John Holm receives the prize because he ”with a voice – at the same time old and young, fragile and strong – sings for all those who have been bent like reeds in the wind”, as it is stated among other things in the motivation.
Thus, the prize goes to a certain singer who was a contemporary of Cornelis Vreeswijk. John Holm's first producer Anders Burman, was also the man who nearly ten years earlier launched the Dutch singer in the beginning of the 1960s.
John Holm, 77, had his breakthrough in 1972 with the album ”Sordin” and the song ”Ett enskilt rum på Sabbatsberg”. After a few critically acclaimed records in the 1970s, Holm left the industry and moved to the USA where he made a living by installing sound systems for wealthy clients.
In the late 1990s, John Holm returned to Sweden when he was rediscovered by a younger generation of listeners and critics.
The Cornelis scholarship, as it was originally called, was established after Cornelis Vreeswijk's death in 1987 and has over the years grown into one of Sweden's largest, thanks to the steady influx of royalty payments for Cornelis' music. Last year's winner Monica Törnell received one million kronor.
Among the winners in recent years are also Dogge Doggelito, Lasse Berghagen, Lill Lindfors and Kjell Höglund.
