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Plus on life before the debut • “Awkward”
Updated 17.05 | Published 2024-02-29 21.06
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Now former “Idol” winner Jay Smith is making a comeback in the spotlight and competing in Mello.
Before the competition, he has been fighting a stubborn cold, but it is nothing that worries him.
– My voice doesn’t usually get that bad. I’ve even been out playing with bilateral pneumonia, he says.
- “Idol” winner Jay Smith makes a comeback in the spotlight and competes in Melodifestivalen on Saturday. He has been battling a stubborn cold ahead of the competition but is not worried about the singing performance.
- In the interview, the Mello artist gets to put “Plus på liet” and he gives his career the full pot. In the past year, he has been able to concentrate entirely on music, he says.
- The artist says that he shows up in Mello to be able to invest in music 100 percent because it is through music that he wants to make a living. “The only way to be able to continue doing this seriously was to make a rocker like Mello,” he says.
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Jay Smith42, is gearing up for his big Melodifestivalen debut on Saturday.
After winning “Idol” 12 years ago, he has released three albums and played between 60 and 70 gigs a year as a musician. But now standing in front of the TV cameras again feels both nervous and a little strange.
– But nervousness is needed and keeps you on your toes. It was a relief after today’s rep. I was a little “awkward” yesterday but it felt good today, says the artist who is on site in Karlstad where competition five is held.
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full screenJay Smith at Thursday’s rehearsal for the Middle Debut. Photo: Robin Lorentz Allard
Relates to his song
Smith competes with the song “Back to my roots”, which is about getting up again after you have fallen in life.
– I guess that’s the spirit. Maybe it’s not so important that you fall, it’s more important how you get up, he says.
Can you relate to the song yourself?
– I can do that. Absolutely, you can sing songs that you personally can’t relate to 100%. But I think you always find something in a song that makes you make it your own. That’s probably the beauty of music.
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full screenJay Smith. Photo: Robin Lorentz Allard
Jay Smith puts a plus on life
The career
– The last year I have had to go back and concentrate 100% on music. I’ve written some damn good songs and I’ve connected with some very nice people. I got a new ignition and it feels damn good.
The economy
– When my wife got pregnant, we decided it was time to have a slightly more stable economy. When you are a touring musician, you can have very good months, you can also have slightly worse months. And when you have a family, it’s not as easy.
– Then I started working as a craftsman. Then it became full time during the week and out to play on the weekends. And it could definitely be intense.
You mentioned earlier that you are with in Mello partly because of the economy.
– It was a bit simplified there. What I meant was probably more to be able to concentrate 100 percent on what you really want to do.
– The only way to be able to continue doing this seriously was to make a rocked one like this, for example making Mello. Because you want to be able to provide for your family, and if I’m allowed to choose, I’d like to provide for my family by making music.
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full screenJay Smith. Photo: Robin Lorentz Allard
The love life
– I am happily married. We have been married for six years and together for almost 13 years. She is my other half and she is the one who balances me out.
The health
– We’ll probably put it on a 2.5. I caught a bad cold last Friday and I’ve been struggling with it now. But if you ignore the cold, 3.5.
Oh then, how about the voice then?
– I’ve been a bit lucky there. My voice doesn’t usually get that bad. I’ve even been out playing with bilateral pneumonia and it’s worked out.
You have been open with your past drug abuse. How do you see it today?
– That was then. Now I’m a father. I am a real man and there is no place for such things in my life.
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full screenJay Smith. Photo: Robin Lorentz Allard
The future
– I give it a cautious four with a lot of hope. I dare not take things for granted. If things are to work, the dominoes must fall in the right way. So you can’t always control it yourself. The only thing you can do is your best.
Do you have any future dreams?
– It would have been that this would go so well that I had the opportunity and space to go over to Nashville and write a little. Maybe see me around America a bit. It has always been a dream.
Jay Smith competes in Melodifestivalen’s fifth competition which is broadcast on Saturday at 20:00 and on SVT Play.
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full screenJay Smith. Photo: Robin Lorentz Allard
