Lars Halvor Jensen

Last updated
Lars Halvor Jensen
Born (1973-07-23) 23 July 1973 (age 49)
Hillerød, Denmark
Origin Farum, Denmark
Genres Pop, rock, R&B
Occupation(s) Songwriter, record producer
Years active1996 – present
Website deekaymusic.com

Lars Halvor Jensen (born 23 July 1973) is a Danish record producer and songwriter. He has achieved success in many genres of music, particularly pop, rock and R&B and he is the co-founder of DEEKAY Music, a production and publishing company with studios in both Copenhagen, Denmark and Los Angeles, California. [1] He has written for artists such as Jedward, Jordin Sparks, Jason Derulo, NKOTB, Blue, Sugababes, Lemar, JLS, Tinie Tempah, TVXQ, Pixie Lott, Ronan Keating, SHINee, S Club, Girls' Generation, and many more.

Contents

Early life

Lars Halvor Jensen was born in Hillerød, Denmark, the son of Irving Halvor Jensen and Ellen Jensen. He grew up in Farum, a small city north of Copenhagen, Denmark. At the age of 18, he was drafted by the military and spent the next two years in the Danish army as a sergeant.

Introduction to the music business (1995–97)

In 1995, he attended a school for music in Denmark called "Den Rytmiske Hoejskole". [2] On the first night he met the person who was later to become his writing and business partner, Martin Michael Larsson. Lars and Martin started writing songs and producing tracks together and making their first complete demos with the help of Norwegian singer, Christina Undhjem. When school ended, Lars, Martin, and Christina kept working on the demos and eventually landed a record deal with MCA/Universal Music, the first act signed to the newly opened label branch in Denmark. Under the band name YouKnowWho, [2] they released their eponymous named first album in 1997, an album which sold in excess of 48,000 copies in Denmark and spawned several top 10 hits.

From artist to songwriter and producer (1998–2002)

Having spent much time on the road promoting the debut album, Lars and Martin now decided to focus on songwriting and production and their first project was Christina Undhjem's solo album, on which they produced and co-wrote half of the songs. The album, Watching You was successful in Denmark as it was certified gold and went on to sell 25,000 copies in 1998. Lars and Martin continued writing songs and in 1999 they landed a major publishing deal with Rondor Music UK, [3] one of the world's largest and most renowned independent publishers at the time.

They started getting releases in the United Kingdom with artists like Samantha Mumba, [4] Mis-teeq [1] in the early 2000s, earning them several UK platinum and gold records.

International success (2003–present)

In 2003, Lars and the DEEKAY team had a session with Blue, a session which produced two international hit singles for the band, "Breathe Easy" and "Bubblin'". [5] [6] After this, Lars went on to co-write and produce hit singles for other major UK artists such as Sugababes, [7] Lemar [8] and JLS. [9]

In the autumn of 2009, Lars moved to Los Angeles, California in order to focus more on the American music scene and work with American writers and artists.

In 2011, he wrote many songs on Jedward's second album Victory after they represented Ireland in Eurovision 2011.

Entries in the Eurovision Song Contest

Entries in national Eurovision pre-selections

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Simon Webbe</span> British singer

Simon Solomon Webbe is a British singer. He is best known as a member of the boy band Blue, selling over 15 million records. Webbe released three solo studio albums in 2005, 2006 and 2017 and had five UK Top 40 singles.

<i>Guilty</i> (Blue album) 2003 studio album by Blue

Guilty is the third studio album by English boy band Blue. It was released on 3 November 2003 in the United Kingdom and on 25 November in the United States. It debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart after its release, and it was certified 2× Platinum in December 2003.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">It's Not That Easy</span> 2006 single by Lemar

"It's Not That Easy" is the first single taken from British R&B singer Lemar's third album The Truth About Love.

Deekay is a Danish production and songwriting team founded by Lars Halvor Jensen, Martin Michael Larsson with other members Tim "Data" McEwan, Daniel "Obi" Klein and Johannes "Josh" Jørgensen. The name Deekay comes from the acronym dk, which means Denmark.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Change (Sugababes song)</span> 2007 single by Sugababes

"Change" is a song by English girl group Sugababes from their fifth studio album, Change (2007). It was written by the Sugababes, Niara Scarlett and its producers, the Danish production duo Deekay. The song was released as the album's second international and third overall single on 10 December 2007 with an accompanying B-side titled "I Can't Take It No More". "Change" is a midtempo pop ballad composed of anthemic harmonies, guitars, keys and sweeping effects.

<i>Mando II</i> 2008 studio album by Mando

Mando II is the Greek singer Mando's twelfth studio album and comeback after a five-year absence from the Greek music scene. It was released on May 30, 2008, by Polymusic and was Mando's first release since 2003.

Denmark participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song "Believe Again" written by Lars Halvor Jensen, Martin Michael Larsson and Ronan Keating. The song was performed by Brinck. The Danish broadcaster DR organised the national final Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2009 in order to select the Danish entry for the 2009 contest in Moscow, Russia. Ten songs competed in a televised show where the winner was selected over three rounds of voting. The results of the first round were decided upon through the combination of jury voting and public voting while the results in the second and third round were determined solely by public televoting. "Believe Again" performed by Brinck was the winner after gaining the most public votes in the third round.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Niels Brinck</span> Danish musician

Niels Brinck Kristensen is a Danish singer and songwriter.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Breathe Easy</span> 2004 single by Blue

"Breathe Easy" is a song written by Lars Halvor Jensen, Martin Michael Larsson and Lee Ryan and released by the British boy band Blue. The song was included on their third studio album, Guilty (2003). It was released as a single on 22 March 2004 in the United Kingdom and reached number four on the UK Singles Chart.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Jedward</span> Irish musical duo

John and Edward Grimes, collectively known as Jedward, are an Irish singing and television presenting duo. They are identical twins who first appeared as John & Edward in the sixth series of The X Factor in 2009, generating a phenomenon of ironic popularity described as "the Jedward paradox". They finished in sixth place and were managed by Louis Walsh, who was their mentor during The X Factor.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bubblin' (Blue song)</span> 2004 single by Blue

"Bubblin'" is a song by English boy band Blue. The song was released as the fourth and final single from their third studio album, Guilty (2003). Uncredited on the song is girl group L.A.D.É., who performs the rap verse. It was released as a single on 28 June 2004 in the United Kingdom, where it reached nine on the UK Singles Chart. It also became a top-ten hit in Switzerland and Wallonia, as well as a top-five hit in Hungary and Italy. A French version of the song featuring Linkup, titled "You and Me Bubblin'", was released in France and peaked at number 13.

<i>Hoot</i> (EP) 2010 EP by Girls Generation

Hoot is the third extended play by the South Korean girl group Girls' Generation. The extended play contains five songs and was released on 27 October 2010, by SM Entertainment. Hoot was the third best-selling album of 2010 on the Gaon Album Chart, with 163,066 copies sold.

"Hoot" (Korean: 훗) is the lead single from Hoot, the third EP of South Korean girl group Girls' Generation. It became the ninth hit song for the group, topped the chart in their nation. "Hoot" was released on October 25, 2010. A Japanese-language version was also released on their first Japanese album, Girls' Generation on June 1, 2011.

Ireland participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with the song "Lipstick" written by Dan Priddy, Lars Halvor Jensen and Martin Michael Larson. The song was performed by the duo Jedward. The Irish broadcaster Raidió Teilifís Éireann (RTÉ) organised the national final Eurosong 2011 in order to select the Irish entry for the 2011 contest in Düsseldorf, Germany. Five songs faced the votes of six regional juries and a public televote, ultimately resulting in the selection of "Lipstick" performed by Jedward as the Irish Eurovision entry.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Eyes Wide Shut (song)</span> 2011 single by JLS

"Eyes Wide Shut" is a song by English boy band JLS from their second studio album, Outta This World (2010). The song, written by JLS, and Tim McEwan and Lars Halvor Jensen of Danish production team DEEKAY, was released as the third single from the album on 13 February 2011. The single version of the track features guest vocals from English rapper Tinie Tempah. The song has peaked at number eight in the United Kingdom.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Lipstick (Jedward song)</span> 2011 song by Jedward

"Lipstick" is a song by Irish pop duo Jedward. It is written by Danish songwriters Lars Jensen and Martin Larsson and British lyricist Dan Priddy. It is Jedward's third single and the first song released from their second studio album, Victory and is best known as Ireland's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 held in Düsseldorf, Germany.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Wow Oh Wow</span> 2011 single by Jedward

"Wow Oh Wow" is a song by Irish hip pop duo Jedward. It is the third single released from their second album, Victory. It was released as a digital download on 18 November 2011. The song is written by Oritsé Williams of boy band JLS, and songwriters Johannes Joergensen, Savan Kotecha, Daniel Klein of Deekay.

Michael Rune is a Danish saxophonist and club act.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Young Love (Jedward song)</span> 2012 single by Jedward

"Young Love" is a song by Irish pop duo Jedward. It is the second single released from their third album, also titled Young Love. It was released as a digital download on 15 June 2012.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Remix (I Like The)</span> 2013 single by New Kids on the Block

"Remix (I Like The)" is a song by American pop group New Kids on the Block from their sixth studio album, 10. The song was released as the album's lead single on January 28, 2013. "Remix (I Like The)" was written by Lars Halvor Jensen, Johannes Jørgensen, and Lemar, and it was produced by Deekay. The song features Donnie Wahlberg and Joey McIntyre on lead vocals.

References

  1. 1 2 "A&R, Record Label / Company, Music Publishing, Artist Manager and Music Industry Directory". Hitquarters.com. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  2. 1 2 "Brinck - dr.dk/Melodi Grand Prix". Dr.dk. 6 January 2009. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  3. ↑ "Breathe Easy: Lyrics from". Answers.com. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  4. ↑ "Arnthor". Maxmartinfansite.com. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  5. ↑ "Artist Biography | Blue biography". Artists.letssingit.com. 2004-11-15. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  6. ↑ "Bubblin' Lyrics - Blue". Elyrics.net. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  7. ↑ "Sugababes Unlimited - Change Album Review". Sugababesunlimited.info. Archived from the original on 2010-05-02. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  8. ↑ "Lemar". Lemar-online.com. Archived from the original on 2010-09-14. Retrieved 2010-09-30.
  9. ↑ "JLS Website - Home". www.jlswebsite.moonfruit.com. Archived from the original on 14 July 2011. Retrieved 13 January 2022.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.