Big Blog no. 2 - Norwegian Pop Music
As I am from Norway, I figured why not write about a topic that I am a little more familiar with. Norwegian pop music has proven itself to become a very popular genre in Norway. I often get asked what we listen to in Norway, and we do listen to a lot of the music that originated from America and all these popular artists such as Drake, The Weeknd, Post Malone, etc... We listen to a lot of English music, but of course we listen to a lot of Norwegian music as well. Below is a little history of the pop genre in Norway before we dive deeper into the music...
According to an article by Alex Cosper "The History of Norwegian Pop Music", the Oslo Philharmonic was founded in the year of 1919 and continued to serve Norway with diverse classical music. Eventually they signed a contract with the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, also called NRK, in 1923. Now, the orchestra started performing outside of the homeland in 1962 and was internationally known for their performance, and NRK went on to become a key development for Norwegian pop music. Ever since then, Norwegian pop has only increased in popularity and plays a huge role in music in Norway today.
As for popular artists and bands in the genre, the first one that comes to my mind is "Ballinciaga'', which is a boy band from Norway that has taken pop and party music by storm the last few years. One of their most popular songs that was a huge breakout from them is "Dans på bordet", which is directly translated to "Dance on the table". According to Wikipedia, this song was nominated for "song of the year" because of how many people listened to it and Ballinciaga was nominated for "Artist of the year" in 2022.
Another artist that has proven herself to be one of the main artists in the pop culture in Norway is "Gabrielle". Has a ton of songs that have been a hit in Norway and in Scandinavia. The most popular song she has as the moment is "5 fine frøkner" which is directly translated as "5 pretty women"👇🏼
We do have Norwegian pop artists that produce more English songs that appeal to a wider audience, and are therefore more popular. I figured I might as well give you guys an artist that has been successful outside of Norway and Scandinavia since we are now talking about different Norwegian artists. One of the most popular artists in Norway, Astrid S, has produced multiple hits that have been going viral. Many of the songs are in English, which is also why Astrid S has been able to reach out to many more listeners because English is a Worldwide language. Down below is one of her most viral songs "Hurts So Good", an original by Astrid S👇🏼
As for the lyrics in the Norwegian Pop genre, it really depends from artist to artist. Many artists and bands have their own type of way to sing about certain topics within pop. Take the two examples above. Ballinciaga is very directed towards parties and the "younger" generation, typically Gen Z. Norway has proven itself to have a party culture like no other, so this would appeal to a lot of people. The lyrics for Ballinciaga are often about alcohol, females, drugs and that type of stuff. They do have other songs that don't appeal to that, but for the most part that is what you can expect out of any pop music related to parties in Norway or in Scandinavia in general.
Now, for Gabrielle, she can be more related to all types of people in Norway/Scandinavia that everyone would listen to. The lyrics are more forwarded towards everyday topics with a hint of a good mood to it. And this type of music within pop in Norway is usually what you can expect if it isn't forwarded towards parties etc... Astrid S is similar to Gabrielle, and provides a lot of "feel good" music related to popular topics in our everyday lives.
I believe all three sing about lyrics that are related to our lives somehow, that way they are able to relate to the listener more. It really just depends what the specific artists/band sings about. There is a difference from Ballinciaga's lyrics compared to Gabrielle and Astrid S.
Lastly, when it comes to the pop genre in Norway overall, the music has a good rhythm to it, catchy melody, and a repeated chorus. Now, for Norwegians there are easy lyrics to remember, but probably really difficult for any foreigner to remember the lyrics of any Norwegian Pop Song. You will also notice that most songs are between 2 and 5 minutes long, and the lyrics will usually be about joy, love, relationships, parties, etc... Anything that can relate to everyday life.
Sources Cited:
- Cosper, Alex, "The History of Norwegian Pop Music", https://www.playlistresearch.com/article/norwegianpop.htm 4/17/2013
- Wikipedia, "Ballinciaga", https://no.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ballinciaga Last edited, 4/11/2023
Hey Mikal! It was so interesting to learn about the culture of Norway! I really enjoyed listening to all the music you included...I love how unique the music is! It is so cool that your from Norway!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat Job on your blog! I learned so much about Norway and its culture and music! I feel like many Norwegian pop songs I have heard have been in movies, especially the ones on Netflix!
ReplyDeleteHey Mikal, I found it super cool to listen to Norwegian music and learn new things about the culture. It was also nice to hear different songs in both English and Norwegian, and that most songs are about joy and parties, super cool!
ReplyDeleteI found it cool how found similarities between Norwegian and American Pop Music. I liked listening to the 2nd song because of how it was upbeat.
ReplyDeleteIt was super cool to hear your selections! The Norwegian language sounds lovely, in my opinion, so I enjoyed hearing music utilizing it. Out of the three, I think Gabrielle's was my favorite!
ReplyDeleteI've never listened to Norwegian music before this. But it was definitely cool and interesting to listen to. It was also cool learning about the culture.
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