“The Voice”-Thomas did not know who turned:

– Now it’s so crazy that I’m getting used to it, laughs 31-year-old Thomas Tvedt.

Dramatic accident: – Was terrified

He is talking about “The Voice”, the TV 2 program that has engaged Norway in recent weeks. The final is on Friday, and Tvedt is among the four finalists.

– It’s really nerve-wracking that it’s the final, and that the whole of Norway is watching the assessment of the result at the same time that I get to know it myself, so of course I feel it.

“A “real” blind audition”

Standing on stage, on the other hand, is no stranger to the finalist. He has taken a long education specifically in music, and now freelances as a musician.

– But it’s different when people have to judge it – when people go to a concert it’s because they want to, but here they have to either vote you out or vote you forward.

The fact that Tvedt is on the screen every Friday night is mainly due to the fact that he watched the program with his partner last year. After a short time, he himself estimates five minutes, he registered himself as a participant.

It was an important element for the finalist that “The Voice” is a singing competition where you are only judged on your voice. Tvedt is blind, but he did not want the decision about his vote to be made on that basis.

– I feel misunderstood

– They (the mentors, journ.anm.) don’t see us, and they didn’t know anything about me not being able to see. I don’t see them either, and not who might have turned around. When I finished singing, Ina (Wroldsen, journ.anm.) said: “Congratulations, you’re through!”, and then I just thought: “Thank you”, because I didn’t know if I had heard correctly, he says, before laughingly adding:

– But it was a bit absurd. Yes, I went on, and everyone knew who had turned but me.

One in five in the world

Tvedt, who has been blind all his life, likes to talk about it when the people he talks to are curious, but emphasizes that as a society there is much to learn.

– I believe that we as individuals are more open and inclusive than we are as a society. Many people who cannot see struggle to get a job. Sighted people often want to learn and are curious, but as soon as it comes to work, it’s as if they apparently think: “Oi, this is going to be difficult, I understand that this person has an education, but that person is blind, so I don’t take the chance”, he says, and specifies that he feels that this does not only apply in Norway.

– Now our new life starts

He himself has also got involved with other young people in his situation, and says that he teaches echolocation. It is sending out sound signals, and when the echo comes back you can use it to orientate yourself in the room.

– There is almost no one who teaches it worldwide, and there was no one in Norway. So I helped start an organization that simply flew in the experts who knew something about it, so that those who are young can learn it early. Last fall I became certified to teach it! There are five in the world that are, and I am the first in Northern Europe, he says passionately.

– Those who want to poke, poke

Back to “The Voice”.

Tvedt says that he does not dare to predict the outcome of the final, and emphasizes that he is very honored to be a part of it.

– I feel that everyone I have met there I have made much closer contact with than I had thought. We have almost become like a weird little family where we sit backstage, he says.

The feedback he has received in connection with the program is largely about his singing voice rather than the fact that he cannot see – just as he wanted.

Found joy: – Was completely exhausted

– I want to be on “The Voice” without the fact that I am blind being the main focus. Ideally, we would have lived in a world where we treat each other with the same respect regardless of our background, but we don’t have that, says Tvedt.

He adds a “but”:

– Those who want to poke, would have found something to poke at anyway. I am also very open about the fact that I cannot watch the programme. I joke about it a lot.

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