There is a lot of great music in Norwegian. In this post, you will find videos of different kinds of music made by artists from various parts of the country. It is just a selection, but hopefully, it will inspire you to search for more music. The lyrics to the songs in this post can easily be found online.
Music of a Norwegian landscape
Chris Holsten has been one of the most popular singers in Norway in recent years. “Smilet i ditt eget speil” (The smile in your own mirror). It is a nice tune, and you will see a genuine Norwegian landscape in this video.
In the next video, you will not see any landscape, you can easily imagine it. Floden (“The river”) originally sung by Bjørn Eidsvåg, is here performed by Emma Steinbakken. The man we see in the background is Eidsvåg himself, and he is very satisfied.
Another popular tune by Emma Steinbakken is Jeg glemmer deg aldri (with Aslag Haugen).
Marit Bremnes has been popular for many years. She comes from the Lofoten islands, and in the next video, you will hear her fantastic voice accompanying the Norwegian landscape.
Songs from the Arctic
Like Kari Bremnes, Sondre Justad also comes from the Lofoten islands. He is a sporty guy who has performed in the most unbelievable places, including the top of a mountain. This concert was held close to the village where he grew up, Henningsvær. Enjoy!
In June 2022, Oslo was surprised by a terrorist attack at a gay bar. Sondre Justad was performing at the memorial service with a song that is a tribute to all kinds of love – “Ikke som de andre”.
Our next singer, Moddi, comes from a fishing village on the island of Senja. Here, he sings “Mannen i Ausa”, which is not only a song but an old local legend.
Moddi wants to express a point of view with his music. Punk prayer (English Lyrics) is his interpretation of the performance of Pussy Riot in Moscow in 2012.
Music of the fjords
Bergen, the second-largest city in Norway, has fostered composers like Edvard Grieg and Ole Bull. In our times, music from Bergen has reached the tops of the hit lists on some occasions, and there is one particular singer that we need to mention – Gabrielle.
“Fem fine frøkner” (5 fine young ladies) can be heard in the background in one of the episodes of Skam, one of the most successful Norwegian TV series ever.
Gabrielle is one of the judges of the Norwegian version of the TV show The Voice and so is also Eva Weel Skram. She comes from the fjord district of the west, but here, you will see her performing outside Oslo Opera House.
In the next video, you will see Stavangerkameratene (the Stavanger friends), a group of friendly young men from the southwest of Norway. Here, you see them performing “Bare så du vett det” (just as you know it).
Folk tunes the modern way
Upper Telemark has fostered many talented musicians. Odd Nordstoga’s music is a fusion of folk music and pop. Here comes “Dans, dans, dans”
“Ulveham” (Wolf pelt) is originally a folk tune from Upper Telemark, and was reinterpreted by the Trondheim band Gåte. Ulveham was the Norwegian contribution to the Eurovision Song Contest in 2024.
Our next music group, Vamp, has been inspired by Irish folk music, but they sing in their own Haugesund dialect. Now, I will show you their tune “Liten fuggel” (small bird).
Norwegian party music
Music is often just for fun, and maybe you need some good party music for the good vibes. Here comes “Langt igjen å gå” (Still far to walk) by Innertier.
The next tune is by Sirkus Eliassen – two brothers from Bodø in Northern Norway. Their greatest hit ever was “Æ vil bare dans”, which could be heard on the dance floor everywhere some years ago.
Yes, this video was indeed made before #MeToo, but it is made with a lot of irony in mind. The brothers Eliassen have shown a strong social engagement.
Freddy Kalas is one of the most popular singers in Norway in recent years. Kalas means “party” and I guess you understand why he has chosen this stage name.
Hagle (meaning “shotgun”) from Mysen, not far from Oslo, call their music “country rap”. They sing in Østfold dialect, and the title of the next tune Bøgda means “The countryside”. You will see them driving around in old cars, having great fun.
In this video, they got assistance from Staysman, another popular Norwegian singer. And did you notice the smiling driver of the old Volvo? That is the former finance minister, Trygve Slagsvold Vedum!
The next song is about a guy who is breaking out of a relationship. Here comes Katastrofe with “Sangen du hater” (the song you hate).
The duo Karpe combines hip-hop with other kinds of music. They are (partly) of immigrant origin, but Magdi and Chirag grew up in Oslo and consider themselves Norwegians. The next tune, PAF.no (a charity foundation), is based on a Tunisian traditional song, and you will hear Norwegian mixed with other languages. Here, live from Oslo Spektrum.
There are also some other successful singers with an immigrant background who perform in Norwegian. You could check out Hkeem, Arif, or Isah.
Kaizers Orchestra has been around for many years. After a long break, they started touring again in 2023. They use Stavanger dialect in their alternative rock tunes.
Blomst (meaning “Flower”) is being described as a garage-punk-rock band. Here, you will hear them performing Dans til du dør (“Dance till you die”).
Norwegian evergreens
Wenche Myhre is Norwegian, but she has also had success in a few other countries. The original version of the next song is “en chantant” by the French singer Michel Sardou. Here, you will hear Wenche Myhre performing the Norwegian version: “vi lever”. It is organized as a sing-along during the pandemic at Fredriksten Fortress in Halden, next to the Swedish border.
Wenche Myhre also had an active career as a singer and TV presenter in Germany for many years. Myhre’s German version of this tune, “Wir leben”, was also successful in German-speaking countries.
Namsos is a small town known for its musical heritage, fostering singers like Åge Alexandersen and DDE’s Bjarne Brøndbo. Here, you will see another singer, Terje Tysland, performing Heile livet for dæ (The whole life for you).
Jahn Teigen was one of the most popular singers ever in Norway. He got zero points for “Mil etter mil” at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1978. However, he had great success with a few other tunes in Norway, like this one:
Unfortunately, we will never see Jahn Teigen perform again – he passed away in 2020.
I will finish with one of the most popular Norwegian singers of the last decades, Halfdan Sivertsen, singing Kjærlightesvisa (“The love song”).
We see him reunited with two previous music partners, Øystein Sunde and Hans Eggum. The fourth and missing musician, Lillebjørn Nilsen, passed away last year.
I hope you have enjoyed this introduction to music in the Norwegian language. This blog post was not meant as a comprehensive guide, but I have tried to make a selection that includes different kinds of music. I have also written a post called Learn Norwegian through music. There, you will find a few other tunes, including some traditional songs, accompanied by lyric videos.
Do you want to learn more about Norway and the Norwegian language? There are different articles to be found on this blog. You are welcome to have a closer look.
Do you want to learn Norwegian yourself? Or do you want to master it better? Listening to songs can be an integrated part of the learning process.
However, you will need some basic knowledge of the language first, for which a good language teacher can be of great help. norwegian.online offers private Norwegian online language lessons. Check out this website to learn more.
