Monica Heldal (born 24 January 1991 in Bergen, Norway) is a Norwegian musician (vocals, guitar) and songwriter. Her debut studio album, Boy From the North, was released on 4 November 2013. For the album she received two awards during Spellemannprisen in 2013: Rookie of the Year and Best Pop Solo Artist. She also won the Bendiksenprisen in 2013 and was nominated for the Statoil Scholarship that same year.[1]

Early life and career

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Monica Heldal was born in Arna, Norway, on 24 January[2] 1991. At 16, she began to play and compose music, writing the song "Silly Willy", which was later included in her studio debut.[3]

Style and influences

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Heldal's musical style draws from many different musical genres, primarily folk and blues. The latter is inspired by her main influence, Rory Gallagher.[3] She is well known for her use of fingerpicking technique and various complex guitar tunings, much like one of her other sources of inspiration, Nick Drake.[3]

Collaborations

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In 2012 Monica Heldal was featured in the song Burgh Island of The Burgh Island EP by the English singer-songwriter Ben Howard, where she is both playing guitar and singing.

Awards

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  • Rookie of the Year (2013), Spellemannprisen
  • Best Pop Solo Artist (2013), Spellemannprisen
  • Bendiksenprisen (2013)

Discography

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  • Boy From the North (2013)
  • The One in the Sun (2016)
  • Ravensdale (2021)

References

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  1. ^ Rønning, Øyvind (2013-11-01). "Fullendt artist i en alder av 22!". Musical reviews (in Norwegian). Dagbladet. Retrieved 2015-04-03.
  2. ^ "Radio Rock NRK P1". Facebook.com. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
  3. ^ a b c "About Monica Heldal". Monicaheldal.com. Retrieved 25 December 2014.
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Awards
Preceded by
No Pop vocalist award
Recipient of the Pop vocalist Spellemannprisen
2013
Succeeded by
Preceded by Recipient of the Newcomer Spellemannprisen
2013
Succeeded by