Norway’s most famous composer, Edvard Grieg, was being celebrated on the 175th anniversary of his birth Friday with a marathon program on Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) due to run into the weekend. A large collection of his unpublished letters were also being released as the country hailed the man who helped put Norwegian music on the […]
Nesbø recovering at local hospital
June 8, 2018
Jo Nesbø, Norway’s multi-talented artist and best-selling author, had to be admitted to a local hospital this week following an “acute illness.” It forced cancellation of the concert he planned to take part in with his band Di Derre in Skien, Telemark County, this weekend, but he was reportedly recovering on Friday. Telemarksavisa was the first […]
‘Norwegian Wood’ festival cancelled
May 23, 2018
Norway’s traditional but troubled music festival “Norwegian Wood” has been cancelled this year, after an attempt to revive it stranded because of poor ticket sales and what its new owner views as an aversion to risk. Henning Thoresen took over the festival that was held every June at the Frogner Park since 1994. It made […]
Tono reports Tidal to the police
May 15, 2018
Songwriters are fuming and the organization charged with taking care of their rights has now gone to the police, filing a formal complaint over how music streaming platform Tidal has allegedly manipulated its numbers for listening sessions. Not only has that allegedly inflated sessions and payments for top artists linked to Tidal’s owner, hip-hop mogul […]
Rybak takes his loss with a smile
May 13, 2018
At least Norwegian Broadcasting (NRK) won’t have to spend as much as NOK 150 million producing and hosting the Eurovision Song Contest next year. The money would have been found, but Alexander Rybak’s 15th-place finish in Saturday night’s final takes the strain off NRK, and him. “Now I’m just glad I can sleep in on […]
Tidal has some explaining to do
May 11, 2018
Static is rising around the music-streaming platform Tidal, after Oslo-based newspaper Dagens Næringsliv (DN) reported in detail this week about how Tidal seems to have manipulated its listener statistics by several hundred million. Recording artists are stunned and Tono, which manages rights and royalties for Norwegian songwriters and composers, is demanding a full audit. “We […]
Rybak takes Norway to Eurovision final
May 11, 2018
Norwegian musician Alexander Rybak made it into the last batch of 10 finalists who’ll be competing in Saturday’s annual Eurovision Song Contest. Rybak won the contest with the largest number of points ever accumulated back in 2009 with his hit song Fairytale, and is keen on repeating the achievement. “Fantastic! I’m very relieved now,” Rybak […]
Sigrid sang for 3 million Americans
April 25, 2018
A 21-year-old singer from Norway’s scenic coastal town of Aalesund, who simply calls herself “Sigrid,” scored a sanding ovation Tuesday night on the US’s popular Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon. It was a major breakthrough for the young Sigrid Solbakk Raabe, who hates makeup, favours blue jeans and just want to spread her music. Host Jimmy […]
‘Musical ambassadors’ head for Oslo
April 16, 2018
The Norwegian Military Tattoo will get underway for the 14th time this weekend, when Norway’s defense department will be welcoming marching bands and other military music corps to the Oslo Spektrum arena from April 20-22. The event is billed as a major international attraction, with 850 participants from eight countries. Among them are members of […]
Rybak wins a return to Eurovision
March 10, 2018
UPDATED: Norway’s Alexander Rybak, who won the Eurovision Song Contest by the largest number of points in history nine years ago, will be making a comeback in May. Norwegian voters have sent him back to the huge contest that he just may take by storm again. Rybak’s catchy new tune is called “That’s how you […]
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