– When I lived in Oslo, some of my friends got families and stuff like that. Much else that happened was industry-related. I felt quite lonely at the end there. Then I went home to Stavanger one summer, and there I met many childhood friends. It almost became secondary school for me again.
This is what artist Tommy Fredvang (42) says to Dagbladet.
– Cry like a little child
The last time he played a solo concert in Oslo was in 2010. At that time he was based in Oslo, had quite recently participated in “X Factor” on TV 2, and as if that were not enough, he participated in “Skal vi danse” on the same year channel.
14 years later, he returns to the capital on the occasion of his new album “Tidløs”.
Video originally published on dagbladet.no/dbtv.no on 05/08/2015 LATTERMILDT: See how it went when artist Tommy Fredvang interpreted Aune Sand’s novel “Strawberry Mouse”. Video: Rolf-Ørjan Høgset Show more
– I got the dream
Three years after “Shall we dance” and Blå brought it home to Stavanger – probably for good.
– When I came back to Oslo after that summer, I thought I just wanted to go back home. I moved. I thought I gave up on the dream, but it turns out that’s when I got the dream. My creativity exploded after I met what would become my wife. Then there were four solo albums from 2020 until now.
Married: – Never cried so much
At home, Fredvang formed the band Stavangerkameratene together with “Idol” and “The Voice” stars Kjartan Salvesen (47), Glenn Lyse (50) and Ole Alexander Mæland (44).
BACK: Tommy Fredvang willingly showed the streets of his childhood when Dagbladet visited him in Stavanger last summer. Photo: Carina Johansen / Dagbladet Show more
– Is it a bit scary to come back – alone?
– I was alone for all the years before we formed the band, so most of my career happened before that. But then that has become bigger than anything else, suddenly it’s what you’re known for. But no, I don’t feel more insecure like that solo. I feel like I’ve been doing it for so many years that music is just an extension of myself.
Nevertheless:
– It is common for people to compare one with their own project, which is called Stavangerkameratene and which is huge. From many thousands of viewers to around 200 now. But then it’s also a completely different concept that I’m working on alone, so it doesn’t stress me out, he says.
– A terribly sticky proposal
– On the face many times
Last summer, Dagbladet was able to report that Fredvang had married in Spain one of his two great rays of sunshine, Tara Shahimi (29). Together they have a daughter Ayla (2).
– Full of anxiety and horror
Starting a family has completely changed the former TV profile.
– It gave me peace of mind, and is much of the reason why I don’t let everything else influence me too much. I know I have a place where I’m someone’s superhero no matter what. Whatever happens, I will come home to something safe and sound. Things aren’t as scary anymore.
HAPPILY IN LOVE: Tommy Fredvang and Tara Shahimi met each other in 2017, and fell head over heels for each other. Last summer they got married in Spain. Photo: Rune Havn Show more
– In what way?
– I have been on the nose many times in my life. So many times that I know I can handle it if it happens again. Because of those I have around me.
Ended up on the wrong course
“X Factor” in 2009, where he ended up in fifth place, opened many doors for the then 27-year-old 42-year-old. The only problem was that he was at the very beginning of his musical career and was terribly at a loss on the way forward.
– It probably led to me getting involved in a lot of things I didn’t really want to do. It became more of a celebrity than a thought of being able to make a living from music. Those things go hand in hand, but for someone who is at the very beginning of their music career, it is easy to end up on the wrong course.
– We are getting married in five weeks
He still does not regret the choices he made at the time.
– No, I don’t regret it. It was fun, and a challenge to get through. It also gave me a name, so you shouldn’t blackmail the things that have helped shape me. If I hadn’t done it there, I might not be part of the Stavanger friends today either.
According to Fredvang, it is not just private life, a relatively newly founded family, that makes him feel more mature and secure in himself today.
– I returned to the streets of my childhood, and was reminded of who I really was. On the right course. There’s something about coming home to your pack, the ones who’ve known you since you were little. The ones who know who you are through thick and thin. Being able to take off the mask and just be yourself.
Have become a father
Paying tribute to own parents
– Has it affected you in other ways?
– Yes. After becoming a father myself, I have realized what an enormous job my parents have done for me. There are a million processes during a day that my wife and I have to do in order for Ayla to be fine. My parents have done that for me for 18…
He pulls on it.
– Actually, all my life, I would say.
JUMPED IN: Tommy Fredvang took part in “X Factor” in 2009. There he ended up in fifth place. Photo: Cornelius Poppe / NTB Show more
In 2021, his band Stavangerkameratene released the song “Barndomsgater”, a song they also participated in MGP with in the same year.
The song was written by Fredvang.
– It is about exactly this, and flowed out of me when I wrote it. I didn’t spend much time on that text either, because it describes my journey, but I think it also describes the journey of Ole, Glenn and Kjartan. We hit our base again, says Tommy Fredvang to Dagbladet.
Embarrassing: Thomas “Fingern” Gullestad is clearly embarrassed by what his “I fyr og flamme” partner Ailo Gaup serves in Swedish “Idol”. Video: TV 2/TV4/Fremantle Show more
The former “X Factor” contestant will perform five concerts around Norway after Friday’s performance in Oslo.