Kevin Walker (born 3 August 1989) is a Swedish

footballer A football player or footballer is a sportsperson who plays one of the different types of football. The main types of football are association football, American football, Canadian football, Australian rules football, Gaelic football, rugby le ...

and singer. He is a

centre midfielder A midfielder is an Glossary of association football terms#O, outfield position in association football. Midfielders may play an exclusively defensive role, breaking up attacks, and are in that case known as defensive midfielders. As #Cent ...

for

Örebro SK Örebro Sportklubb, more commonly known as Örebro SK, Örebro or (especially locally) ÖSK, is a Swedish professional football club based in Örebro. The club are affiliated to Örebro Läns Fotbollförbund and play their home games at Behrn A ...

in the Swedish first-tier league

Allsvenskan Allsvenskan (; en, the All-Swedish, also known as Fotbollsallsvenskan, en, the Football All-Swedish) is a Swedish professional league for men's association football clubs. It was founded in 1924 and is the top tier of the Swedish football lea ...

. Walker was the winner of the 9th series of the Swedish version of ''

Idol Idol or Idols may refer to: Religion and philosophy * Cult image, a neutral term for a man-made object that is worshipped or venerated for the deity, spirit or demon that it embodies or represents * Murti, a point of focus for devotion or medit ...

'' in 2013.

Football career

Club

Walker was born in

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers in ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

, and started his football career in

Varbergs BoIS Varbergs BoIS FC is a Swedish football club located in Varberg, the main town of Varberg Municipality in Halland County. Background The club was formed at a meeting in the Varbergs Folkets Hus on 25 March 1925. The backbone of the new club was ...

. Son of the former

manager Patrick Walker, Kevin made his senior debut for

Superettan Superettan (; meaning the super first (division)) is an association football league and the second highest league in the league system of Swedish men's football. Contested by 16 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with Al ...

team

in the 2006 season. Örebro SK was promoted to Allsvenskan and Walker made his Allsvenskan debut in the following season. From 2007 to 2011, Walker was in the

AIK AIK Fotboll (), more commonly known simply as AIK (), an abbreviation for Allmänna Idrottsklubben (meaning ''the public'' or ''general sports club''), is a Swedish football club competing in Allsvenskan, the top flight of Swedish football. The ...

organisation, having loan spells to

Väsby United Athletic Football Club Eskilstuna, also known as AFC Eskilstuna or simply AFC, is a Swedish football club located in Eskilstuna. The club has previously been known under the names FC Café Opera and Väsby United before switching ownership and t ...

Assyriska Föreningen Assyriska Fotbollsföreningen, also known simply as Assyriska FF, is a Swedish football club based in Södertälje, Stockholm County. The club, formed in 1974 by Assyrian immigrants, has advanced through the league system and is currently playin ...

and

GIF Sundsvall Gymnastik- och Idrottsföreningen Sundsvall, more commonly known as GIF Sundsvall (), Giffarna or simply Sundsvall, is a Swedish professional football club based in Sundsvall. The club is affiliated with Medelpads Fotbollförbund and plays its h ...

. He moved to

at the end of the 2011 season. Walker played for

side

which he vice-captained during the autumn 2013. After the 2014 season, Walker signed a contract with

Djurgårdens IF Djurgårdens Idrottsförening, commonly known simply as Djurgårdens IF, Djurgården (), and (especially locally) Djurgår'n (), Dif or DIF – is a Swedish sports association with several sections, located in Stockholm. Name The club is named ...

and was presented on 5 November 2014. In March 2016 Walker was appointed captain for Djurgårdens IF. On 10 May 2018 he played as Djurgarden beat

Malmö FF Malmö Fotbollförening, commonly known as Malmö FF, Malmö, or MFF, is a professional football club and the most successful football club in Sweden in terms of trophies won. Formed in 1910 and affiliated with the Scania Football Association, ...

3–0 in the Swedish Cup Final. On 30 December 2020,

announced that they had signed Walker to a three-year deal.

International

Walker made eight

Sweden national under-17 football team The Sweden national under-17 football team ( sv, svenska pojklandslaget i fotboll) is the football team representing Sweden in competitions for under-17-year-old players. The Swedish U17 team came into existence following the realignment of the ...

appearances in 2006 and scored three goals. He made two

Sweden national under-19 football team The Sweden national under-19 football team ( sv, svenska juniorlandslaget i fotboll) is the football team representing Sweden in competitions for under-19 year old players. Primarily, it competes to qualify for the annual UEFA European Under-19 ...

appearances in 2008. Walker and his brother

Robert The name Robert is an ancient Germanic given name, from Proto-Germanic "fame" and "bright" (''Hrōþiberhtaz''). Compare Old Dutch ''Robrecht'' and Old High German ''Hrodebert'' (a compound of '' Hruod'' ( non, Hróðr) "fame, glory, honou ...

are also eligible to represent the

Republic of Ireland Ireland ( ga, Éire ), also known as the Republic of Ireland (), is a country in north-western Europe consisting of 26 of the 32 counties of the island of Ireland. The capital and largest city is Dublin, on the eastern side of the island. A ...

Honours

Club

AIK *

2009 File:2009 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: The vertical stabilizer of Air France Flight 447 is pulled out from the Atlantic Ocean; Barack Obama becomes the first African American to become President of the United States; 2009 Iran ...

Svenska Cupen Svenska Cupen (, ''The Swedish Cup'') is a knockout cup competition in Swedish football and the main Swedish football cup. Svenska Cupen usually refers to the men's tournament, although a women's tournament is also held. Each year 96 teams compe ...

Supercupen Svenska Supercupen, ''Swedish Super Cup'', was a one-off fixture in Swedish football played between the Allsvenskan champions and the winners of Svenska Cupen. The fixture was played in November, after the Allsvenskan season. In the event of ...

: 2010 Djurgårdens IF *Allsvenskan:

2019 File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...

*Svenska Cupen: 2017–18

Musical career

Walker has been fascinated with music from a very young age; ever since he heard his Irish grandfather sing.

In ''Idol''

In 2013, he auditioned to the Swedish ''

Idol 2013 ''Idol 2013'' was the Swedish '' Idol'' series' ninth season which premiered on August 19, 2013. and ended on December 6, 2013. In January 2013, TV4 confirmed that the ''Idol'' series would be returning after a year's hiatus after ''Idol 2011''. ...

'' with the song "Soldier". The series in its ninth season was broadcast on

TV4 TV4 or TV 4 may refer to: *TV4 (Poland), a private Polish television station *TV4 (Sweden), a Swedish television network **TV4 Group, owners of the Swedish television station *South African Broadcasting Corporation TV4, a channel operated by the st ...

. His whole ''Idol'' adventure began after a video of him jamming with a teammate at a football club function caught the attention of the show's producers. A few of Walker's football league games for

were moved to avoid a clash with his television commitments during ''Idol''. Walker reached the final alongside

Elin Bergman Elin Johanna Bergman (born 6 August 1995) is a Swedish singer. She was the first runner-up of the Swedish ''Idol 2013'', losing to Kevin Walker. During week 9 of the show, the contestants each composed and wrote a song alongside several establ ...

, with both of them singing the winning song "Belong". Walker won by popular vote. His winning prize included a recording contract with

Universal Music Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as just Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, Dutch law. UMG's cor ...

Sweden. In the final show, he and Bergman joined

Robbie Williams Robert Peter Williams (born 13 February 1974) is an English singer and songwriter. He found fame as a member of the pop group Take That from 1990 to 1995, and achieved commercial success after launching a solo career in 1996. His debut stud ...

in singing Williams' song, "Shine My Shoes". ;Performances *Audition: – "

Soldier A soldier is a person who is a member of an army. A soldier can be a conscripted or volunteer enlisted person, a non-commissioned officer, or an officer. Etymology The word ''soldier'' derives from the Middle English word , from Old French ...

" (

Gavin DeGraw Gavin Shane DeGraw (born February 4, 1977) is an American singer-songwriter. DeGraw rose to fame with his song "I Don't Want to Be" from his debut album '' Chariot'' (2003); the song became the main theme song for The WB drama series ''One Tree ...

) *Bootcamp heats: – "

Use Somebody "Use Somebody" is a song recorded by the American rock group Kings of Leon. It was the second single from the band's fourth studio album ''Only by the Night'' (2008), released on December 8, 2008. The single received heavy airplay in Scandinavia, ...

" (

Kings of Leon Kings of Leon is an American rock band formed in Nashville, Tennessee, in 1999. The band is composed of brothers Caleb, Nathan and Jared Followill, and their cousin Matthew Followill. The band's early music was a blend of Southern rock and gar ...

) *Week 1 (Theme "Here I am") – "

Pride Pride is defined by Merriam-Webster as "reasonable self-esteem" or "confidence and satisfaction in oneself". A healthy amount of pride is good, however, pride sometimes is used interchangeably with "conceit" or "arrogance" (among other words) wh ...

" ( U2) *Week 2 (Theme: "My Idol") – "

Say Say may refer to: Music *''Say'' (album), 2008 album by J-pop singer Misono * "Say" (John Mayer song), 2007 *"Say (All I Need)", 2007 song by American pop rock band OneRepublic * "Say" (Method Man song), 2006 single by rapper Method Man * "Say" ( ...

" (

John Mayer John Clayton Mayer ( ; born October 16, 1977) is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. Born and raised in Fairfield County, Connecticut, Mayer attended Berklee College of Music in Boston, but left and moved to Atlanta in 1997 with ...

) *Week 3 (Theme "Swedish music exports") – " Poker Face" (

Lady Gaga Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...

) *Week 4 (Theme: "Gone too soon") – "

Behind Blue Eyes "Behind Blue Eyes" is a song by English rock band the Who. It is the second single from the band's fifth album, ''Who's Next'' (1971), and was originally written by Pete Townshend for his '' Lifehouse'' project. The song is one of the Who's best- ...

" (

The Who The Who are an English rock band formed in London in 1964. Their classic lineup consisted of lead singer Roger Daltrey, guitarist and singer Pete Townshend, bass guitarist and singer John Entwistle, and drummer Keith Moon. They are considered ...

) *Week 5 (Theme: "Successful Idol singers") – "Hope and Glory" – (

Måns Zelmerlöw Måns Petter Albert Sahlén Zelmerlöw (; born 13 June 1986) is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter and television presenter. He took part in '' Idol 2005'', eventually finishing fifth, won the first season of '' Let's Dance,'' and scored a hit w ...

) *Week 6 (Theme: "Big Band Friday") – " It's My Life" (

Jon Bon Jovi John Francis Bongiovi Jr. (born March 2, 1962), known professionally as Jon Bon Jovi, is an American singer, songwriter, guitarist, and actor. He is best known as the founder and frontman of the rock band Bon Jovi, which was formed in 1983. He ...

) *Week 7 (Theme: "Hits in Swedish") – "Till dom ensamma" (

Mauro Scocco Mauro Scocco (born 11 September 1962) is a Swedish pop artist of Italian descent. He has been described as "one of the sharpest songwriters in Sweden". Scocco was the singer for the pop group Ratata (1980–83) transformed into a duo with Joh ...

) and "Välkommen in" (

Veronica Maggio Veronica Sandra Karin Maggio (born 15 March 1981) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. Born to an Italian father and a Swedish mother, Maggio was raised in Uppsala. After studying music and being the lead member of a band, Maggio released her de ...

) *Week 8 (Theme: "Unplugged") – "

Don't Look Back in Anger "Don't Look Back in Anger" is a song by English rock band Oasis. It was written by the band's guitarist and main songwriter Noel Gallagher. The song was produced by Gallagher and Owen Morris. Released on 19 February 1996 as the fifth single fro ...

" (

Oasis In ecology, an oasis (; ) is a fertile area of a desert or semi-desert environment'ksar''with its surrounding feeding source, the palm grove, within a relational and circulatory nomadic system.” The location of oases has been of critical imp ...

) and "

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

" (

The Script The Script are an Irish rock band formed in 2001 in Dublin, consisting of lead vocalist and keyboardist Danny O'Donoghue, lead guitarist Mark Sheehan, and drummer Glen Power. The band moved to London after signing to Sony Label Group imprint ...

) *Week 9 – Final 4 **round 1 – (Theme: "Self written") – "Dreaming" (

Peter Boström Peter Boström (born May 19, 1971) is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. He is also known as Bassflow. Boström wrote his first song at the age of seven. In 1992, at the age of 21, he started Bassflow Productions, a production company near S ...

, Thomas G:son and Kevin Walker) **round 2 – (Theme: "Picked by jury") – "

Free Fallin' "Free Fallin'" is the opening track from American musician Tom Petty's debut solo album, ''Full Moon Fever'' (1989). The song was written by Petty and his writing partner for the album, Jeff Lynne, and features Lynne on backing vocals and bass g ...

" (

Tom Petty Thomas Earl Petty (October 20, 1950October 2, 2017) was an American musician who was the lead vocalist and guitarist of the rock band Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, formed in 1976. He previously led the band Mudcrutch, was a member of the lat ...

) *Week 10 – Semi-finals – Final 3 **round 1 – (Theme: "Audition song") – "Soldier" (

) **round 2 – (Theme: "Chart topping") – "

Home A home, or domicile, is a space used as a permanent or semi-permanent residence for one or many humans, and sometimes various companion animals. It is a fully or semi sheltered space and can have both interior and exterior aspects to it. H ...

" ( Daughtry) *Week 11 – Final (Top 2) **round 1 – (Theme: "Own choice") – "

Where the Streets Have No Name "Where the Streets Have No Name" is a song by Irish rock music, rock band U2. It is the opening track from their 1987 album ''The Joshua Tree'' and was released as the album's third single (music), single in August 1987. The song's hook (music) ...

" ( U2) **round 2 – (Theme: "Viewers' choice") – "Say" (John Mayer) **round 3 – (Theme: "Winner's song") – "Belong" (Kevin Walker)

After ''Idol''

After winning the title, he was signed to

as part of the award, and released his debut single, the winning song "Belong" that subsequently charted on

Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and known by its current name since October 2007, based on sales data from the Swedish R ...

, the official Swedish Singles Chart. Walker's debut studio album, also titled ''

Belong Belong may refer to: Music * Belong (band), an American experimental music duo Albums * ''Belong'' (Kevin Walker album) or the title song, 2013 * ''Belong'' (The Pains of Being Pure at Heart album) or the title song, 2011 * ''Belong'', by Sa ...

'', peaked at number 2 on the Swedish Album chart. In late December 2013, Walker was interviewed in the talk show '' The Late Late Show'' on

RTÉ (RTÉ) (; Irish language, Irish for "Radio & Television of Ireland") is the Public broadcaster, national broadcaster of Republic of Ireland, Ireland headquartered in Dublin. It both produces and broadcasts programmes on RTÉ Television, telev ...

while visiting Ireland.RTÉ Ten: Brendan O'Carroll for ''Late Late Show''
He performed "

" during the show.

Discography

Album

Singles

References

External links

*
archive
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Walker, Kevin 1989 births Swedish footballers Sweden youth international footballers Örebro SK players AIK Fotboll players Allsvenskan players Living people Swedish people of Irish descent AFC Eskilstuna players Sportspeople from Örebro Superettan players Association football midfielders 21st-century Swedish singers Idol (Swedish TV series) winners Djurgårdens IF Fotboll players 21st-century Swedish male singers