Check out the faces in the picture above - they're about to become very familiar over the next few weeks for fans of Swedish "Idol", as they have made the final stages of this year's competition.
Confession time: I didn't have any time to watch any of the audition shows this year, but then I'm not really too bothered if I watch the auditions anyway as I prefer to tune in once the Friday-finals start.
So who's in the final line-up then??
Geir Rönning : firstly, he's not Swedish - he's Norwegian. And if you're a Eurovision fan, you'll be familiar with the name, as in true Scandinavian style he crossed the border and represented Finland back in 2005 with the song "Why" but failed to get out of the semi-finals.
47 year old Geir wowed the viewers this week with his excellent version of one of the biggest Swedish hits of the 90s - "Burnin'" by Cue.
Elin Blom : Finnish rock-chick and member of Sister Twister, whose version of "Nothing Else Matters" was enough to get her through to the final stages.
Sassa Bodensjö: even more of a rock-chick than Elin, Sassa growled her way though "Highway to Hell". Swedish Idol is so refreshing - you would never get this in X Factor!!
Linda Varg : another potential rock-chick in the making, her version of "Bubbly" was OK but not brilliant.
Jay Smith : keeping the rock-theme going, he could maybe be this year's Calle or Erik?
Linnea Henriksson : I haven't heard any of her other songs, but her brittle presentation intrigued me and I'm curious about how she'll progress in this competition.
Alice Hagenbrant : I believe she's one of the favourites, if I'm right? On this showing however I wasn't so thrilled, but that's more to do with her song choice I guess?
Minnah Karlsson: more of a country feel here, as she took on "Not Ready to Make Nice" as her qualifying song.
Daniel Norberg : he's a little bit "boyband" but I'm not sure if there's much potential there?
Andreas Weise : unfortunately he was doomed for me with his song choice, the dreadful "I Believe I Can Fly". No further comment.
Olle Hedberg : just when I was feeling a bit despondent about this year's finalists, along came Olle to get me interested again. And then I checked out his "No Diggity"/"Lady Hear Me Tonight" medley from the audition, and was hooked. I'm not sure how far he'll get in the competition, but I think he's my favourite so far.
The live-finals begin next Friday, 8th October on TV4. May the best contestant win!
Check out the faces in the picture above - they're about to become very familiar over the next few weeks for fans of Swedish "Idol", as they have made the final stages of this year's competition.
