"High Expectations" in this Autumn's "Idol"

Besides blues, Ella Ekholm, 19, from Stockholm loves semlor. So much that she was on Mauri Hermundsson's YouTube channel "Uppdrag mat", where it soon turned out that she could also sing.

Mauri woke me up at 8 am on a regular Thursday and said I should audition for "Idol". It was just a matter of getting dressed and going. I was very nervous, but it went really well, she says.

She graduated in the spring and now it's full focus on "Idol".

It's scary, of course, but super fun. I'm so excited. For me, the most important thing is that I can radiate positivity. That people will get happy and maybe start dancing.

Wants to make her son proud

She's trying not to think about her chances in the competition.

It's thrilling, but not my biggest focus. I'll just try to have as much fun as possible and not compare myself too much with the others.

For 23-year-old Robin Sohlberg from Gunnarskog outside Arvika, the competition means a major life change since he became a father just two months ago.

Now I'm trying to get into this "Idol" bubble and just focus. It's tough, but I know it's only for a limited period.

The Värmland native, who prefers to sing country, has previously performed for a few hundred people at most, but believes he has good chances of charming TV viewers.

I've gotten very nice feedback on social media, so I have pretty high expectations. The most important thing is that I make myself and my son proud.

Called "no-man"

A lot is new since last year – including Ash Pournouri, the former Avicii manager, who now takes a seat on the jury. He thinks he's already found his role on the panel.

The others call me "no-man". It's just become that I've been a bit more picky about what I'm looking for and where I think the bar should be, he says.

Pournouri has a heavy CV as a music producer and manager, but since Avicii's death in 2017, he's kept a low profile in the music industry. Meeting young artists on the show gives him a taste for more, he thinks.

We just get to sit there and give pretty short feedback, and you'd wish you had time and opportunity to help them a bit more and put more energy into making them bloom. But for some, it's already happening, which is super cool.

The weekly finals start on TV4 on Saturday at 8 pm. The final takes place on December 7.

New this year is, among other things, the changed broadcast time from Friday to Saturday, and that the program is broadcast from Filadelfiakyrkan in Stockholm, where the final also takes place. New jury members are Peg Parnevik and Ash Pournouri, who join Anders Bagge and Katia Mosally.

This year's idols:

Leon Cotter, 18, Stockholm

Ella Ekholm, 19, Stockholm

Margaux Flavet, 16, Stockholm

Robin Hörnkvist, 28, Örnsköldsvik

Victoria Grace Larsson, 24, Stockholm

Benjamin Löfquist, 27, Stockholm/Åhus

Minou Nilsson, 18, Stockholm

Joel Nordenberg, 21, Stockholm

Olivia Oyemade Merenius, 23, Haninge

Lucas Schönefeld, 19, Helsingborg

Robin Sohlberg, 23, Arvika