There has been a lot of talk about Didrik Solli-Tangen, a humble young man from Porsgrunn in Telemark, who shot to stardom after winning the Norwegian final in February with the song My Heart Is Yours. This victory exposed Didrik to a world he hadn't experienced before, being the centre of attention everywhere he went and being recognised by ordinary people from all over Norway and Europe.
This year especially there is a lot of pressure on Didrik as the 2010 edition of Europe's favourite television show is to be held on home turf in Oslo, where a whole nation will be resting their hopes on this 22 year old man and his powerful voice. The media have even given him an endearing nickname, "Fløyelsesgutten" (Flying Performance Guy)
In recognition of this NRK decided to make a documentary entitled Stemmen Fra Telemark (The Voice From Telemark), which has followed Didrik's incredible journey since winning the Norwegian final back in February. As well as a behind-the-scenes look at Didrik's professional career we also get a look at certain elements of Didrik's private life, including his love of tinkering with cars. In the course of the documentary the subject of his forthcoming appearance at the Eurovision Song Contest was of course discussed at length.
"Just after I won (the national final), I thought, 'this is okay... All I have to do is sing'. But it isn't just singing. There is so much to keep control of", says Didrik in recognition of the immense task ahead of him.
When discussing his new status of "celebrity", Didrik said, "I don't feel like a celebrity. In a way, I'm just new. All of this is so new to me".However, if you talk with any ordinary person in the street they would probably agree that Didrik is well and truly a celebrity who they hope will bring Norway a fourth victory in Oslo in just a few weeks time.
Norway, as the host nation, is directly qualified to the final of the 2010 Eurovision Song Contest, which is to be held on the 29th of May at the Telenor Arena in Oslo. Here he has been drawn to perform third, which he is apparently quite relieved about, according to Melodi Grand Prix host, Per Sundnes.
To see the documentary, log on to NRK's Nett-TV for on-demand viewing!
Didrik performing his entry, My Heart Is Yours at the Norwegian final (Melodi Grand Prix) at Oslo Spektrum in February:
