Piteå tops the list of Idol winners

Nike Sellmar won Idol 2022. With two Idol winners on their resume, Piteå now tops the list of Idol cities in Sweden.

Nike Sellmar is the second Idol participant from Piteå to win Idol, after Nadja Holm. Previously, Lindesberg was the only city in Sweden with two Idol winners. Now Piteå also has two winners and thus takes the step up to the absolute Idol top among Sweden's cities. The winner Nike Sellmar sees several reasons for Piteå's Idol success, but mainly she wants to highlight the spirit and the people in Piteå as important factors.

“Piteå is a city of passionate people and you are incredibly passionate about what you do. There are so many nice people here. I really appreciate it and I am very proud to live in Piteå. It's a small but very lively city and that's why I want to stay”, she says.

The recent Idol winner moved to Piteå to study the Bachelor programme in music with specialisation studio musician at the Piteå School of Music at Luleå University of Technology, where she graduated in 2021. The opportunity to focus fully on music and to surround herself with talented students and teachers is something she highlights as a contributing factor to her own musical development.

“In Piteå, I got a lot of time to prioritise my music and my musical development, which did a lot for me. Then there are many talented musicians and teachers who are at the School of Music. It has been important.”

Piteå resident Nadja Holm won Idol 2020. Today, she performs under the stage name Nadja Kasanesh and is currently busy with the musical “The Bodyguard”, where she plays the lead role. In addition to this, she is also preparing to sing on New Years eve at Skansen. Like Nike Sellmar, Nadja Holm highlights the people and the school as strongly contributing to Piteå's success in the music field.

“It is nice that Piteå has prioritised culture, including the folk high school and university. As a result, many people from all over Sweden and the world come to one and the same place and get to share something fantastic together. It broadens the horizons for many and we can be inspired by each other. It's super important.”

Nadja Holm started taking singing lessons when she was 13 and was taught by students at the School of Music. When she was in ninth grade, one of these aspiring music teachers managed to cure Nadja Holm's stage fright. Recently they met again, when the same teacher came to see her sing in “The Bodyguard”.

“It was so nice that I got to meet her again and talk to her. She helped me a lot”, says Nadja Holm.

The commitment to singing eventually led Nadja Holm to Framnäs, a school that meant a lot to her.

“If it hadn't been for Framnäs, I probably would have thought about music in a completely different way than I do today, which led to Idol.”

This year's winner Nike Sellmar is passionate about old blues and country music, a passion she shares with last year's Piteå participant Fredrik Lundman. When Nike Sellmar is asked which course and which teacher meant the most to her at the School of Music, she singles out doctoral student and teacher Mikael Bäckman.

“Mikael Bäckman has meant a lot to me. His love for music history and the music he makes was incredibly inspiring. We had music history and hands-on music history with him where we played country and jazz from the 40s and it was some of the funniest projects I've ever done.”

Like Nike Sellmar, Mikael Bäckman is passionate about country and blues. He was Sweden's first graduate harmonica teacher and has studied under some of the best harmonica players in the world. Today he is working on a doctorate in Musical Performance and together with Ulrika Weinz he leads the band John Henry. Mikael Bäckman remembers Nike Sellmar well and highlights her qualities as a singer.

“She really stood out. She could sing whatever was thrown at her. By the time she was in second and third grade, it became clear that she was very interested in country and blues. It's super fun. It's the same genre that I myself am passionate about.”

Piteå has long invested in music education, where music-interested residents and new residents are given the opportunity to play from a young age right up to university level. Mikael Bäckman believes that this is a contributing factor to the fact that several high-profile musicians come from Piteå.

“I think the environment around Framnäs and the School of Music is important. If you are interested in music and like to play, there are an incredible number of talented musicians here that you can mingle with. We also have a big focus on rock and pop in Piteå, which is a bit special. Otherwise, it is often classical music that dominates”, says Mikael Bäckman.

Writer: Simon Olofsson