Young Royals' Omar Rudberg 'Kind of Hated' Wille's Song at First: 'I Was Just Shading It So Bad'

When Omar Rudberg first heard "Wille's Song" — the ballad that his character Simon writes for Prince Wilhelm (Edvin Ryding) in Young Royals Season 3 — the actor did not love it. In fact, he "kind of hated it," Rudberg told TV Guide. In Netflix's Swedish drama, Simon begins composing the song in his room one evening. After facing serious online harassment due to his now-public relationship with the Crown Prince of Sweden, Simon encounters a new threat when he receives hate mail at home. That's when the character, who has always found solace in music, grabs a notebook and starts penning the words to the track that would become "Wille's Song." 

"I was like Simon wouldn't write this, Simon is 16 years old not 10 years old," Rudberg remembers. The lyrics are about ignoring the outside voices and Simon wanting to become Wille's "revolution." "He could definitely write something even better, not as cringe," the actor remembered thinking. "I was just shading the song so bad." Rudberg wasn't alone in his thoughts. "Edvin didn't make it easier," the actor shared. "[He] was like, oh my God, this is so bad."

Rudberg said that part of why he didn't like the song initially was because of the high-stress environment in which he first heard it. For around three days, he was shooting all of the scenes that took place in Simon's home. The one of his character playing "Wille's Song" on the keyboard would be one of them. "I got the demo the night before I was going to shoot this scene where I'm singing," Rudberg recalled. "I was so mad because I didn't know the lyrics, I didn't know the chords, I didn't know the melodies — I didn't know anything about it." 

Fans of Rudberg know that before his acting debut in Young Royals, he was an established singer in Sweden. Rudberg debuted in the Swedish boy band FO&O in 2013, and has been releasing solo music since 2018. This part of his identity is largely why receiving the demo for "Wille's Song" the night before filming was almost haunting. "I'm a perfectionist when it comes to singing," Rudberg explained. "If I'm going to sing — I'm a singer, be aware. I'm not going to pull up and do something that is not cute."

The actor recounted the filming experience. "Those scenes where I'm singing the song and writing it, I had a little in-ear where I was hearing the demo and I was just matching," he shared. "I was so stressed out."

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Rudberg's relationship with the song eventually changed. "Time flew by and today, I really enjoy it," he said. "Wille's Song" now makes sense to him in the context of the series as a whole. "I kind of realized that Simon is 16, he's in his room. He's doing a random little song," Rudberg said. "His intentions are not to make a great mastermind hit song that no one's ever heard before." Instead, the character is simply trying to express his feelings. "He does a little demo with a sh--ty microphone in his room," Rudberg continued. "It's just raw. It's not great and it wasn't supposed to be great."

In the finale of Young Royals, Simon sends the completed song to Wille as a birthday gift — but also a parting one since their relationship at that point in the episode was at its end. This version of the ballad is more polished, but with the same line "'Cause we were a revolution" at its core. "I feel like it's beautiful and it makes sense to the story, and it makes sense with Simon and Wille," Rudberg said. "So I'm very happy that we did it."

Young Royals Season 3 Episode 1-6 are available to stream on Netflix.