Table Manners with Jessie and Lennie Ware - S15 Ep 20: Loreen

Episode Date: July 5, 2023

A Table Manners EUPHORIA! The Queen of Eurovision has arrived in Clapham! She’s the only female (and only the second person ever) to have won Eurovision twice, the one and only Loreen joins us this week. Loreen told us all about her lifelong spirituality, the Moroccan meals her mother used to cook her when she was young, her huge sweet tooth, her unique dressing room rider, and the special meaning behind her latest Eurovision performance outfit. Loreen is on tour across the UK and Europe throughout November & December, tickets available now, don’t miss it! Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hello and welcome to Table Manners. I'm Jessie Ware and I'm her mum. How was Glastonbury, Jess? Glastonbury was a bit like euphoria. So you enjoyed yourself? Yeah, I did. I did a lot. It's the best place on earth. Good. I had a few people come up to me in the wee hours saying I love Lenny and I said it's not about her this weekend. Thank you. What else? I stayed at The Pig. Yeah. Because I'm a princess.

Yeah. And I like the finer things. I like to watch the Arctic Monkeys in a roll top bath. Did you like the Arctic Monkeys? I did enjoy the Arctic Monkeys. I thought they were great. I don't know why they were so criticised actually. I think Alex Turner's an absolute pro. The poor guy had no voice on Monday

and he went and rocked it out on the Friday. Yeah, and they still want him to talk about singing, fighting in a chip shop when he's nearly 40. What do they want from the bloke? He's our Scott Walker, isn't he? I love his voice. He's a crooner. He's a crooner.

Anyway, he's amazing. I think the monkeys are amazing. Who else was your favourite? Elton. Barrington else was your favourite? Elton Barrington Levy was amazing Elton was unbelievable and I just the people in front, we didn't speak too much

apart from the guy had a fabulous fan that said see you next Tuesday and it was just fabulous but there was this group of friends in front of us and they just had it right. They had snacks. They were so sweet.

And they were like these lovely gentlemen that were handing out snacks for each other. Because we were there for a long time before Elton came on to get our spot. And they just looked like they were having a gorgeous time. What else did I see? Gabriel's was amazing. Really fab. Celeste came out for that. Oh, Rick Astley, one of our podcast guests.

The best. And Blossom's also podcast guest. When you perform again, can you get security to do the dance in front of you like they did for Rick Astley? What did they do? Didn't you see them? The whole line of security in blue. Amazing. Said never give you up, never going to make you cry and then twirl around or desert you i mean rick hasley he's really got them going but blossoms and rick hasley were both both old uh table manners guests we love them my manager peter was like you've got to go and see

this show they did uh very it was announced in the morning or the smiths the smiths it was announced in the morning. Or the Smiths. The Smiths. It was such a good atmosphere. I just annoyingly needed a wee so badly that I had to leave after five songs. But it was so fabulous. And just how freaking cool of Blossoms, who are an amazing band, just to stand aside, Rick Astley, take it. They were just, it was cool.

Love them. I'd quite like to go and see Rick Astley. He's got a great voice. Who I felt very, like all our podcast guests that we've had over the years. Rina, I didn't see. I saw her with Elton. I wished I'd seen her. I love Rina.

And it looked like she absolutely smacked her show. And then she did so well with Elton. Love her. Had a really good going curry there. Had a very good mac and cheese during Loyal Connor, another friend of the podcast. He was fantastic. Was he? Amazing.

Should we talk about our guest tonight? Yes, we should. Also amazing. Very amazing. Kind of a big deal. Kind of a big deal. Every gay man I've told that we have this person on is thrilled. Yeah, even your brother. Even my brother who doesn't get excited about anything.

Yeah. We have Laureen. Yeah. Two time winning Eurovision. Yeah. And adored. Adored. Adored.

Is she huge in Sweden then? She's massive. Yeah. She probably knows that boyfriend I had, that Swedish one that I tell everyone about. Literally beyond shifts. Yeah. Yeah. She probably knows that boyfriend I had, that Swedish one that I tell everyone about. Literally, Bjorn Schiff. Yeah. Yeah, like tattooed on my brain. He's huge, Jessie.

Obviously, Eurovision was in Liverpool this year. It was amazing. Tully, who is here, got tickets. Tully, come on the mic. I don't think people understand how hard it is to get a euro it's like a glastonbury ticket it may be harder unbelievable was it hard to get eurovision or peter k tickets to be fair they were both pretty hard but yeah eurovision we managed to get all three shows as well which is but you didn't you didn't get finals did you yeah okay so that is like yeah that's like

crazy oh yeah unbelievable okay so millions and millions of people explain to people now i i believe we're going to be getting all the eurovision fans that are listening but but for people that don't understand the importance of eurovision but also the stages one has to go through there are like rounds it is a competition it's not like just a televised sing-along it is a competition so which rounds

did you go to Tully? We were at the two semi-finals and then the grand final but for someone like Loreen so she's come from Sweden where they have their own competition

in Sweden which she goes through weeks and weeks of competition to even then compete in Eurovision because they take it so seriously

well it was a no-brainer she won it once before Sweden and Ireland are both up there to even then compete in Eurovision. Because they take it so seriously. Well, it was a no-brainer. She won it once before. Sweden and Ireland are both up there as the top winning, most wins, six times each, I think. Loreen is the only woman to have won it twice. She won it with Tattoo this year and she won it with Euphoria back in 2012.

She is loved by the LGBTQ plus community. She did Mighty Hoopla. They announced it late in the day and people lost their shit. What I love about Lorene and the Swedes, they take Eurovision so seriously. And then we have like Noel Gallagher who comes on and disrespects it,

to be quite frank, on the podcast. She was even in the film, the Eurovision film, Will Ferrell. The Will Ferrell film is very important as well to watch, just to kind of also understand the rounds. But we've got Lorraine. She's still riding high from her win. And she is very loved in this country. And obviously it's going to be all over.

I hope she likes what I've made because it's not a smorgasbord so what have you made well I've done a nigella I just saw nigella saying whenever I've been away whenever I've done anything I make this and everyone loves it and it's just lemon chicken with also roast chicken in a pot and it's one pot one pot it's it's warming yeah and it's got well i hope it's not too hot but i've done it just with a salad have you got any herb in it there's tarragon in can you smell it yum yum my favorite as i've said before very important the most underrated herb that and there's a lot of garlic so i hope she's not kissing anyone later i'll find out.

So we're doing that, and then you're having it with the salad? Just with the salad. Just simple. But I've put French beans in the salad and fresh asparagus. Delicious. Some radishes. And then I've done Alison Roman's ricotta and raspberry cake with fresh raspberries and another French.

Another friend of the podcast. Alison Roman. Another, yeah yeah the last thing we made from alison didn't really work let's be honest it was the paprika chicken paprika who's that for and it was dry marina hyde oh yeah she was very good about it yeah she was good yeah but this this is from sweet enough yeah amazing laureen coming up on table manners cheers what do you say in swedish school school school laureen you've walked in you've got the nails on i don't know how you're gonna eat babe i babe. I know. Am I going to have to feed you? You have to. These are just like stick-ons, man.

Of course. Like, I couldn't, you know, there are things I can do with these nails. Do you choose different designs? Like what, Loreen? Please tell me what you can do with those nails. Are you selling these now? Marketing the Loreen nails? You think I should?

Yeah. That's a great idea. You should. Are you mad? Of course you should. Management, write it down. That's a great idea. You should. Are you mad? Of course you should. Yeah, well, you know. Management, write it down. Write it down, management. But those are particularly pretty, aren't they?

Yeah, but this is an artist's... Yeah. I have different ones. I have ones with stones in them. I have one that is denim. I have ones that are pink. What did you wear for the Eurovision? Oh, those were 3D, and they had smoke.

Yeah, because it was all about nature, wasn't it? Yeah, yeah. So they had healing stones on them. Do you think that's what won it for you, babe? A bit of amethyst. Oh, they did. A bit of amethyst. Catch a cold for your toes.

You can't catch a cold on stage. Yeah. Well, you know. I think you won it for yourself. I don't think the amethyst. It was the stones, though. I don't think the extension. Maybe. It could have been the stones. I don on stage. Yeah. Well, you know. I think you won it for yourself. I don't think that I'm a fist. It was a stone. I don't think the extension. Maybe.

It could have been the stone. I don't know. Are you quite a spiritual person? A very spiritual person. Yeah. Yeah, I think so. Did you, I mean, I'm just going to jump straight into it. We need to say Mazel Tov.

Skol. Skol. You're a two-time eurovision winner and you are so beloved like people people adore you the uk adore you oh but the whole of europe i mean we everyone loves but we do really love you oh and how has the last month been for you oh it's been like it's been beautifully intense yeah yeah i mean of course intense i've been traveling around yeah meeting beautiful people but at the same time you know some people ask me they're like how are you feeling aren't you exhausted like no i'm a bit tired but since i

love hanging with people you know creativity and people that's my thing perfect yeah you so when you do what you love yeah it's a different type of tired when you're tired it's like okay i need to sleep and have something to eat but the next day i'll be all right i'm exhilarated because i do what i love and i'm having a good time yeah how did how did number two compare to number one I mean in the terms of Eurovision I'm yeah I the way I was more effortless really yeah it was just like I guess because I didn't really know what it was all about the first time right the first time was a lot about intuition just following your intuition that was the first time I created something that was a bit different right but I just felt like I have to believe in what I'm doing right now.

I have to just go with it, although I feel fear. So can you imagine when you've gone through all that, you know, fear and pain of like, what if this doesn't work? And you're standing there and people appreciate you just the way you are. With a fringe like this and you're barefoot and there's like fake snow and all these things. So it was all about, I think that moment was about universe telling me like, you have to trust your intuition. Did you, you had fear.

Did you think you could win it the first time around? Both of the times, I didn't really honestly think about that. I blocked it out because I had to. Isn't that quite hard to do when you were going through all these rounds and it's already been so vigorous but in Sweden you have your it's intense to get that so there's always competition or how do you block that out there are ways I mean this time like the second time I learned ways to really block it out I mean it's almost like in a way it's like lying to yourself but it out. I mean, it's almost like, in a way, it's like lying to yourself,

but it's a beautiful lie. Like, it doesn't exist. There are ways you can just, you can take your focus to what is really important, like the creativity, focusing on that, focusing, you know. But did you have to audition for the second one? Or did you just get a free pass because you'd won it before? No, in Sweden, you don't get a free pass because you'd won it before no in sweden you

don't get a free pass there's a semi-final you're a sure bet because you're a winner yeah well you know honey thank you the winner takes it all no it's the it's the semi-finals and and in the stock of sweden and then there if you if you go through that one then there's the finals and then you yeah so that one, then there's the finals and then you, yeah. So all the steps were there. You had to, but I appreciate them

because they make you very focused. You can't really. It's funny because I guess the first time around you had kind of fear, but also you didn't really know what, you didn't know the intensity and then you're in it,

you win it. Second time, you know what that is. You're also the favorite to win. Everyone's talking about it. Second time, you know what that is. You're also the favourite to win. Everyone's talking about it. You were the favourite before it even went on telly, weren't you? No, no. I think you were.

The bookie's favourite. I think you were. Yeah, you were. That doesn't take anything away from you. As everybody said, Graham Norton was saying, this is the one that will win. Oh, really? Before I seen the book? Yeah, yeah. Then I guess, this is the one that will win. Oh, really? Before seeing the performance?

Then I guess because people know the songs, don't they? Because there's this thing that people start living with the songs. I remember there was the Finnish one. What was the Finnish one that had that? Cha-cha-cha, cha-cha-cha, cha-cha-cha. Like, I know that now from like whatever the quarter finals. Yeah, yeah. But yeah, I just, you've had such different experiences I presume

but then you're obviously cool as a cucumber oh you mean cool as a zen? yeah I mean it's did you write the song? it was written for me yeah but usually when you connect with a song

you change it, it changes in the studio. There are elements that comes in and, you know, melodies that are changed, like naturally and organically. You know that. Well, and also, you know, I recently watched the Whitney Houston film. Oh, I wouldn't be... Yeah, yeah.

And she didn't write a lot of her stuff. She listened with Clive Davis. She'd listen to demos. And if something shouted out at her stuff she listened with clive davis she'd listened to um to demos and if something shouted out at her she'd be like yeah that's great yeah she had an array of songs that she said no to yeah but she connected with those ones and then she puts it and it's her song of course she made it her own she not only made it her own she made it yeah she i totally understand that so i want to know who decided on your outfit or lack of outfit that you wore oh no the eurovision she's got the most beautiful

mum likes to do this she likes to talk about people's bodies it was like a leotard yeah yeah yeah now did you decide you wanted to wear that well everything because you wanted to move and yeah exactly exactly that exactly and also it represented certain things you know the whole performance every detail was was a representation of something so i wanted i didn't come through it take us yeah i didn't want the colors or the outfits so it was a very plain it was was it brown? Yeah. It was a browny leotard. Yeah. And I mean, you looked amazing in it, just sensational. And you moved in the most amazing way. So what did that represent, the leotard? So the whole performance is a reflection of nature.

It's abstract, but if you look closely, you have the sand, because I'm laying in a bed of sand. Yeah. If you look at the colors, it's either the sunset or the sunrise the mist was there the wind was there the sweat was there even my nails were made out of as you said stones so I just my so they like all the elements all the elements and this is for a reason Because we need to reconnect with nature. Sometimes we just feel tired. We're like, oh, we're taking energy from each other.

But where do we get energy from, you know, as human beings? It's nature. So, I mean, you maybe haven't had a chance to reconnect with nature since Eurovision. I don't know. You've been in the UK for the whole month, right? No, no. Now you've been back and forth. Okay. And how do you reconnect with nature? in the UK for the whole month, right? No, no. No, you've been back and forth. Okay.

And how do you reconnect with nature? Where do you live? Where do you live? Oh, where do I live? Yeah. Oh, I live on an island called Gotland. Oh. That's just outside of Sweden, like maybe four hours with the boat.

And there are hardly any people there. Is that where you live? Yeah. In one of those summer houses? Yeah, yeah. Well, it's, yeah, you could say that. There are hardly any people there. Is that where you live? In one of those summer houses? Yeah, well, you could say that. It's very remote. So it's a contrast to what I'm doing. Why do you live there?

Because, you know, it's a good question. There's no shops. Where do you go shopping? Oh, that's a good... I shop when I work, darling. And when I don't work, you know... Where do you buy your food? Well, I buy my food? She forages,

mum. She dives in the ocean and picks her fish. Of course, there are small shops there, but you know, it's very small. Did you grow up there? No, not at all. So where did you grow up? Let's talk about

growing up and what you were eating. Oh, what I was eating at that time. Oh God. You know, I'm Moroccan. My mother's from Morocco. Oh your mother. Did she make tagine and all that? She made tagine.

She made the soup called Harira. She did the couscous. Tell us about the soup. The Harira. It's like, it's, it's, it's basically everything. Like it's, it's a tomato. I don't know anything about food that you guys are asking me about food. I'm seriously the worst person. It's like, it's, it's, it's basically everything. Like it's, it's a tomato. I don't know anything about food that you guys are asking me about food.

I'm seriously the worst person. You can tell us what you love. I don't even know what it has in it. Like, is it maybe some. Is your mama a good cook? She is, but she raised a daughter that is not. I, you know, I. How did that happen? To be completely honest, we were a big family, five siblings five siblings you know and my mother raised us

by herself so you can imagine like you know we had to take care of each other so I think the reason why I don't cook food that very much in my grown life is because I did it a lot as a kid you know helping mother out you know cooking for the siblings you know what were you what were you cooking when you were younger what was a memorable dish that you were cooking for your siblings you know what were you what were you cooking when you were younger what was a memorable dish that you were cooking for your siblings oh i did ever like i did bolognese i had like chicken like the whole chicken in the in the oven thing i was really good at that but anything like yeah were you the eldest i was the eldest okay so was that quite a lot of responsibility of course yeah but you know as a child you don't really think about it you just adapt you know so whenever my mother

wasn't home well then it was me did she work she worked a lot what did she do well she was what do you call it in english when you're you're not you're not uh uh the doctor and what happens under the doctor this is the nurse and under there there's health care workers health care worker that's so important yeah yeah at the same time she went to school she has a very interesting story my mother she raised she got me when she was 16 yeah but she so she's about 40 now or something she's 50 oh god i don't know sorry mom she young. Yeah, she's young still. Yeah, she is. So she had you when she was 16?

She had me when she was 16. In Stockholm? In Stockholm. But she lived in a very poor village in Morocco. So she fleed when she was 14. All by herself. It's interesting. The beauty is that you can see what women can do.

Women are such a powerful species. Absolutely. I'm sorry, but we really are. So how did she get from Morocco to Sweden at 14? How is that possible? I don't even know. She hasn't talked about all those

things, but she did. She met my father in Spain and he lived in Sweden and then she got to Sweden. But the funny thing, one funny thing that she told me, because she didn't have any education, she thought that the world was just Spain, France, and Germany, and that was the world. So for many years, she thought she was in Germany, but she wasn't in Sweden until she got education. It's not far away.

No. She was a real, she is a real warrior, you know. And she's, you know, so I've had a very special upbringing.

The positive thing with my upbringing is because she was basically a child, there were so many rules I never learned, you know. So,

you know. But she, she missed out, it sounds like she missed out on education. No, but she took her education. But she missed out. It sounds like she missed out on education. No, but she took her education. But she took her education later. She did.

But you're, I mean, you speak how many languages? Well, I do speak Swedish, English, Arabic. My mother speaks French. A bit French. Yeah. I understand. And my mother speaks Spanish. But don't ask me to speak Spanish. I understand. And my mother speaks Spanish, but don't ask me to speak Spanish.

I understand, but... Was it a happy childhood? I mean, yeah. Challenging. I mean, of course, tough, but that was what I meant. Like, you adapt, you know? It's not until you start comparing with other kids,

it's like, hmm, that kid has that. But because I had to grow up really fast you know I guess I also missed out on certain things I think that's why organically in my grown life there are things I don't do like or things I do that I didn't do then you know I can be very childish really no but you know no not really I'm just kidding but yeah yeah so you were cooking bolognese for your siblings but maybe your mom was going and working or yeah studying your mom was cooking was she cooking a lot of moroccan dishes in the house were you eating quite a lot of swedish food

no no she was very picky with the food really yeah it had to be healthy food and homemade so it was tagine and it was like you know so it was more moroccan and homemade. So it was tagine and it was like, you know. So it was more Moroccan than Swedish. It was more Moroccan than Swedish. The Swedish food came later when my stepfather came into the house, you know. Then it was, as they say in Swedish, farley korv. That's like a big sausage with the macaronis and stuff like that. That unhealthy food.

Now you have a very special, because we had um meatballs no not just no not meatballs we love a meatball especially ikea ones but no um didn't bjorn tell us that you have a very special christmas meal that's very very interesting is christmas big in your family if it's big yeah did you did you celebrate it we did we did i mean not all the traditions of course it wasn't like jesus christ no just the food i'm thinking about in the presence yeah did you celebrate on the christmas eve we did yeah everyone does and what was the food that you were eating well it changed i mean in the beginning there was a lot of moroc food. We were very disappointed.

Everybody else got like meatballs. We're like, mom, come on, man. Can we just get maybe a meatball? Like maybe some ham? No, but when my stepfather came in, he came with that knowledge because it was all about like knowing what the foods were. Can he cook? Oh, yeah, yeah.

I mean, he's not as good as my mom, but it works It works. Are you close to him? Yeah The funny thing with him is like because my mother she was such a fighter, you know, it was all about surviving Yeah, and so when my stepfather came in he had a different upbringing so he was very soft So they balanced each other up very good so basically he came in and taught us about showing love to each other we were very like you know not hard but we were very likes fighters that fighting type of energy surviving how old were you when he came into your life i think i was maybe nine or ten okay but it took a while to adapt to that because you know you've been on your own yeah so i try to kick

him out many times you know you're a team yeah did they both come to watch your performance oh yes oh yes they come to every performance yeah if i don't know he doesn't let me oh that is such a lie mom i'm saying that i wouldn't give her a glastonbury ticket because i've got loads of They come to every performance Jessie doesn't let me That is such a lie mum I'm saying that I wouldn't give her a Glastonbury ticket Because I've got loads of friends that would want them And you wouldn't be able to walk around mum It's very hard I get flown in darling

Oh my gosh Yeah she thinks she's Shirley Massey Well that's good though So you grew up Cooking for your siblings And kind of rejecting cooking when you kind of, so, I mean, now you don't cook that much? No, because I've done it so much.

I can taste it. I can be like, okay. Do you enjoy eating out? I do. I do. I enjoy, you know, I'm not a party chick. I'm the one, the person that enjoys sitting with friends and family, having a glass of wine. Yeah.

Speaking about things that matter. Yeah. Life to music that's soft type but that's me so if we were going to come around we were going to get the boat yeah we're staying for the night oh yeah what are you what are you ordering in or what who are you getting to cook for us i would probably get somebody to cook for us and I would probably, it depends on what time of the year, but if it's this time of the year, would I cook for you? I would probably put on the grill. Okay.

But not, you know, what do you call that type of grill where you have the whole, I'm sorry, I'm like, usually I'm a vegetarian, but you know, when you have the whole lamb,

like, you know. Yeah, like it's lamb on the spit. Yeah, lamb on the spit just out outside really smoky like that for a vegetarian that's quite an interesting yeah no not for a vegetarian no but no but i i love that you say i'm usually a vegetarian but i'm giving you the lamb on a spit if you guys are coming you would probably want that because this is so so we have i'm slightly worried because we're we're about to give you chicken, but you do not eat chicken. I do eat chicken.

Okay, fine. I was told you ate chicken. Okay, fine. You like protein. Okay, great. Fine. Great. Perfect.

So what, and do you have a sweet tooth? I do. What would be for pudding or dessert? Oh, dessert. Oh no, I'm not a dessert person. I'm the sweet tooth me is like, I love candy. I do. I love some stuff that the me is like, I love candy. I do. I love some stuff that the body doesn't even know what it is.

Cause candy, the body is like, what is this? Have you come across a Percy pig? Percy pig, Percy pig, Marks and Spencer, M&S.

Oh, you mean these chocolate, small chocolate, they're like little jellies. Have you got them here? Oh my God. Your children have them all at the weekend. I feel very sad for you that you've been in and out of this country quite a lot in this last month.

And you haven't tried a Percy Pig, babe. Maybe I've had a Percy Pig, but I don't know. You mean these different colours? They're little piggies. In different colours? No, they're just pink. Just pink. They're delicious.

I might have had. If not, we're going to make sure you get them soon. I'm sending some to your hotel tomorrow babe what's on the uh laureen rider at eurovision at eurovision not percy pigs not yet unfortunately no i would say i always have oh that's crazy because i always have li. That's one of my favorite flowers. I love the smell of these. Me too. And pink or like,

so flowers is one thing. You just want to have some connection with nature. Because usually it's in a kind of boxed room that has no window. Oh, but I changed the box, my darlings. I change it. I rearrange it. Do you have a scented candle going?

I do have candles. Candles. I ask for a rug mat. Is that what rug yeah a rug oh uh yeah what do i have more like um i can't remember but it's a lot essences oh yeah but i bring sage with me myself and just clean the room up a bit. Do you have sage in your bag right now? No. But I do have like... I can get some if you need it. No, Mum, it's dried sage.

Okay, sorry. And you do it and you kind of cleanse a room. Okay, fine. From bad juju. Okay. Kind of bad energies, bad vibes. Okay. We should cleanse it every time.

I've not been able to move that Buddha outside because I'm so frightened. Can you tell Lorene why we've got a Buddha in the doll's house? A Buddha in the doll's house because my gardeners found it behind the shed. And they put it in the doll's house and now I'm scared to move it in case it's bag juju if I do it. Where did you find it? The Buddha is behind the shed. And you didn't put it there? No.

My gardener put it there and he said... Maybe he felt like you needed to chill the fuck out, Mum. He just said, well, I found it behind the shed. Who would throw their Buddha away? Yeah, who would throw a Buddha away? Yeah, maybe it's got bad energy and they've thrown it into my garden with the bad energy. No, a Buddha can't have bad energy.

Buddha's kid. Do you think? No. But actually, I thought he was rather slim. Yeah, let me see. Yeah, he's like... But that's when he was younger. Apparently, he didn't... Yeah, he's like, but that's when he was younger. Apparently, he didn't, you know, he was much slimmer when he was younger.

So that's a young Buddha. That's young Buddha. What does a young Buddha mean? Well, I thought it was a woman, you see. I didn't think it was Buddha. But then I noticed it didn't have bosom. But it's definitely a young Buddha. Because your mum didn't buy Buddha for the garden.

Definitely a young Buddha. It's so weird that you've now got a Buddha in your garden I know darling anything I think I've ever seen in my life but I'm scared to get rid of it oh you shouldn't be though no I'm not gonna get rid of it it's gonna stay there how did your life change after the first Eurovision win did you feel like it changed significantly um oh yeah it did from where I came from like yeah yeah most definitely like I wasn't even I didn't even watch tv at the time I was what you would call a a hippie I don't like that word but you know I was like in a different space I guess that's why euphoria had the look

that it had maybe can you imagine going from this like calm and very simple life to like and all of a sudden you're like you've been in the swedish idol could you play an instrument or any family musical no not at all of course my mother's like oh you got that from me you got your talent from me like no mama i didn't get that in swedish or arabic she? She says it in Arabic. Yeah, yeah. You want to hear her sounds? Yeah, I want to hear that. Exact.

That sounds fabulous. And with the hands like this. I love it. It's exactly how a Jewish mother would say it too. Exactly how you would say it. Yeah. Yeah, no. So, but I mean, singing was a sanctuary for me as a child. If you, if you, we were, cause we were such a big family.

So I didn't know or didn't think that I was going to be an artist as a child. I was not the type of kid that like, look at me. I'm so nasty. And I was a shy one. Like, bye bye. I'm going to my room to sing for hours. That's what I'm going to do. So that came much later. I mean, are we talking like 18 maybe? is the shy one like bye bye i'm going to my room to sing for hours that's what i'm gonna do so that

came much later i mean we're talking like 18 maybe and that's when i entered idols but i didn't even know how a microphone so who's on the panel are they very famous swedish singers the ones in the jury you mean the jury yeah no they were not even i don't think none of them were singers which is pretty interesting i'm sorry it's interesting you get judged by people that don't know how to sing yeah no he's not yeah but i'm interested to know when you were taking yourself away from maybe the madness of you know helping bring up your siblings with your mom and you're going to your room yeah what were you singing what was something that you kept on singing what we what what albums were you listening to what was something that at the time you know because we had um vinyls you know and i mean

we were poor we didn't have that much it was not like you know i'm gonna buy my own vinyl or my cds like that so whatever was at home was what we had. So I remember that it was a lot of like Whitney, her old stuff. And I remember that we had James Brown and all these like Aretha Franklin, you know? And I was like, yeah, it was a lot of soul and funk. So those are my teachers, especially Whitney. So, you know, I was a kid.

I was just copying her like, oh, and I, I didn't sound that good. Tattoo's a big ballad though, isn't it? Yeah, it is. Do you know, when I watched you winning, I thought this woman is so super calm. She can't really be that calm. But you are. You are in real life.

You're very, very chilled. I have passionate times, my God. You're making me feel relaxed. Yeah. I'm feeling completely relaxed now jess maybe that's the prosecco and i'm not really and i'm going to open a decent bottle of wine yeah what would you like to drink would you like to drink a red a white a rose a white wine i mean you're right in my family the women's in my family which is my mother told me she's like you don't drink red

wine because red wine makes the women in this family crazy i'm like okay that's usually that's usually white wine i mean what does my my sound man johnny used to call white wine lady petrol yeah because uh it would make all his friends go fucking crazy i love white wine i like i like it both but like yes if you had to choose which one would you i think in the summer i'm very much into Chardonnay at the moment. I love it. But in the winter, I maybe would go for a really cozy red. But yeah.

Yeah. Yeah. But you have to choose one. Chardonnay or cozy red? You have to choose one. You're on a desert island. This is what you're going to drink. Lorraine, this is my shit that I'm supposed to ask you, for God's sake.

I think in a deserted island, this is what you're going to drink every if you want to of course this drink okay at the moment i would say and forgive me all the the the wine people that listen um because i don't know that much i really enjoy this chardonnay called bread and butter i love that one how good is it it really is nice delicious is that the one we drank in america or i have drunk it in america isn't it canadian is it is it canadian i don't know i just like it yeah it is really nice it's yummy organic like yeah yeah it is it is it is sure sure um what would be your go-to desert island drink then drink i mean look listen we've jumped we've jumped ahead yeah it's one of the questions that we're gonna ask you you're going to a desert

sounds like you live on a desert island yeah yeah already um you're going somewhere yeah i would and you are going to have starter appetizer yeah main course yeah dessert and drink of choice drink of choice for the food oh god because the first thing that came up to me was this cocktail like which cocktail okay like may a margarita probably like margarita yeah i do but spicy ones that's my favorite like salt around the edge yes please where is your most memorable margarita from is there somewhere that you go I had a really nice margarita

where was this it was with a big like icy blah blah blah where did I have this one here in England no I don't know wait I have to think was it in somewhere in Stockholm probably but it was absolutely amazing because he

made it so spicy it was a mexican restaurant yeah so mexican a mexican restaurant in stockholm yeah before we go on to the desert island meal because actually i want to hear about the food in stockholm it's really good isn't it i mean it's i mean yeah it depends on what you compare it to i mean i believe that london has a lot of good places if i had to choose i'll probably eat in london than in stockholm oh wow so what is going on man so oh wow we are having mum has cooked oh wow it is mum you say It's lemon chicken Oh my god

With also With tarragon It's rice Great It's also pasta She's kind of like Yeah See what I mean

Like you know Rice Yeah And then we've just got Quite a kind of Zesty sound. This is really... This is delicious. Really good.

Really good. Will you have a bit more? I will, most definitely. Good. Lorraine, I want to ask you about your desert island. We talked a bit... Before we were talking about Stockholm... Shall I get some dessert going?

Yes, please. Desert island. We talked a bit before we were talking about Stockholm. Shall I get some dessert going? Yes, please. Desert island. Oh, your mother's beautiful. We started with the margarita. A spicy margarita from this place in Stockholm that you can't remember. Yeah. It was a Mexican restaurant. That's, that's, yeah.

Okay. What's the name of it? Yeah, okay. Okay, we'll find it, maybe. Starter. What are we going for, for a starter? Oh, you know, honestly know honestly like i love starters i usually sometimes i just oh my god sometimes i just take three starters to to like a main course

because it's almost like they put more energy and you know and quite exciting yeah yeah but okay if i had to choose one starter you can have three can i have have three? Of course you can. You're a reen. Oh, all right. I would probably go for maybe a burrata, but a small one. Okay. I love that you're thinking about the... Fine, we're going for a small burrata. Yeah, because otherwise I'm full by the end of it. Okay. Yeah, and then maybe I would want...

What would the burrata have with it? Is there any... Tomato? No, yeah, not tomatoes. Like, honestly, I would like it to be just the burrata, olive oil and some salt

and maybe some walnuts and something sweet. Yeah. Okay. And maybe a carpaccio. Mmm. Carpaccio. Love that.

Yeah. That's what I can come up with now Like Fine Yeah So we've got that Yeah

So we're going in quite an Italian Wow Yeah it feels like that Which is weird Is there going to be any Swedish Or Moroccan Influence into this Not to the dessert

Not to the Oh you mean like If I was Stranded on an island No but like I would probably not go If you were not going to be able to eat Would you be having your mum's soup for the last

time oh no no no no no i would not we love your mom but not the soup the soup doesn't get okay fair enough i can take a little piece like i mean like like that yeah that would yeah this looks beautiful so it's ricotta and raspberry so it's high in protein and um yeah and it's ricotta and raspberry. So it's high in protein. You. You. Yeah, and it's by Alison Roman, who's an amazing chef who we had on recently on this podcast. All right there, darling. Do you need a spoon?

And we've got some creme fraiche if you want some, or cream. Thank you. Wow, thank you. Jessica, would you like some? Yeah, sliver, about the same. This is cream, right? That's cream. That's's cream and the other is oh that would be my but that would be my dessert just cream yeah i just cream honestly like when

i'm when i'm in restaurants i do i order a bowl of of cream like a cat like a whip whipped cream and maybe some strawberries that's it oh wait i've got this you i mean we can't we nearly got there do you want to take a few more of the raspberries and then you're nearly there laureen yes there you go there you go she's happy she's happy oh she wasn't that bothered about the cake she was being very respectful she took a little slice but she's she's thrilled now she's seen the strawberries yeah this is like this is so good it's your last supper right there on a plate it's sorted if i had to choose the last thing to eat this would probably be it so there's increased are we skipping a main because we're going for the burrata and the carpaccio yeah i'm not a main course person realize it's too heavy you know honestly like

i like food that keeps me light okay in terms of energy like you know when you've had a like maybe a steak or like something heavy it's like bye bye for a while you're not there anymore Jesse what's this like because I've never made it before Alison Roman you are a talented cake maker this is sublime is it nice it is so nice. My God. This is really, really good. Your mother's absolutely beautiful. Like, you know. I have such huge respect for mothers.

My God, you know. She brought us up too. Yeah. We need more female leaders. Like, you know, there needs to be. We do. We just go so easy, you know. You don't say Father Earth, you say Mother Earth. It's a she.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry. When did health become such an important thing for you? Has it always been a part of your makeup or, you know? Yeah, I think so. First, I was unaware of it, but then, you know, starting to become aware. I've always, always asked these big questions like why are we here why do things happen the way they are these are like why do i feel the way i feel why do i do the way i do you know did you study at

university no i never did what did you do when you left school it went really fast that's when i started being an artist yeah so i entered the idols when i was 18 and from there was like yeah yeah do you think you'd like to go back and study or not do you feel like you do your own personal learning i do i do my own personal learning i think i think so do you do you live alone in on this in this house do you live do you live alone in this house? Do you live on your own in this island? No, no, no, no. I do have a partner. You have a partner?

I do have a partner and a dog. Oh, yeah. A partner and a dog. Yeah, I do love animals. I have a Jack Russell. He's like that boot outside there. What's he called? He's called Little Man.

Little Man. Yeah. In Swedish. called Little Man. Little Man? Yeah. In Swedish? Lille Man. Because he's such a smart kid, I was going to say. And I said it. Yeah. So someone's looking after him now?

Yeah, yeah. I have family helping me out with that little guy over there. Oh, he's eight now, so he's not so little anymore. But he's such a beautiful spirit. Well, you're very busy, but you are coming back for a tour. I am.

Let's talk about the tour, Lorraine. Oh, yeah. When are you touring? Well, it's starting in November. That's my first Europe tour in a while.

I'm so happy about it. It's really been a couple of years since I was out there. So, yeah. Do you know where you're playing like yeah i'm actually playing in london where are you playing in london oh god i can't remember why do you always ask me these questions when where am i playing in london so you're playing in electric brixton brixton but you're also doing a uk tour so you'll be all around the country. Yeah, I will. I will. Are you going to ask me? No, I'm not. I'm not going to do that to you. I'm not going to do you dirty like that.

So when are you leaving the UK? Tomorrow. Tomorrow? Where are you going? I'm going back to Stockholm. And from there, I'm going to Berlin. And from Berlin, going back to Stockholm, I think. And then I'm coming back here to London yeah so I'm living like a nomad man you are so loved and welcome here we love you so much and and I think it's so special that you kind of have got this love affair with London now and the UK I love that

too it's fabulous I never thought that I mean I really like this place. I came from Paris the other day and I remember when I landed in London, I'm like, I love this energy. Yeah, isn't it? Did you enjoy the Mighty Hoopla? I did. My God. Jessie's done it.

It's fab, isn't it? It is so beautiful. When you got announced, it was a massive deal. You were there? No, but I remember it because I was on... Where was I? I think I was in... Oh, no, I was in Greece filming the Mamma Mia thing.

But I remember you'd just won Eurovision. Then you get announced for that. It was like the hottest booking ever. Oh, yeah, I didn't know that. Yeah. Oh, babe, yeah. But you are very welcome here. Congratulations on your success

I wish you all the best with the new record I hope you get some time to unwind and I think we'll be there at Brixton Electric yeah definitely on the 11th of November now I'm nervous for real

now I need to make sure it's a show we'll be there singing the chorus you know I have to call my producer we have to make sure it's the show honestly we'll call our we'll be there singing the chorus 10 point you know I have to call my producer and be like we have to make it deep point you got deep point

from us well mum I feel completely I feel completely wonderful. I feel relaxed. I feel relaxed. Yeah. I feel optimistic. Yeah. I feel positively scandy.

Lots of positive energy. What a lovely, lovely person. Gorgeous person. And, you know, the healing quality of doing table manners. You know, you felt like Lorene really needed that home-cooked meal. Do you think? She loved it. She kept on being like, this is so great.

If I'd have known, I'd have done a tagine. Well, don't worry, Mum, because you hit the nail on the head with the strawberries and double cream. Do you think? She couldn't have cared less about the ricotta cake. No. That was really to die for. Okay.

When she saw that double cream, her eyes lit up. Did they? And then when the bowl of strawberries and raspberries came out, I mean, euphoria! It was amazing. Did you like the chicken and orzo? Did I like it? I loved it, Mum. Okay, darling. You you like the chicken and orzo? Did I like it? I loved it, Mum. Okay, darling.

You sound like John Trude. Do I? I thought I sounded like Simon Cowell. Did I like it? I loved it. It was so delicious. I'm actually going to do it for my next dinner party because it looked effortless. You were not stressed.

The salad was really yummy too. Yeah, it was quite. I think it's your brother's dressing. I saved a drop. Oh, it was quite sweet yeah he he does a good dressing thank you so much to laureen for coming over um with her nails with her nails and a really cool team and just like she was just great um thanks for listening i hope you enjoyed that and i feel like everyone needs to go and do some educational learning on eurovision because and i also feel like we should be doing what the swedes are doing and i just want to take a moment to shout out may miller because yeah it takes a lot to do that and you should all go and

listen to the how to fail episode um on elizabeth day with may miller because it's really brilliant i have a load of respect for that girl. And another bit, go and watch Eurovision by Will Ferrell. It's a really nice film. So next year

Eurovision will be in Sweden. I feel like we should all try and get a ticket. Thank you for listening. We'll see you

next week.