 Brothers 1 Dance Group Zillah & Totte 2 Ventriloquist Robotman 3 Novelty Act Maria Lundgren 4 Hula Hoop Dancer Artan Kajtazi 5 Dancer Fantastic Four 6 Motown Group Swebounce 7 Stilt Performers Baby Bang 8 Dancer
Semi-final 2
Semi-FinalistOrderActJury's VoteResults Slowmotion Phax 1 Slow Motion Act Skånske Elia 2 Singer Landslide 3 Band Linda Johansson 4 Aerialist Hilda Stenmalm 5 Singer Mahyar Samadi 6 Beatboxer Simon Trollkarlen 7 Magician Harlem Hot Shots 8 Dance Troupe
Semi-final 3
Semi-FinalistOrderActJury's VoteResults Julien Dauphin 1 Magician Mimmi Sandén 2 Singer Eric Lindeen 3 Yo-yo Artist Sara Nordenberg-Borch 4 Singer & Conguero Johan Ståhl 5 Magician Male 6 Singing Group Melissa Jacobsson-Velandia 7 Pianist Diamond Dogs 8 Drag Show
Final
Judge Disapproved | Judge Approved
FinalistOrderActJury's VoteResults Zillah & Totte 1 Ventriloquist Julien Dauphin 2 Magician Baby Bang 3 Dancer Harlem Hot Shots 4 Dance Troupe Mimmi Sandén 5 Singer Slowmotion Phax 6 Slow Motion Act Skånske Elias 7 Singer Diamond Dogs 8 Drag Show
Winner
Zillah & Totte
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.
Contestants 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.
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. Prior to Talang 2007, he performed one time with jury member Blom. He was requested by TV4 to participate in Talang 2007 and first turned down the request before finally agreeing to compete. 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. While the parents of Mimmi Sandén are not singers, 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. 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 and placed 2nd in Stjärnskott 2006. 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 and Sonja Aldén, 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. 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.