Nordic Pop (non-English language)

Pop Square International Arrivals
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I thought we could use a thread for some lesser known pop and pop-adjacent acts that mostly sing in Danish/Faroese/Icelandic/Norwegian/Swedish. (Does Finland want to be lumped in with the Germanics? If so, feel free to post Finnish music here as well x)

I’d like to bring some attention to Amalie Holt Kleive. She is Aurora’s touring band member and she’s released one of my favourite albums of 2026 so far, Vi er de evige.

The vocal arrangements are sublime, adding an airy quality when they’re used for texture alongside the sparkling synths. The sound is just full of life, perfect for spring if you’re in the northern hemisphere right now. Check out Idé for example, where I can hear hints of Imogen Heap.

On the other side there’s the darker Kvinnenes lyd featuring Amalie’s sister’s aptly named band Witch Club Satan. All evighet is also one of the darker songs but more on the Scandibop side - and it’s a hit! (Certified by the voters of the final round of PJXtra sending it to the top spot, hehe.) But really the whole album is a smash all the way through. Her 2022 debut was already good (check out Sier ingenting!) but she’s evidently grown as a songwriter and performer since.

Album on YouTube linked like this because the new embeds don’t work for playlists anymore.

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Love Amalie, I discovered her through Sier Ingenting and was immediately in love with the album it came from. This new record is pretty amazing as well, All Evighet being a candidate for my SOTY. Great live performance too.

I also love Silja Sol, especially her record Ni Liv. Dyrene is just beautiful and she is so cute, always interacting with her fans on instagram

Lissin once lissin twice etc etc

Edit: I just realized this thread is not titled Norwegian pop but Nordic pop. I found my new home on the Square

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Here’s one I found a little while ago:

I’ll post more as I find them through chart discovery, but I’m not sure how obscure we should be. Like Veronica Maggio is well-known here, but I’m not sure how many people abroad know of her?

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I think it’s something to figure out as we go along. I’d say Veronica is a pretty well known name with commercial success and many albums released, so she might need her own thread in this International section. But if unsure about someone’s status, I also don’t see an issue with starting talking about an artist here and if they generate a bigger discussion, a separate thread can be started then.

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I love Bertine Zetlitz’s hits from early 00s. A Norwegian singer. I was recently wondering if she’s still active

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Oh great thread! Thanks a lot!

I recommend listening to Norwegian pop / singer/songwriter Frida Ånnevik.

Her album VI (2024) has production credits from a range of musicians - both Øyvind Røsrud Gundersen (Rhumble in Rhodos) and Vetle Junker (Metteson) contributed in the songwriting and the production. Jo Berger Myhre (Ingrid Olava, Frida Ånnevik) helped compose some of the arrangements on the album. It’s basically one long record (57 minutes) about grieving a break-up and finding new love. I still play this album weekly even though it’s two years after its release.

Frida Ånnevik - VI. I’d share a link but it seems I’m unable to do that. Frida is by far one of Norway’s most talented vocalists with a degree in music from the UiA (University of Agder which is a Norwegian university on the south coast) - she plays the guitar and used to work as a song teacher but now she’s a full-time musician after she had a very successful collaboration with the Norwegian musician Chris Holsten (more than 20 million streams on Spotify on that one particular song, which was a cover version of another song).

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Frida Annevik - VI

@frkeske thanks for the suggestion. So have we agreed on Finnish artists cause I have lots of stuff!

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Bertine Zetlitz is still active but she’s multi-passionate with several creative outlets (writing, yoga, TV shows). Go follow her on Instagram and I think you will see that she still makes a couple of songs a year or so.

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Thanks for sharing the link, @enjoy!
Much appreciated. I’ll be back and read the thread more thoroughly - now I desperately need to go for a walk as it’s Scandi spring crazy windy weather!

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Re: Bertine Zetlitz, a new album (in Norwegian) is coming September 18th. Latest single (a duet with Vinni from Paperboyz) was released Friday (it borrows a lot melodically from Twisted Little Star, it’s cute): https://youtu.be/hhUpnn7ECuo?si=NlngmEEJeHLX6zZR

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Some other Nordic favourites of mine
Ruben (Ruben Markussen, Norwegian, who usually writes songs in English and always has been a huge PopJustice topic as he writes these catchy pop songs about queer love) has been writing songs in Norwegian lately. The single “Du lyg” is sung in his Northern dialect. It’s about a break up, and being cheated on. It’s so popular in Norway he released three different versions of the song (one from the studio, one where the tempo is slowed down and mostly acoustic, and the final version is one with a whole choir (it’s a live recording from an event - it’s just stunning every time).

Pil (Danish pop singer) writes rather catchy tunes in Danish with a number of Danish co-writers. She has a huge fanbase in Denmark and I would say there are quite a few Nordic fans as well. I love the song “Ingenting Jeg Hellere Vil”.

Tjejdikter is a Swedish collaboration project between the Swedish writer Sandra Beijer and a number of Swedish musicians and singers. It’s a rather catchy little project. “Alaska” (feat. Ji Nilsson) gets to me every time, it’s a bop.

Marie Løvås (Sigrid’s long-time friend) is a singer from Møre and Romsdal, Norway. She makes indie pop (singer/songwriter). Her album from 2024 received the Norwegian Grammys (Spellemannprisen).

Synne Vo (Norway) is a songwriter who frequently co-writes songs for other musicians (Chris Holsten, most notably) - she also makes her own songs. She was part of the TV show Hver gang vi møtes (the TV show based on Dutch Beste Zangers / Swedish Så mycket bättre), the season which aired earlier this year. Particularly the song “Her vil e vær” is catchy and widely known in Norway.

Icelandic musician Lay Low writes songs in both Icelandic and English. I haven’t listened to her in years and years now but I was always fond of her voice and her quirky melodies.

ETA. Three more singers who used to write songs in English but all have released songs in Norwegian.

Ingrid Olava (Norway) released her album Blomster og post in 2023 (Flowers and Mail), it’s about motherhood and grief. It received the Norwegian Grammys (Spellemannprisen). She produced it herself with Bjarne Stensli as co-producer.

Sandra Kolstad (Norway) is a musician who has been making music in different genres throughout her career, she has some brilliant songs that crosses classical music with electronica. This week she released her song “Eden” which is the first song she has made where she wrote the Norwegian lyrics herself. It’s about faith and doubt, organic materials and non-organic materials. There will be a whole release of new songs with Norwegian lyrics. I don’t know anything about when the whole release is scheduled but she recently signed a deal with Sony Music Norway / Drabant Music.

Morten Myklebust (Norway) is a singer/songwriter who is perhaps best known as a co-writer on other Norwegian musicians’ songs. He has released three solo albums with songs with English lyrics. He frequently collaborates with Susanne Sundfør, he co-wrote quite a few songs for Christel Alsos and Eva & the Heartmaker (Eva Weel Skram/Thomas Stenersen), he frequently plays the guitar for musicians who need accompaniment during radio sessions and such. Earlier this year he released a song with Norwegian lyrics, called “Jeg vet det”. There will be a whole album of Norwegian songs though I do not know when the release date is. I’ve been listening to Morten’s songs since the very early days of his process of making his first album. Some of his songs just makes time stand still in the very best Maggie Rogers-change-your-life-forever-hold-your-breath-let-it-go way (“Venice” is one song of Morten’s that still floors me). Yup. Enough said.

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Oh I am bookmarking this post. Thanks for the recommendations!

Also from Iceland, I have been listening to gugusar for a while and I love her icy, electronic bops with heavy bass.

this is the record that made me fell in love with her material, she also released another great one named “Quack” in 2025. Reykjavikurkvöld was on heavy rotation quite a while.

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Enjoyed this one, thanks for posting!

I don’t speak the language, but something about nordic pop scratches a specific itch for me.

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You’re welcome!

More tips:

Mads Langer (Denmark) has released music with Danish lyrics. His 2024 album Kærlighed & Frygt is a pop album with Danish lyrics. He usually writes his songs in English and he’s got some well-known duets on his discography. Tim Christensen and Maria Mena have both done duets with Mads.

Julie Henrikke (Norway) makes indie pop with Norwegian lyrics. She toured with Marit Larsen in 2024 as a support act. Julie Henrikke and Marit Larsen both grew up in the same municipality right outside of Oslo.

Synne Sørgjerd (Norway) has a record deal with Playground Music Scandinavia and released her album Jeg går ned med dette skipet in October last year. She’s rather popular amongst young listeners and her songs are frequently played on the Norwegian radio stations. The songs are catchy pop tunes with an angry edge to them, the lyrics often depict jealousy.

Nils Bech (Norway) is a singer who usually sings in English. In 2023 he released an album with Norwegian lyrics, these were duets with other singers. The album is called Jeg elsker han (i.e. I Love Him), and there are 8 duets with other Norwegian singers. All of the duets depict queer love, and most of them were inspired by the 50th anniversary of the decriminalisation of sexual acts between men (the laws were changed in 1972 - but the Norwegian laws only explicitly mentioned sexual acts between men, not sexual acts between women). Nils Bech’s tunes were featured in the Norwegian TV series SKAM, and that’s when he reached a worldwide audience in a much bigger scale than he had done before.

Kristian Kristensen (Norway) makes music with Norwegian lyrics in his Northern dialect. He’s been experimenting with different genres. One of his album is R&B influenced. Another is more of a chamber pop album.

Sondre Justad (Norway) makes music with Norwegian lyrics in his Northern dialect. Most often Sondre’s songs are catchy pop tunes and he has had a big fanbase amongst young listeners throughout his entire career. “Riv i hjertet” is probably his most well-known song. I’m fond of his album En anna mæ (2022), which is about trusting one’s search for how to label one’s identity and finding solid ground with a new lover.

Melissa Horn (Sweden) is a singer/songwriter who has a long discography, most of the songs sung in Swedish. She sings about heartbreak, jealousy (“Lät du henne komme närmre”), wanting to be someone else, about accidentally being a witness to someone else’s tragedy (“Kungsholmens Hamn”).

Musti (Norway/UK/Somaliland) is a rapper who often mixes Norwegian and English in her rapping. She frequently collaborates with Sondre Justad as a guest on his concerts, having contributed to his song “Sorry” (2022). She was part of the Hver gang vi møtes season that started airing in January 2026, along with Marit Larsen, Espen Lind, Synne Vo, Herborg Kråkevik, Marcus & Martinus, and the lead singer of the country rap duo Hagle. Musti’s own song “Gro Harlem Brundtland” is about Norway’s first female prime minister, and it’s an iconic one, as she sings “Gro Harlem Brundtland, I’m next!”.

Molly Sandén (Sweden) is a singer who’s had a lot of TV presence throughout the years, and who sings in her mother tongue Swedish. She’s popular with a lot of different target groups.

No. 4 (Norway) is a trio - three women who cross jazz with pop. Lyrics are in Norwegian. The lead vocalist Emilie Stoesen Christensen is the daughter of a Norwegian jazz musician and a Norwegian actress. I love the album Våre beste år (2021), which showcases some addictive melodies and features other Norwegian talents who have a way with words. The trio is wildly popular amongst choirs and they have a huge fanbase who actively attend concerts. Lately they have been playing gigs outside Norway as well.

SVAL (Norway). Sval Rosenløw Eeg is a Norwegian singer/songwriter who has released pop songs written in both Norwegian and English. She originally participated in the Eurovision Song Contest for children, and won the competition when she was 12 years old, in 2011. She released her first album with Norwegian lyrics in 2016, at 18. After that she has released music with both Norwegian lyrics and English lyrics.

Delara (Norway/Sweden/Iran). Amanda Delara Nikman is a Swedish-born pop singer/songwriter whose parents are Iranian, and the family moved to Norway, which is where Delara grew up. Delara has collaborated with several other Scandinavian musicians, and has released songs that have lyrics written in Swedish, Norwegian and her parents’ mother tongue. Delara’s second album, Sjelen, was released on May 8th, 2026 (the title in English is The Soul). Delara featured on Karpe’s song “Piya Piya Calling” along with other musicians, which they performed at the Pakistani TV show Coke Studio Pakistan in 2024.

Astrid S (Norway). Astrid Smeplass is a musician who has been a part of Norwegian music industry since 2013 when she was a contestant in seventh season of the Norwegian version of Pop Idol. She has released two albums which contain songs with lyrics in English. Since 2021 she has been releasing songs with lyrics written in Norwegian. Previously she was signed to Universal Music internationally. In 2025 she started releasing music on her own independent label called Joyride. In 2025 Astrid S was part of the TV show Hver gang vi møtes alongside Ina Wroldsen and Thomas Dybdahl and several other musicians. She also collaborated with Molly Sandén, which resulted in the song “Konfetti”, where Astrid S sings in Norwegian and Molly Sandén in Swedish. In 2026, she started releasing her music through her independent label under exclusive license to Rebellion Records (a NYC record label founded by the musician PLVTINUM). There used to be a thread for Astrid S at the PopJustice forum, so hopefully someone will make a thread for her here at PopSquare.

I’ll add to this post eventually. Sometimes I get these eureka-moments and I remember a lot of musicians that my favourite musicians used to collaborate with but it’s been a long time since I listened to their discography. I know Damien Rice frequently has collaborated with Nordic musicians on his most recent recordings but I need to google a bit to remember the names of those musicians.

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