Tommy Körberg - Stad i ljus (Sweden ESC 1988)

Eurovision Song Contest 1988
Sweden
Tommy Körberg - Stad i ljus
12th place (52 points)

[@spannamatronic]

Tommy Korberg at 60% is better than most singers at 100%

[@alexandraberggren329]

NO Tommy körberg is 999999999999999T better

[@estetkaninen]

His duet with Celine Dion really shows that no one can touch his talent

[@thomasmarthinussen8978]

As a Norwegian, I'm programmed into having a love/hate relationship with Sweden but man, when it comes to pop music they're masters of the game!

[@hildegerdhaugen7864]

Tommy er en sinnsykt god sanger.

[@chrismossy9774]

You have A-ha! My favorite band. A-ha's less famous darker songs are great and Harket had a great clear voice going both deep and high with the power of an opera singer. I also watched Professor Drøvel and Fleksnes on Swedish TV as a kid🇳🇴Sadly, I never went to Norway. I always had a very romantic view of that country. My favorite Swedish band is Roxette.

[@thomasmarthinussen8978]

@@chrismossy9774 I'm not a huge A Ha fan but they're obviously well liked and had huge commercial success. My favourite Norwegian band is The Monroes. Well, it's a duo, and Lage Foaheim and Eivind Rølles got their national breakthrough in 1983 with the Madness inspired(ska) " Sunday People". All in all they released 4 studio album between 1983 and 1993 and you should check em out! Hit songs include " Sunday People, " Jeanette", " Just Another Normal Day", " Everything's Forgiven and " I Call It Love". Plenty of stellar deep cuts on their albums as well. Sure, it's commercial pop music but it's marvellously crafted. Sadly, both members of The Monroes died of cancer in 2013.

[@chrismossy9774]

@@thomasmarthinussen8978 I know the Monroes! But only because I made a cover of "Cheerio" and did some research. I remembered this song from my youth but in Sweden it was made famous by artist Lena Philipsson. Do you know that version?

[@gittebachmannappel8120]

As a dane, I’m also programmed into having a love/hate relationship with Sweden, but I agree, that when it comes to pop music they’re masters of the game 👍🏻

[@laeronym5884]

And even at this moment, he had 40 degrees fever... What a talent and vocal knowledge he has.

[@_ibinb]

today they would put him in isolation. what they did to Iceland this year, shame

[@Cazt0r]

One of the greats!

[@bandsaf7178]

he was sick when he sang this . how the heck did he manage o.o much respect to him for having such a strong voice !

[@gabgustav]

yeah its amazing. when you compare it to the performance in the local swedish "qualifyer" you can crearly hear the difference tho. still crazy good with a high fever and a cold here.

[@laeronym5884]

he had 40 degrees fever. He only got like on voicecrack.... sick

[@tonypasma1707]

wow

[@spannamatronic]

@@gabgustav I thought this too, you can hear how subdued this is compared to the NF performance. I think he may have won had he not been ill. Still great though.

[@christianealshut1123]

@@spannamatronic Singing in a condition like that is actually dangerous; he might have irretrievably damaged his voice doing so. It's like dancing ballet on pointe with a stress fracture in your foot.

[@054Harry]

att han kunde sjunga såhär trots det faktum att han var så sjuk att han gick på kortison är helt mindblowing! Tommy Körberg är kungen av sång. Jag bugar bara.

[@klarinetta]

One of the very best Swedish entry

[@lglottagranstrom6276]

♥️♥️,

[@Botafogoplayground]

For sure!

[@fobef]

Yeah from a country with seven wins, a 12th place finisher might be the best song

[@klarinetta]

@@fobef The winning song is not always the best one. For me this beats out Abba,Carola,Charlotte Nilsson and Måns Zelmerlöw winning songs.

[@bensisko3]

I remember watching this in 1988 on German television when I was sixteen. The German off-speaker said that Tommy was suffering from a cold during those days which must have given him a hard time keeping his voice fit for this ESC night. And you can actually hear it well at 2:00. I also remember having felt so sorry for him, because he is a magnificant singer!

[@jormarousu6893]

You know Sweden has a lot of wins in esc. I hope, of course, that we win this year in Holland.

[@jormarousu6893]

yes, he's a great singer. (I heard him live once and say Yes.)

[@jormarousu6893]

I hope, of course, that Sweden wins the ESC in 2021. As usual, we have very strong contributions, know in mid-March which it will be. We love ESC in Sweden

[@marinajovic5300]

@@jormarousu6893 Sweden is great in ESC, but I believe this year is the year for Croatia to be crowned with a win. Especially considering all the earthquakes the country experienced recently. Croatia literally rocks this year!!! Exciting indeed!

[@Kinodontas]

Wonderful song!! Greets from Spain. Very underrated.

[@antonioheras5523]

Siempre bella canción

[@Pemuciuse]

The depth and strength of his voice leaves nobody unmoved. Even though you can tell he had a cold that day, he still made a masterclass performance which even excelled his earlier performance in the swedish qualifications. Only Tommy can pull this song out in the end as he did there. An eulogy of deserve to the trumphet player Urban Agnas for his guts to just stand there while doing his thing. In total, a masterpiece from Sweden.

[@Swedeonamotorcycle]

Och för 3 minuter sedan stod han på Melodifestivalen och sjöng den igen.. Bra Tommy.

[@JusDOrange9470]

In january i was at the ehf euro 2020 in gothenburg. In the games with sweden they always played this song in the half time. From young to old, all the swedish people sang this song. I was impressed. I like skandinavian people. Greetings from switzerland.

[@davidwilding1993]

Since hearing this song in 1988 it has always been (and probably always will be) by favourite Eurovision entry of all time. It still makes the hairs on the back of my neck stand on end.

[@christianealshut1123]

Yes, that and the Irish entry from 1978...

[@mattyjohnsson257]

No doubt.

[@christianealshut1123]

@@mattyjohnsson257 In the past few years I have stopped watching the ESC because from a contest of songwriters (which it originally was, indeed) to an event where the most showy number wins, with a lot of sensationalism thrown in as wellAnd the content hardly ever matters, it's just all about the presentation. It's often the content with a beautiful a ballad tune and a meaningful text that end up last, in favor of somebody winning because they have abstract figures projected onto their costume with a laser during their number. (That's just an exaggerated example; I never actually saw anything like that.) One year a Finnish group won whose costumes looked as if they had emerged straight from the set of that dreadful Sci-Fi movie that John Travolta once made and their "lyrics" only consisted of five words in all! And everybody's now allowed to sing in English, while before they had to sing in the languages of their country (or, spectively, that of the songwriter) - so now everybody IS singing in English and a lot of the diversity which made this event so interesting is gone. 1988 - which is what this song is from - was one of the last years where I unreservedlyx linked the event and actually enjoyed staying up late into the night to hear the results (I think this is also the year Celine Dion won, competing for Switzerland). Today I just don't care because the criteria on which this stuff is being judged is totally beyond me and the judging process is one too transparent either (and a doorway to cheating as far as I am concerned).

[@davidwilding1993]

@@christianealshut1123 I agree with most of what you say. When Conchita won for Austria it certainly wasn’t because it was a great song. Many songs focus more on graphics and presentation and that is not always good. Another rule being introduced for this years contest is that the backing vocals can be pre recorded and and a backing track used. That’s another bad move in my opinion.

[@jormarousu6893]

He sings about God. We need faith

[@finnhere2]

Det här låt är kanske min topp favorit av alla ESC sånger när jag tänker på de sista 30 år av tävlingen. Och Tommy Ks röst var underbar, fin, klar, ren o stark även om han var förkyld. Kanske inte en ny Björling, men han verkligen hade viss likadan kvalitet i hans röst. Det här sång får 12 poäng till allt evighet från mig i Finland ;-)

[@sogroigsilegga2266]

i love this song and his voice, even if he was sick back then

[@guro7151]

Bästa låten i Eurovision alla kategorier. Lite lam orkester och trist att han var sjuk.

[@Sebastian-S]

Håller med, orkester räcker helt enkelt inte till... Synd.... Legendarisk stycke.

[@martinnilsson5295]

Han löpte linan ut kan man säga

[@tuborghorn]

lived and worked in Sweden 1988. My 2year-old boy performed with a microphone singing this anthem. He really gave it in the final part, with shaking his head side to side shouting: Gi', gi' meg liv.... Fantastic. At the age of 25 he still sings with a perfect tenor voice. and this song stands as a good memory for the time we lived in this beautiful country

[@javierbilbao73]

One of the most memorable entries in the story of the ESC. Great Tommy. How I miss the live orchestra!

[@mattyjohnsson257]

Yes. The charm of the contest died with the live orchestra.

[@Jukka70]

I learned of this song when the Azerbaijani Ibrahim sang it at the Swedish contest in 2017 which he went on to win. I remember absolutely loving the song from beginning to end. And his voice did an amazing job. I could tell in this just by hearing that Tommy sounded sick. How he still sang it, is amazing. I can't believe this song got 12th, that's absurd. I haven't heard the others and I'll go listen to the others, but no way were there 11 better songs then this. Without even hearing them yet, there's no way this should have been 12th. The song is too good, and he's too good of a singer even when he's sick.

[@Rosemaling]

Sverige, dette er en av deres beste!! Elsker denne sangen :) og elsker Tommy Körberg! At han misset litt på et par toner fordi han er syk, gjør ingenting. Dette er klassisk ESC uansett!

[@bandsaf7178]

could listen to this all day

[@fina81]

I feel bad for anyone that doesn't understand the lyrics to this song.... it is absolutely wonderful! It takes it from good, to GREAT! God bless Py Bäckman for writing it..

[@kjellsjodin3609]

Håller med till 100%

[@nannasmor]

One of the best songs from sweden i love it

[@Κώστας_2024]

Pure class. We lived in a different world back then.

[@mattyjohnsson257]

Good Old DDR/Soviet days.

[@Martin-ux8du]

@@mattyjohnsson257 lol yeah. Everything was not great back then, we just remember it that way.

[@meropale]

Romanticizing the past is a common delusion.

[@missylissy200]

He should have won. I like Celine too but I like his song better.

[@TheFanOfJBiebz]

My friends think I'm weird for liking this. But, really It's them who are weird 'cause they don't know what real music is.

[@jormarousu6893]

Yes, This is Tommy Körberg.

[@Micke_K]

What too say... what an amazing voice he had and he is still on stage and sing. As a kid i first heard him sing in the Astrid Lindgren movie Ronja Rövardotter and he sang stronger than all the others, saw him again during Melodifestivalen and last time during ESC... Now at +40 i still get goosebumps when hear this and his voice was the best and still the best male voice ever during these contests.

[@knadimpalli18]

Visited Sweden recently, Loved this song, the archipelagos and the cruises :)

[@lenanygander9664]

Tommy är bäst. En sådan underbar röst. ❤❤

[@supremefantastic]

Tommy has the best song voice in Swedens big history of singers, absolutely no doubt.

[@jontraz5993]

Jussi. Björling.

[@petrafinken6546]

Nilsson

[@perlottrup1470]

that is wrong he has one of the best song voice Scandinavia.

[@georgkallstrom3036]

@@jontraz5993 Helt klart!

[@DaEnforcer24]

What a voice, what a singer!!!

[@daanioo4031]

It's amazing that Tommy could sing like this when he were sick. His voice is wonderful anyway.

[@nre77]

En av sveriges absolutt beste bidrag til ESC EVER!!! Tommy har nyyydelig stemme! Synd at stemmen sprakk for han i finalen, men jeg får gåsehud når jeg hører han synge denne sangen hver eneste gang uansett!

[@adorebecka]

Will forever be one of my favourite entries. That trumpet alone gets 12 points from me.

[@chadandtyrone6242]

He is name is Urban Agnas

[@mikaelandersson5128]

This man is incredible. He had a cold that night, so he is not even showing off peak performance here. And he has never had a single singing lesson (!)

[@lookhear49]

Jag har bestämt att jag vill ha den till min begravning. Underbar låt och text.

[@mothersdaughter61]

Vi hade den på min brors begravning 2003. Den kommer alltid att vara speciell för mig.

[@scania1982]

Du kan ju alltid hota med att inte närvara om de inte spelar den.

[@lookhear49]

@@scania1982 Bra förslag! Det ska jag tänka på när det blir aktuellt.

[@Martin-ux8du]

@@lookhear49 Faktumet att du svarade på din sex år gamla kommentar gjorde min dag. :)

[@arendsebach7189]

Jeg tænkte præcis det samme i dag ❤

[@kristianpersson3055]

Tommy Körberg är helt fantastiskt person,vilken röst,o så jävla skön personlighet, hyllar sig stort

[@Mixxathon]

Tommy is a man who don't respond well to defeat. He refuses to lie down, despite the obvious that it would make him good. He was seriously ill in the flu at the time of this performance. Add to that that he is a "natural", ie not much classical voicetraining. He sings best in the morning, just out of bed, so it is really a marvel that this evening worked as good as it did. I rank this song on my Top 10 all-time greatest Eurovision songs.

[@Thessaliniki15]

This song never goes out of my mind! Grettings from Lisbon

[@therese6030]

Tommy Körberg & Sofia Källgren have the best voices in the world ❤️❤️

[@dennisandersson564]

Don't forget about Helen Sjöholm! 😍

[@Drygore]

Verkar vara många här som inte vet att hans hals var helt förstörd här.. Att karln ens lyckades sjunga så bra som han gjorde är helt sjukt. En av de bästa, helt klart.

[@juancarlossoton]

Thanks for downloading it, it was a fantastic year, a spectacular stage, perfect lighting and a wonderful orchestra. For me, Switzerland was the best and the biggest injustice of the night was Sweden. Tommy Körberg deserved to finish second or even be the winner.

[@drumtum]

I know he was very sick here but despite that a very good performance. This is on my all time top 5 list. Amazing song! Thank you Tommy and Py Bäckman who wrote it.

[@renatoduarte1835]

So underrated!! 11th??? Pfff... This is a Masterpiece!! On my top 5 Esc all time!!

[@Vasil.Kostadinov_official]

12th **

[@nicoledickson6099]

^^ WHY ARE YOU EVERYWHERE 😭

[@marcelrikhof]

it's my favourite of all songs are written i'm dutch

[@stevieflann5608]

The 1988 Eurovision was brilliant and so many great songs. The set resembling a galaxy in outer space was awesome. Tommy sang his heart out. Beautiful song. Where did he find that hideous top!!

[@strixq]

Tommy Körberg was the one who sang the famous Anthem from the Musical Chess, by the way...and Judy min vän (Judy my friend) from the ESC 1969...

[@Botafogoplayground]

In Madrid ;-)

[@Thessaliniki15]

This song will stay on my mind forever. Congratulation Sweden. Never visit this coutry but one day I go and this song is the anthom for that

[@plerpplerp5599]

Herregud! Vilken röst! Wow!

[@nicoledickson6099]

Beautiful. I did like his 1969 entry more but it's the fact im more the person for that type of song. I still loved his 1988 song, should've got top 5! robbed, the orchestral sound was beautiful and amazing, the singing was perfectly done. Beautiful.

[@norachristina4643]

hes absolutely fantastic...as hevisv in chess and bao....fantastic voice

[@hildegerdhaugen7864]

30 år siden og fremdeles helt fantastisk,

[@lenaengell8528]

Wow! What a Masterpiece! I am proud of being Swedish when I hear this! Lena in Norway

[@agrippak]

I will never understand why he did not manage better.I was twelve years old in 88, my favourite was turkey followed by tommy...and i was sooooo dissapointed...i´ll never forget....

[@zapfanzapfan]

Didn't know he was sick when he performed it. Damn what a talent!

[@Anna-mj9cs]

Utrolig fin sang. 100 points

[@Elton78]

När jag hörde den här låten i melodifestivalen 88 så var jag 9 år gammal. Jag sa direkt "Honom ska jag heja på!". Och det gjorde jag. Och sen dess så har han varit en idol för mig. Synd att han själv inte gillar låten för han gör den aldrig live, han tycker texten är skum :-)

[@anitaelsyvictorialandgren1032]

Underbart bra när körberg går upp extra på "ger,ger mig liv!

[@twischify]

Det är magiskt att lyssna på en vokalist som Tommy Körberg. Har alltid beundrat denna mannen! Det är också synd att Melodifestivalen, likt många sångtävlingar i tv, inte har live-musik längre. Både röster som Tommys och live-orkestrar är sjukt underskattade nu för tiden.

[@marysomeone]

han gör mig stolt över att vara svensk.. helt otroligt!

[@Ruud22NL]

The best song of 1988, which the jury from my country gave 8 points. My number 1 though. Stad i ljus, Stad in het licht, in een land zonder naam....

[@toneholm4650]

Yes Sweden is masters. Stad i ljus, what,a lovely song.❤

[@Thessaliniki15]

This song will stay on my mind forever. Congratulation Sweden. Never visit this coutry but one day I go and this song is the anthem for that. After all that comes from Scandinavia is good

[@JewoitEntertainment]

Have you visited yet

[@RlCARDA]

Hello, I'm from Germany and I do remember this song because I loved it so much. What a shame that it only made the 12th rank. It is still a great song. Thanks for putting it on youtube.

[@vanarve]

Most singers would have changed the melody and probably sung lower notes than the original score because of the throat infection, but Tommy give it full throttle all the way and hits the high H at the end of the song, impressive.

[@kjetiltv]

Har hatt denne på hjernen siste uker. En aldeles enorm sang, og en fantastisk artist.

[@SofSof.]

Sjukaste är ju att den fantastiska röst han har i denna videon blivit ännu bättre med åren! Helt fantastisk!

[@turkkisydamessani]

Thank you for uploding this... and thank´s Tommy Körberg for your fantastic singing... (he is just great... what a voice...!)

[@bosseboss4564]

Han var riktigt bra men bör varit högra än 12:a, men gud vilken jäkla finish! bland det bästa jag hört!

[@pite9]

Det visar verkligen hur bra sångare han är när folk verkar göra en så stor grej av en enda felnot.

[@carl_lindquist]

Loved this video! All the best!!

[@darioevangelista6249]

Tommy Korborg's Staf i Ljust is a heart pumping power voice rendition; while Ibrahim Nusrullayev is a hair shiverring soul soothing rendition.

[@strixq]

I am defintely no fan of ESC but I thinks this song is one of the most beautiful songs that we have produced thank's to Py Bäckman among others Picking Tommy for the act was the best thing they could do, because he was the only one who could sing a song like this back then. I missed this ESC because I traveled around the world and spent my time listening to songs Beds are Burning, Hotdogs and hamburgers, I need you tonight and WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE with a new band called Guns and frickin' Roses

[@ukendtkendt5130]

A very beautiful song by Tommy Korberg, the man who also song the Musical Chess. Sweden always make good music, thank you Sweden!

[@juansdf1]

Swedish quality!!

[@ggooteborg]

i love you tommy! proud to be sweish!!

[@brigmac6945]

I like very much this song and Tommy

[@TheDancingCookie]

Great song, always loved this entry.

[@thomasmarthinussen8978]

Such a pure melody and great lyrics!

[@perlottrup1470]

Tommy er en av vår tids beste sangere, for en flott stemme.

[@fia.-wk9gh]

Älskar den här låten. ❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@klippcb]

"Stad i ljus", pampigare och mäktigare schlagerlåt finns nog inte. Och att höra Tommy Körberg förvalta denna så underbart! (bortsett tuppen) gör mig rörd och stolt över att vara landsman med honom. Minst Sveriges bästa sångare!

[@josegodinama]

i love this song!

[@srehnholm]

Så jäkla bra!!

[@dramaticScar]

the ONLY swedish song of eurovision i liked and only placed 12th ironic I especially like the trompet

[@Anonymoussomeonenr1]

This is from the year before I was born..... LOL (@ the song text relating)....

[@fartreta]

Yeah it was such an unjustified placement! Should AT LEAST have been within the top 3. I guess that if he had been allowed to sing it in French dressed with a ballerina skirt it would have won :)

[@CrPBcon]

I think it's just me who prefers this version. I know he was sick and there were obvious slip ups, but for some reason the slip ups kind of add up to the charm. His voice sounds very prideful and emotional (Eventhough I don't understand the meaning behind the lyrics as I don't know Swedes :p). Any versions by Tommy is superb though, but I always come back to this one.

[@LaMisplacer]

This is my no 1 christmas song, so frikkin good. Körberg för evigt.

[@milsluker]

Mr. Kørberg himself. Gudsbenådet stemme. Flotteste GP låt ever

[@Botafogoplayground]

My 12 points of that year. Still today...

[@heidos7]

I hadn't heard this song until now I saw it 'cause Fridrik Ómar, of Iceland's Euroband 2008, has recently sung this song in Icelandic called 'Vetrarnótt'. I knew it was a Swedish Eurovision song so I checked it out 'cause it's so beautiful! :)

[@berthansson2368]

I miss singers😢😢😢

[@ViWaWoo]

älskar denna låten

[@thorovrelid]

Beautiful voice at 2:45

[@pandemits]

excellent song...

[@emmizbsb]

his voice is amazing!

[@vinylmonstretify]

Den här skall jag ha på min begravning

[@clarajonsson6223]

älskar den här! :D så jävlans fin :D

[@Sandraouh]

får fan gåshud o typ allt. bästa låten

[@JonasIsaksson]

My english is not the best but i'll make a try. My journey was towards the sun Far away from all the closed spaces Where everything is forever And every border has forever been erased I wanted to see the miracle And hear words that give birth to life Get carried by a power That just grows when I've seen my motive (?) City in lights In a country without a name Give me life Where all is reborned

[@Lidnart]

Så underbart!

[@jossel61]

j'adore cette chanson