Agnete Saba

Last updated
Agnete Saba
ESC2016 - Norway 15 (crop).jpg
Agnete in 2016
Background information
Birth nameAgnete Kristin Johnsen
Also known as
  • Agnete
  • Agnete Saba
Born (1994-07-04) 4 July 1994 (age 29)
Nesseby, Norway
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
Instrument(s)
  • Vocals
Years active2008–present

Agnete Kristin Johnsen Saba (born 4 July 1994), also known as Agnete Saba, Agnete Johnsen or simply Agnete, is a Sami-Norwegian singer and songwriter. Saba is best known for being the lead singer of the Norwegian teen punk band The BlackSheeps. She represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 as a solo artist with the song "Icebreaker".

Contents

Life and career

Early life and career

Saba was born as Agnete Kristin Johnsen on 4 July 1994 in Varangerbotn in Nesseby Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway. She is an ethnic Sami and the daughter of Sami children's author Signe Iversen. [1] In 2020, she changed her surname to her grandmother's maiden name Saba. [2]

The BlackSheeps were formed in 2008 while its members were attending school in their hometown of Nesseby. They later won Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2008 with their song "Oro jaska, beana" ("Be quiet, dog") which was performed in both Norwegian and Northern Sami. [3] The band later performed at MGP Nordic 2008 and won the competition. "Oro jaska, beana" went on to win Song of the Year at the Spellemannprisen Awards and peaked at number-one on the Norwegian singles chart. [4]

In 2011, the band were announced as one of the competing acts in Melodi Grand Prix 2011 with the song "Dance Tonight", where they placed second. [5] They later split up the same year.

In 2013, Agnete competed in the second season of the Norwegian music TV-competition Stjernekamp  [ no ], where she placed second in the finale against Silya Nymoen. The same year she also performed as an interval act during Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2013 .

2014–present: Skal vi danse?

In 2014, Johnsen was announced as one of the competing celebrities in the tenth season of the Norwegian version of Dancing with the Stars , called Skal vi danse? (Shall we dance?). She went on to win the competition. In 2015, she participated in the Norwegian reality television series 71° nord  [ no ], but withdrew early in the season because of mental health problems. [6]

Eurovision Song Contest 2016

On 19 January 2016, Johnsen was announced as one of the ten competing acts in Melodi Grand Prix 2016 with the song "Icebreaker". [7] In the final, held on 27 February, she was declared the winner after receiving 166,728 votes from the Norwegian public. [8] She represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 performing on May 12, 2016, during the second semi-final held in Stockholm, but failed to qualify to the May 14 final.

Discography

Extended plays

TitleDetails
Tundra

Singles

As lead artist

TitleYearPeak chart positionsCertificationsAlbum
NOR
[9]
"Goin' Insane"2013—Nature
"Mama"2014—
"Icebreaker"201611
"Beginning of the End"2020—Tundra
"Boo"2021—
"Solid"—
"Barely Breathing"
(with Jowst featuring Azzip)		—Non-album single
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released
TitleYearAlbum
"Hurricane Lover"
(Carina Dahl featuring Agnete)		2015Non-single album

Related Research Articles

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melodi Grand Prix</span> Annual music competition in Norway

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Melodi Grand Prix 2007</span>

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MGP Nordic was a Scandinavian song contest for children aged 8 to 15, organized by DR, NRK, SVT and Yle through Yle Fem. It originated as a 2000 spin-off of Denmark's Eurovision Song Contest national final known as De unges Melodi Grand Prix, but expanded to become MGP Nordic in 2002 with the addition of Norway and Sweden. The competing entries were sung primarily in the official or co-official languages of the corresponding countries and written solely by the participants.

Melodi Grand Prix Nordic 2008 was the fourth Nordic Melodi Grand Prix, a Scandinavian song contest for children aged 8 to 15. The contest was held on November 29, 2008 in Aarhus, Denmark and the participating countries were Norway, Sweden, Denmark and Finland. Each country submitted two songs to participate in the first round with the top placing entry from each country proceeding to the super-final. The winner of the MGP Nordic 2008 was Norway's The BlackSheeps with "Oro jaska beana".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">The BlackSheeps</span> Norwegian rock band

The BlackSheeps was a Norwegian Sami band from Nesseby Municipality in Finnmark county. Their breakthrough came following their participation in the MGP jr, a song contest for children organised by Norwegian state broadcaster NRK. Having won MGP jr 2008 with the song Oro jaska, beana the group went on to represent Norway in the MGP Nordic 2008. They also won this competition after receiving more than half the votes. In 2011, the band was the subject of a legal dispute over the dismissal of two band members, unpaid royalties, and the right to use the band name. However, it was ruled that the band still holds the right to the name, and former band members Alexander Touryguin and Viktoria Eriksen are not owed any money.

"Oro jaska, beana" is a song by Norwegian group The BlackSheeps. It won both the Norwegian MGP jr contest in September 2008 and went on to win MGP Nordic 2008, beating songs from Denmark, Sweden and Finland.

Melodi Grand Prix, the Norwegian selection for the Eurovision Song Contest, began in 1960, the year of Norway's debut in the contest. It has been held almost every year since.

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<span class="mw-page-title-main">Icebreaker (song)</span> 2016 song by Agnete

"Icebreaker" is a song performed by Sami-Norwegian singer Agnete. The song represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, and was written by Agnete along with Gabriel Alares and Ian Curnow. The song was released as a digital download on 2 February 2016 through Aiko Music.

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Signe Iversen is a Sami language consultant and author of children's literature.

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References

  1. ↑ Nå kan Signe vinne Nordisk råds litteraturpris på www.finnmarkdagblad.no/finnmarken/lokale_nyheter/ Publisert 29. oktober 2013. Besøkt 2. november 2013.
  2. ↑ Dønvold-Myhre, Lars (2020-08-19). "Derfor byttet hun navn" (in Norwegian). dagbladet.no. Retrieved 2020-08-19.
  3. ↑ "Suveren seier til samisk rock". NRK Troms og Finnmark. 2008-09-14.
  4. ↑ "Oro Jaska, Beana" (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 2008-12-18. Retrieved 2008-11-30.
  5. ↑ Hondal, Victor (29 November 2011). "Norway: Full line up for Melodi Grand Prix revealed". ESCToday.com. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
  6. ↑ Ighanian, Catherine Gonsholt (14 February 2016). "Agnete trakk seg fra "71 grader nord" – utredes for bipolar lidelse". vg.no (in Norwegian). Retrieved 5 May 2016.
  7. ↑ Hyttebakk, Jon Marius (19 January 2016). "Stage Dolls blant årets MGP-artister". mgp.no (in Norwegian). NRK . Retrieved 19 January 2016.
  8. ↑ Jordan, Paul; Nilsson, Helena (27 February 2016). "Agnete to represent Norway in 2016". eurovision.tv. European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 27 February 2016.
  9. ↑ Hung, Steffen. "Discography Agnete". Norwegian Charts Portal. Hung Medien (Steffen Hung).
Awards and achievements
Preceded by Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
2016 		Succeeded by
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