Angelina Jordan (born Angelina Jordan Astar; 10 January 2006) is a Norwegian singer whose audition for the 2014 season of ''
Norway's Got Talent'', singing "
Gloomy Sunday
"Gloomy Sunday" ( Hungarian: ''Szomorú vasárnap''), also known as the "Hungarian Suicide Song", is a popular song composed by Hungarian pianist and composer Rezső Seress and published in 1933.
The original lyrics were titled "Vége a vilá ...
" in the style of
Billie Holiday
Billie Holiday (born Eleanora Fagan; April 7, 1915 – July 17, 1959) was an American jazz and swing music singer. Nicknamed "Lady Day" by her friend and music partner, Lester Young, Holiday had an innovative influence on jazz music and pop s ...
, became a
viral video
A viral video is a video that becomes popular through a viral process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites such as YouTube as well as social media and email.Lu Jiang, Yajie Miao, Yi Yang, ZhenZhong Lan, Alexander Haupt ...
online and brought her worldwide press coverage at the age of seven.
She went on to win the competition at the age of eight with her performance of
George Gershwin
George Gershwin (; born Jacob Gershwine; September 26, 1898 – July 11, 1937) was an American composer and pianist whose compositions spanned popular, jazz and classical genres. Among his best-known works are the orchestral compositions ' ...
's "
Summertime". Since then she has worked to raise millions of dollars on behalf of environmental causes and children's charities around the world. She always performs barefoot, after befriending a young shoeless girl and giving her shoes to her. Jordan wrote a book about the experience and became the youngest published author in Norway.
Jordan has released multiple digital singles, two EPs, and one album called ''It's Magic''. She appeared on the first season of ''
Little Big Shots
''Little Big Shots'' (also known as ''LBS'') is an American variety television series co-created and produced by Steve Harvey and Ellen DeGeneres. The series features children demonstrating talents and engaging in conversation with the host.
...
'' in 2016, and the second season of ''
America's Got Talent: The Champions'' in 2020, where her cover version of
Queen's "
Bohemian Rhapsody
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack o ...
" brought her much attention.
Jordan has lived in the United States since 2018. In August 2020, it was announced that she has signed with
Republic Records.
Her first single under that label, "Million Miles", was released in November 2020.
Career
2014: From ''Norway's Got Talent'' to ''My Christmas''
After Jordan's performances of two Billie Holiday songs, "Gloomy Sunday" and "
I'm a Fool to Want You
"I'm a Fool to Want You" is a 1951 song composed by Frank Sinatra, Jack Wolf, and Joel Herron. Frank Sinatra co-wrote the lyrics and released the song as a Columbia Records single. The ballad is considered a pop and jazz standard.
Background ...
", on ''Norway's Got Talent'', as well as "
Fly Me to the Moon
"Fly Me to the Moon", originally titled "In Other Words", is a song written in 1954 by Bart Howard. The first recording of the song was made in 1954 by Kaye Ballard. Frank Sinatra's 1964 version was closely associated with the Apollo missions ...
" on a TV talk show, all went viral online in March 2014, she was featured in ''
Time
Time is the continued sequence of existence and events that occurs in an apparently irreversible succession from the past, through the present, into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequence events, ...
'',
''
Daily Mirror
The ''Daily Mirror'' is a British national daily tabloid. Founded in 1903, it is owned by parent company Reach plc. From 1985 to 1987, and from 1997 to 2002, the title on its masthead was simply ''The Mirror''. It had an average daily print c ...
'',
''
People
A person ( : people) is a being that has certain capacities or attributes such as reason, morality, consciousness or self-consciousness, and being a part of a culturally established form of social relations such as kinship, ownership of prope ...
'', and other news outlets around the world.
She continued in the competition singing
Nancy Sinatra
Nancy Sandra Sinatra (born June 8, 1940) is an American singer and actress. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra ( Barbato), and is best known for her 1966 signature hit " These Boots Are Made for Walkin'.
Nancy Sinatr ...
's version of "
Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)" live in the semi-finals, and won with her performance of George Gershwin's "
Summertime", in the style of
Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong's 1958 recording of the song.
In September 2014, she performed "Fly Me to the Moon" on the US television show ''
The View'', bringing her wider fame in the United States. She also performed on several
TV 2 programs in Norway over the next few years, including multiple appearances on ''
Allsang på Grensen'' (''Singalong at the Border'', referring to the border fortress of
Fredriksten
Fredriksten is a fortress in the city of Halden in Norway.
History
This Fortresses was constructed by Denmark-Norway in the 17th century as a replacement for the border fortress at Bohus, which had been lost when the province of Bohuslän was ...
where outdoor concerts are held) and on
TV4 TV4 or TV 4 may refer to:
*TV4 (Poland), a private Polish television station
*TV4 (Sweden), a Swedish television network
**TV4 Group, owners of the Swedish television station
*South African Broadcasting Corporation TV4, a channel operated by the st ...
in Sweden.
Jordan had a small guest role in the final episode of the
Netflix
Netflix, Inc. is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service and production company based in Los Gatos, California. Founded in 1997 by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph in Scotts Valley, California, it offers a fi ...
series ''
Lilyhammer
''Lilyhammer'' is a crime comedy-drama television series starring Steven Van Zandt about a former New York-based gangster named Frank "The Fixer" Tagliano trying to start a new life in isolated Lillehammer, Norway. The first season premiered on ...
'', playing a girl who sings in a bar.
In December 2014, she partly realized a personal ambition of singing at the
Nobel Peace Prize Concert
The Nobel Peace Prize Concert ( Norwegian and Swedish: '')'' has been held annually since 1994 on 11 December, to honour the Nobel Peace Prize laureate. The award ceremony on 10 December takes place in Oslo City Hall, while the concert has bee ...
by performing for
Peace Prize recipients
Malala Yousafzai
Malala Yousafzai ( ur, , , pronunciation: ; born 12 July 1997), is a Pakistani female education activist and the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize laureate. Awarded when she was 17, she is the world's youngest Nobel Prize laureate, and the second P ...
and
Kailash Satyarthi
Kailash Satyarthi (born 11 January 1954) is an Indian social reformer who campaigned against child labor in India and advocated the universal right to education. In 2014, he was the co-recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize, along with Malala Yo ...
at the Save the Children's Peace Prize Celebration.
Jordan's recording debut, the three-song maxi-single ''My Christmas'', was released in December 2014.
To support the release, Jordan performed the songs on multiple TV shows, including an appearance on Christmas Day.
2015–2019: YouTube channels, ''The EP'', ''It's Magic''
In 2015, Jordan began recording music that would eventually be collected on the six-song ''Angelina Jordan – The EP'', released on 27 November 2017.
Many of the tracks were posted to her official YouTube channel well in advance of the EP release, in the form of music videos and lyric videos. These included her covers of
Screamin' Jay Hawkins' "I Put a Spell on You", the music video for which was directed by
Per Heimly
Per Arne Heimly (born February 4, 1972) is a Norwegian contemporary and commercial art photographer.[Amy Winehouse
Amy Jade Winehouse (14 September 1983 – 23 July 2011) was an English singer and songwriter. She was known for her deep, expressive contralto vocals and her eclectic mix of musical genres, including soul, rhythm and blues and jazz.
A membe ...]
's "
Back to Black
''Back to Black'' is the second and final studio album by English singer and songwriter Amy Winehouse, released on 27 October 2006 by Island Records. Winehouse predominantly based the album on her tumultuous relationship with then-ex-boyfrien ...
", in which Jordan sang her own original lyrics. These two music videos became the most popular videos on her official YouTube channel, surpassing 5 million views each by 2020. In 2017, she created a second YouTube channel specifically to present performances of
cover song
In popular music, a cover version, cover song, remake, revival, or simply cover, is a new performance or recording by a musician other than the original performer or composer of the song. Originally, it referred to a version of a song release ...
s.
In November 2015, Jordan published the book ''Mellom to hjerter'' (''Between Two Hearts''), which was illustrated by her grandmother, Iranian artist Mery Zamani. The book tells the story of her meeting a poor motherless girl in the Middle East who has no shoes. After a long conversation in which they discuss their dreams in life, she gives the girl her shoes and the girl promises to pray for Jordan to fulfill her dream to become a successful singer. According to Jordan the book is based on a real incident that happened when she was six, which she cites as the reason for always performing barefoot.
In April 2016, Jordan performed "Fly Me to the Moon" on the first season of the noncompetitive children's talent show ''
Little Big Shots
''Little Big Shots'' (also known as ''LBS'') is an American variety television series co-created and produced by Steve Harvey and Ellen DeGeneres. The series features children demonstrating talents and engaging in conversation with the host.
...
''. A year later she performed "
What a Difference a Day Makes" on the
UK version of the show. She also performed "I Put a Spell on You" on the German edition of the show, ''
Little Big Stars
Little is a synonym for small size and may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* ''Little'' (album), 1990 debut album of Vic Chesnutt
* ''Little'' (film), 2019 American comedy film
*The Littles, a series of children's novels by American author John P ...
'', in 2017.
In December 2016, she performed on ''
Alan Walker is Heading Home'', a live concert broadcast from Bergen, Norway, where she sang Walker's songs "
Sing Me to Sleep
"Sing Me to Sleep" is a song by Norwegian record producer and DJ Alan Walker. Incorporating uncredited vocals provided by Norwegian singer Iselin Solheim, (who previously provided uncredited vocals on Walker's song Faded) it was released commerc ...
" and "
Faded".
On 15 June 2018, a full album of recordings with
Staff Band of the Norwegian Armed Forces
The Staff Band of the Norwegian Armed Forces ( no, Forsvarets stabsmusikkorps, FSMK) is the foremost of the military bands of the Norwegian Armed Forces and Norway's largest professional wind band, employing 39 full-time musicians. The band is bas ...
(Forsvarets stabsmusikkorps), called ''It's Magic'', was released.
The next day, Jordan and the band performed the full album live in a concert attended by Norway's Prime Minister.
On 27 June 2018, Jordan performed "Fly Me to the Moon" for
Quincy Jones
Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...
in
The O2 Arena
The O2 Arena, commonly known as the O2 (stylised as The O2 arena), is a multi-purpose indoor arena in the centre of the O2 entertainment complex on the Greenwich Peninsula in southeast London. It opened in its present form in 2007. It has the s ...
in London, as part of his 85th birthday celebration, and also joined with other singers to perform "
Man in the Mirror
"Man in the Mirror" is a song by the American singer-songwriter Michael Jackson. It was written by Glen Ballard and Siedah Garrett and produced by Jackson and Quincy Jones. It was released on February 6, 1988, as the fourth single from Jackson ...
" to close the show.
2019–2023: ''America's Got Talent'', "Bohemian Rhapsody", Republic Records, and ''The Best FIFA Football Award''
In 2019, Jordan performed for former president
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
and other public figures at the Brilliant Minds conference in Stockholm.
In October 2019, she competed in the second season of ''
America's Got Talent: The Champions'', which was aired in January and February 2020. Her first appearance on the show, singing an original arrangement of
Queen
Queen or QUEEN may refer to:
Monarchy
* Queen regnant, a female monarch of a Kingdom
** List of queens regnant
* Queen consort, the wife of a reigning king
* Queen dowager, the widow of a king
* Queen mother, a queen dowager who is the mother ...
's "
Bohemian Rhapsody
"Bohemian Rhapsody" is a song by the British rock band Queen, released as the lead single from their fourth album, '' A Night at the Opera'' (1975). Written by lead singer Freddie Mercury, the song is a six-minute suite, notable for its lack o ...
", received a "golden buzzer" from judge
Heidi Klum (meaning that Jordan would pass directly into the finals). As with her ''Norway's Got Talent'' audition six years earlier, a video of Jordan's performance began to go viral on YouTube, quickly reaching 10 million views.
The performance also garnered praise from Queen's official Twitter account. Shortly afterwards, the video was taken down
and Jordan released a studio version of the same arrangement under her own copyright. Jordan's second performance (in the finals), a similarly reworked "
Goodbye Yellow Brick Road
''Goodbye Yellow Brick Road'' is the seventh studio album by English singer-songwriter Elton John, first released on 5 October 1973 as a double LP. The album has sold more than 20 million copies worldwide and is widely regarded as John's magn ...
" based largely on a version by
Sara Bareilles, was also well received, but she was not among the top 5 acts.
In August 2020, Jordan's manager (her uncle), announced that she had signed with
Republic Records.
Her first single on the label, "Million Miles", was released on 6 November 2020, on all major digital platforms.
An official lyric video was posted to her official YouTube channel the same day. The track was produced by the Norwegian duo
Stargate, who also co-wrote the song with Jordan. She has since released two additional music videos for the song: one showing her singing the song "live" in a recording studio, the other an "official music video" featuring her younger sister.
In June 2022, after a two-year hiatus brought on by the worldwide
COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...
, Jordan resumed singing in front of live audiences with an appearance in the first episode of the final season of ''
Allsang på Grensen''.
In February 2023, Jordan together with a Moroccan-Swedish record producer
Red One, performed 2022 FIFA anthem titled "We Are the Best" in front of a worldwide audience at the
Best FIFA Football Awards 2022.
Personal life
Jordan was born in
Oslo
Oslo ( , , or ; sma, Oslove) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population ...
, Norway, and has lived for extended periods both there and in Los Angeles. She also lived for a time in the Middle East. She has a younger sister who has been featured in some of her music videos. Her father, Gerry Christian Slättman, is Swedish. Her Norwegian mother, Sara Astar, is the daughter of
Iranian
Iranian may refer to:
* Iran, a sovereign state
* Iranian peoples, the speakers of the Iranian languages. The term Iranic peoples is also used for this term to distinguish the pan ethnic term from Iranian, used for the people of Iran
* Iranian lan ...
artist and poet Mery Zamani and a Japanese father.
Jordan attended the
Oslo Waldorf School and participated in the Oslo School of Music and Performing Arts after-school program, where she received vocal training and piano lessons. In addition to singing and playing the piano, she plays violin, guitar and flute, and also paints.
Since 2018, she has been living and going to school in Los Angeles.
Discography
Albums
Singles
Featured in
References
External links
*
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Jordan, Angelina
Norwegian child singers
Norwegian women jazz singers
English-language singers from Norway
Child jazz musicians
Norske Talenter
Got Talent winners
Norwegian writers
American child singers
2006 births
Norwegian people of Japanese descent
Norwegian expatriates in the United States
Norwegian people of Iranian descent
Norwegian people of Swedish descent
Living people
21st-century Norwegian women singers
21st-century Norwegian singers