Eurovision winner ‘not homophobic’

Gay friendly … Eurovision winner Mans Zelmerlow is comfortable with homosexuality and kissing a pink microphone. Picture: AP Photo/Ronald Zak
Source: AP

After getting lost in a Mans YouTube black hole, here’s a quick catch up on what you need to know about the sweet Swede and why he’s spent a year apologising for a lost-in-translation quote that saw him state homosexuality was an “abomination”.

Eurovictor: Sweden’s Mans Zelmerlow gets digital on stage. AFP PHOTO / DIETER NAGL
Source: AFP

Firstly, it’s pronounced Mons Sel-mer-lov and his song Heroes scored 365 points, the third-best score in Eurovision history. The catchy, Avicii-like Heroes has been re-serviced to Australian radio today after his victory and it’s already No. 8 on iTunes (Guy’s Tonight Again is No. 2 and the Eurovision soundtrack album is No. 1).

Heroes has already hit No. 1 in Sweden, where it’s double platinum, and he’s got an album called Perfectly Damaged due for release on June 5.

It’s his fourth album (if you don’t count two Christmas releases) and features a song called The Core of You which he wrote with Australians Tania Doko (Bachelor Girl) and Cameron McGlinchey, ex-Rogue Traders, and also Natalie Bassingthwaighte’s husband.

Where did he come from? Well, like Guy Sebastian, Idol. And like Guy, he’s got a decade of reality TV, hit albums and live performances under his belt.

Ten years ago, Zelmerlow came fifth in Swedish Idol, when he was just 18. He belted out a range of songs in English, including two songs by the artist many on Twitter feel he looks most like, Enrique Iglesias, spookily also Hero. Here’s his audition, with a Swedish backstory and some a cappella Enrique action.

During his time on Idol, there was also some Tom Jones, U2, cough, Hoobastank, cough, and Robbie Williams. Here’s Mans, dressed like the Hamburglar, singing unofficial Swedish national anthem The Look by Roxette. Na na na na na.

A year after Idol, a 19-year-old Zelmerlow won the Swedish version of Dancing With the Stars, Let’s Dance. Here’s his Grand Final dance, busting moves to Live and Let Die.

And here’s some Tango in fetching Big Bird yellow:

That led to Zelmerlow being cast as Danny in a Swedish musical version of Grease. He also starred in the Swedish stage production of Footloose. Kid can move.

But Zelmerlow was always a Eurovisionary. As far back as 2007 he entered Melodifestivalen, the national contest where Swedes pick who will represent them at Eurovision.

He never won. and eventually wound up hosting the event instead. He still managed to sing on the event, one year picking Duran Duran’s wonderful Bond theme A View to a Kill. It sounds like this:

Another year during his Melodifestivalen stint, he sang Eye of the Tiger with Dolph Lundgren. Dolph should have left Mons do all the heavy vocal lifting. We’re sorry in advance you have to hear this.

Zelmerlow even banged out some Christmas releases (as reality TV stars love to do) and proved he can pull off a good EuroBuble.

This year he again entered Melodifestivalen, but with Heroes. This time it worked. Here he workshopped the hi-tech performance (and cheap but effective shirt) he’d recycle for Eurovision.

But despite winning the genetic lottery — and a few reality TV shows — Zelmerlow dug himself a major hole on a Swedish reality TV show last year. The program puts celebrities around a table and films their conversations.

During a debate on homosexuality, Zelmerlow said something that translates to: “it isn’t equally natural for men to want to sleep with one another”, and called homosexuality an “avvikelse”, which can best be translated as an abnormality or abomination.

While he did his best Seinfeld and said “there isn’t anything wrong with it at all”, he also noted “the more natural thing, of course, is that men and women make children together.”

Here it is in Swedish, with a flustered look from the old chap at the end saying it all.

The quotes gained major attention in Sweden, especially for a man whose background is musical theatre and pop music and who was hot for performing in Eurovision.

After the backlash Zelmerlow released a statement which read: “I want to apologise to all who take offence,” he said. “I believe and hope that the vast majority know that I respect differences and all forms of love.”

The gay media in Sweden have said Zelmerlow is comfortable spending time with the LGBT community and said most of Sweden had moved on, but the story circulated again after his Eurovision win, especially considering his main competition came from the gay unfriendly Russia.

Politically incorrect … Eurovision winner, Sweden’s Mans Zelmerlow, was embroiled in controversy after making some homophobic remarks. AFP PHOTO / DIETER NAGL
Source: AFP

Once again, Zelmerlow has been on the sorry circuit now his profile has raised and the offending comments are just a Google away to people who’ve just been introduced to him.

Zelmerlow tellingly used his Eurovision acceptance speech to note “We are all heroes, no matter who we love, who we are or what we believe in.”

In this recent video with a gay media group, Zelmerlow apologises for his comments on camera and explains what went wrong.

“I used a word that had a negative ring to it, it wasn’t the word I was looking for, it was stupid and I messed up and I’ve been trying to apologise for it ever since. Most of my friends are gay, they all know I’m as far from a homophobe as you can be.

I think that homosexuality is just as natural as heterosexuality, I’m trying to prove I think that all the time.”

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And here’s Heroes acoustic if you want to see Mans in a turtle neck minus little digital men:

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