Listening to Norwegian language music can be a terrific way to improve your Norwegian skills. Here are some recommended artists and albums.
Over the last decades, there has been plenty of great music coming from Norway, in English. But there is also a lot more good music in Norwegian. Because they record in Norwegian, these artists and albums are little known outside of Norway.
Listening to some Norwegian music–in Norwegian–can be incredibly helpful when you are trying to learn the language.
It’s a fun way to develop your vocabulary and it can help enormously with pronunciation and even getting to know dialects. Here is a list of 10 albums I recommend to help you learn Norwegian through the power of music.
Trygve Skaug – Sanger du skal få når du våkner
The very poetic songs by singer-songwriter Trygve Skaug are a really good start when it comes to listening to music in Norwegian. On the 2020 album “Sanger du skal få når du våkner” are 11 more or less slow songs and his good and clear pronunciation really helps to understand the lyrics.
Marius Müller – Marius
The self-titled album “Marius” turns 40 this year and contains a great collection of songs. Marius Müller was known for his great guitar playing and this album provides a great rock groove.
Karpe – Kors på halsen, ti kniver i hjertet, mor og far i døden
The rap duo Karpe is a great option for everyone who wants to learn the language through rap music.
“Kors på halsen, ti kniver i hjertet, mor og far i døden” was released under their old name “Karpe Diem” in 2012 and even though it’s a really good album it is obviously a bit more difficult to follow the lyrics in rap music than it is in slower genres.
Morten Abel – I Fullt Alvor
More known as the frontman of the band The September When, Morten Abel has a few great solo albums in Norwegian. “I Fullt Alvor” is one of them and certainly a good choice if country rock is the preferred genre.
CC Cowboys – Perfekt normal
Fredrikstad based rock band CC Cowboys released 13 albums over the last three decades. “Perfekt normal” is a guitar driven country rock album with some really groovy songs and good understandable lyrics.
Kaizers Orchestra – Violeta Violeta Volume 1
Those who have been following the Norwegian music scene over the last year have probably heard of Kaizers Orchestra. The 2000 founded punk rock band split in 2013 and announced their comeback in 2022. “Violeta Violeta Volume 1” is the first album of their Violeta Trilogy.
deLillos – Sent og tidlig
The rock band deLillos has released an impressive amount of albums since their forming in 1984. “Sent og tidlig” is one of their less rockier albums but still has good songs on it. Perfect album for those who just started learning Norwegian.
Michael Krohn – Idiot Rock
A very raw sounding album from rock singer Michael Krohn. Some songs almost have a hard rock feel to them and it’s not always easy to grab and understand the words. A good album for advanced Norwegian speakers.
Lillebjørn Nilsen – Original Nilsen
Jokingly called “The Voice of Oslo” , Lillebjørn Nilsen has been releasing music since 1971 and has written several songs about the capital city. The album “Original Nilsen” has a great nostalgic jazzy sound and is a good choice when you want to listen to some more traditional music.
Morten Harket – Vogts Villa
It is impossible to avoid a-ha when exploring the Norwegian music scene. A-ha frontman Morten Harket has released a couple of solo albums over the years and “Vogts Villa” is a great album in Norwegian. He has a very clear and easy understandable pronunciation, good for Norwegian beginners.
I hope this list inspires you to use music to help you learn Norwegian. Do you know some Norwegian artists that didn’t make this list? Who would you recommend? Let me know in the commend below.
Chris Holsten Bak en Fasade 2022 my fave album still! I have and still use it to perfect my norsk pronunciation!
Among other artists I find useful are Synne Vo and Tix. There are loads of others too, but these are among the most approachable, I think
Alexander Rybak with his Trolle Og Den Magiske Fela (Trolle and the magic fiddle) album! It’s a children’s music album made for the book of the same name (Alexander also wrote it as well). All songs in this album are in Norwegian (except for the instrumental songs of course), and because it is made for children, the vocabulary is quite approachable for people who are beginners in Norwegian (like me). The album is an absolute banger overall, and plus points for featuring Norwegian folklore (the main character of the book is a troll). My favourite songs in this album are Blant Fjell (Among the Mountains), Trollebinde Deg (Bewitch You), Stjernen Vår (Our Star) and Venner (Friends). It helped me a lot with my Norwegian and Alexander Rybak is also my favourite musician as well.
Link to the album here: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/73asfVjfQkHM68xKlEIZKf?si=96ae40e092da4d6b