Anne-Karine Strøm (born 15 October 1951) is a Norwegian singer, best known for having taken part in the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest selection,

Melodi Grand Prix Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix ( no, Norsk Melodi Grand Prix), is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK). It dete ...

, in six consecutive years between 1971 and 1976, winning on three occasions (twice as a soloist and once as a member of an ensemble) and representing Norway in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...

s of 1973, 1974 and 1976.

Melodi Grand Prix

Strøm's Melodi Grand Prix appearances were as follows: *

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses ( February 25, July 22 and August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 10, and August 6). The world population increased by 2.1% this year, the highest increase in history. Events Ja ...

: "Hør litt på meg" – 10th *

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, me ...

: "Håp" – 4th *

1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: Citing progress in peace negotiations, U.S. ...

: "Å for et spill" (as member of the

Bendik Singers The Bendik Singers were a four-member Norwegian vocal group, brought together by singer and composer Arne Bendiksen to participate in the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest selection, Melodi Grand Prix, in 1973. The group consisted of Anne-Karine ...

) – 1st *

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; f ...

: "Hvor er du" – 1st *

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

: "1+1=2" – 4th *

1976 Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phila ...

: "Mata Hari" – 1st

Eurovision Song Contest

The

' 1973 winning song was given English-language lyrics and retitled " It's Just A Game" for the 18th Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 7 April in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg ( lb, Lëtzebuerg; french: Luxembourg; german: Luxemburg), also known as Luxembourg City ( lb, Stad Lëtzebuerg, link=no or ; french: Ville de Luxembourg, link=no; german: Stadt Luxemburg, link=no or ), is the capital city of the Lu ...

, where it finished in seventh place of 17 entries. Strøm travelled to

Brighton Brighton () is a seaside resort and one of the two main areas of the City of Brighton and Hove in the county of East Sussex, England. It is located south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze A ...

, England for the 1974 contest, held on 6 April. Again, the song had been translated into English as "

The First Day of Love Norway was represented by Anne-Karine Strøm, with the song "The First Day of Love", at the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 6 April in Brighton, England. "The First Day of Love" was chosen as the Norwegian entry at the Melodi G ...

", and backing vocals were provided by the other Bendik Singers. This was the notable contest which was won by

ABBA ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

and also featured several already internationally established names (

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British-Australian singer, actress and activist. She was a four-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles on the ...

Gigliola Cinquetti Gigliola Cinquetti (; born Giliola Cinquetti on 20 December 1947) is an Italian singer, songwriter, and television presenter. Life and career Gigliola Cinquetti was born into a wealthy family in Verona. From the ages of 9 to 13, she studied and ...

Mouth & MacNeal Mouth and MacNeal was a Dutch pop duo that enjoyed some commercial success in the 1970s. They are best known for their million selling recording of " How Do You Do" in 1972, which topped the Dutch chart and became a US top ten hit, also reaching ...

). In this competitive field, "The First Day of Love" struggled to attract votes and ended as one of four songs sharing last place with just three votes each. Strøm's final Eurovision appearance, at the 1976 contest in

The Hague The Hague ( ; nl, Den Haag or ) is a city and municipality of the Netherlands, situated on the west coast facing the North Sea. The Hague is the country's administrative centre and its seat of government, and while the official capital of ...

on 3 April, ended in complete failure, as "

Mata Hari Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (née Zelle; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari (), was a Dutch exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for Germany during World War I. She was executed by ...

" placed last of the 18 participating songs. Prior to the contest "Mata Hari", a very modern and contemporary disco-style song, had been expected to do well, but it was suggested afterwards that Strøm's rather odd outfit and performance on the night may have cost votes. With two last-place finishes from three entries, Strøm is usually cited as the least successful artist to have appeared in more than one Eurovision Song Contest as the only artist to date finish in last place twice.

Post-Eurovision

In the late 1970s Strøm began performing in musical cabarets with

Øystein Sunde Øystein Olaf Sunde (born 24 January 1947) is a Norwegian folk singer and guitarist. He is known for his high-speed guitar and banjo style and his satirical lyrics. Although often regarded as a comedian, Sunde is a versatile guitarist who has pl ...

and her then husband

Ole Paus Ole Paus (born 9 February 1947; full name ''Ole Christian Paus'') is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, poet and author, who is widely regarded as the foremost troubadour of the contemporary Norwegian ballad tradition ( no, visebølgen). During th ...

. She released three albums between 1978 and 1986, which reflected a move towards a more serious style of music.Biography at MIC Norsk Musikkinformasjon
(Norwegian)

Albums discography

*1971: ''Drømmebilde'' *1975: ''Anne Karin'' *1978: ''Album'' *1982: ''Casablancas Døtre'' *1986: ''Landet utenfor''

References

External links

Discography at 45cat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strom, Anne-Karine 1951 births Living people Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1973 Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1974 Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1976 Melodi Grand Prix contestants Melodi Grand Prix winners Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Norway Norwegian women singers Musicians from Oslo English-language singers from Norway