They did it again: The teenage duo from a small town in north-central Norway won the country’s annual Spellemann prize as artists of the year. Veteran violinist Arve Tellefsen won the equivalent of a lifetime achievement award.
Neither Marcus nor Martinus nor Tellefsen were on hand to receive their prizes at the annual gala in Oslo. The two 14-year-olds were in Finland to promote their new documentary film and appear on Finland’s version of the Eurovision Song Contest qualifier. It wasn’t clear what happened to Tellefsen, since the 80-year-old violinist had played at the opening of the awards show that was aired live nationwide on Saturday night. “We must remenber that it’s now very late in the evening,” joked the show’s hostess Mona B Riise.
Marcus & Martinus were surprised at their hotel in Finland, where none other than last year’s winner, Kygo, showed up to announce their victory. He could relay the reasoning of the jury, which declared how the teenagers had had “an ocean of success” during the past year, filled the Oslo Spektrum Arena twice, filled Tivoli in Copenhagen, and were so popular in Stockholm that their concert had to be cancelled because of security concerns. “You’ve conquered the Nordic countries,” Kygo read from the jury’s decision. “Now the rest of the world awaits.”
The jury also cited the duo’s “musical talent, exuberance” and an “unparallelled willingness” to work hard. “Thank you for giving us the music,” Kygo read, while Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) (on hand for the occasion) could show how the boys’ father got tears in his eyes. He received much of his son’s appreciation, as they also thanked “the entire team around us and not least our fans. Without them we couldn’t do this.”
newsinenglish.no staff
