Backstage with Eric Saade!

Sweden’s biggest popstar Eric Saade right now is travelling with his Made of Pop-tour. FRIDA joined!

It’s 4 hours until the show begins when Frida meets a relaxed Eric Saade backstage at Parken Zoo in Eskilstuna. Eric’s tour has just started and the night before he performed in Skellefteå. But you can’t tell he has been sleeping in a bumpy bus last night.

- Hi, nice to meet you, Eric says happily and gives me a big hug. He has just finished his lunch meatballs and suggests me to check out his touring bus. Eric shows me the way and tells the double-decker they are travelling with this year is a big improvement, compared to last year’s small vans.

- We have got insanely good cohesion in the tour gang, because all are travelling in the same bus. We are playing games and talk, Eric tells.

Everywhere in the bus there are empty water- and soda bottles and clothes are lying all over.

- We really need to clean up, the popstar notes.

The hottie isn’t too shy about showing his bed, which is positioned in his own room. It is not made up.

- I really miss a real bed sometimes. We are staying at hotels when we have the possibility, but when there are long distances between the gigs we are forced to sleep in the bus to make it in time.

After the sightseeing tour of the bus we sat down in his dressing room to talk a bit about the life on tour.

- When we arrive to a town, I usually relax and freshen up while the crew rigs the scene. Then I do the soundcheck and chill out a bit before it’s time to perform. I try to save as much energy as possible during the day, because the show is extremely exhausting. I am always bloody tired afterwards! After the show we sometimes party or we immediately go to sleep.

Tell about the concert!

- It’s called “Made of Pop” and it is a big pop act. There is a live band, a lot of dancers and everything is choreographed and directed. The show is best viewed in the evening since it’s also a light show and the lights are tailor-made for each song.

What do you like most about being on tour?

- To do live performances is what I like the most! To be able to focus on the huge crowd in front of me without minding any film cameras is fantastic. At Liseberg there were 15,000 people in the audience and 9,000 in Kiruna – that’s half of their entire population.

How do you find the fans so far?

They have been insanely great! They are the most important to me. I have fans that follow me everywhere. Some of my fans have been to 45 concerts since I started. They even went to the Kiruna concert, even though they live in Stockholm. I brought them on stage in Kiruna and made them a little tribute.

How do you pep yourself before a concert?

- I usually want to be rather alone, really, but it’s hard to be so when you are on tour. Right before I go on stage I usually jump and scream as loud as I can, to get rid of some of the adrenaline overflow.

How do you feel about getting off stage then?

- Boring! Someone told me I look like the most unhappy human being in the world when I go off stage. I just laughed about it, because he was right. I love being on stage and I am an entertainer from the bottom of my heart, so when I have to go off stage it’s a bit boring. But on the other hand you always have to make a good ending and it’s important to make a sudden stop, without trying to stretch it out too much, because then it will not turn out good. At a concert the intro and the end is the most important.

Do you sometimes make mistakes at stage?

- It happens every time, but most of the time, nobody notice. During “Hearts in the Air”, we make a little break in the song to fool the audience it finished, but then we go on again. At Sommarkrysset, I made it in the original version and then I had to readjust to the tour version with the break. So, I went on singing in spite of the fact the band had stopped. You have to smile and go on, it’s a bit charming. You have to pretend it was meant to be like that in the show.

Do you feel dissatisfied with a performance sometimes?

- Yes, always. I am never satisfied, the day I become satisfied I will quit my career as an artist