Kjell Henning Bjørnestad (born March 12, 1968), known as Kjell Elvis (or K. Elvis), is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

professional

Elvis impersonator An Elvis impersonator is an entertainer who impersonates or copies the look and sound of American musician and singer Elvis Presley. Professional Elvis impersonators, commonly known as Elvis tribute artists (ETAs), work all over the world as ent ...

: He is an Elvis

look alike A look-alike, double, or doppelgänger is a person who bears a strong physical resemblance to another person, excluding cases like twins and other instances of family resemblance. Some look-alikes have been notable individuals in their own right, ...

and has had plastic surgery to look more like

Elvis Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

. He is also a

sound alike A sound alike is a person who is able to use their voice to closely resemble that of another person. In western culture, sound alikes find work as impersonators on television comedy programmes portraying famous individuals. See also * Impressioni ...

and has released a couple of albums with Elvis songs. Kjell Elvis was born in

Farsund is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Farsund. Farsund is a coastal municipality in the far southwestern part of Norway, b ...

, was raised in

Vanse Vanse is a village in Farsund municipality in Agder county, Norway. The village is located about west of the town of Farsund and about east of the village of Vestbygd. The Farsund Airport, Lista is located just west of Vanse. The village was t ...

, and currently resides in

Lyngdal is a municipality in Agder county, Norway. It is located in the traditional district of Lister. The administrative centre of the municipality is the town of Alleen. Some of the main villages in Lyngdal include Austad, Byremo, Fleseland, Hæ� ...

. While he was in the

military A military, also known collectively as armed forces, is a heavily armed, highly organized force primarily intended for warfare. It is typically authorized and maintained by a sovereign state, with its members identifiable by their distinct ...

in 1988, he started doing some Elvis impersonating. He has had

plastic surgery Plastic surgery is a surgical specialty involving the restoration, reconstruction or alteration of the human body. It can be divided into two main categories: reconstructive surgery and cosmetic surgery. Reconstructive surgery includes craniofa ...

a number of times, to look more like his idol,

Elvis Presley Elvis Aaron Presley (January 8, 1935 – August 16, 1977), or simply Elvis, was an American singer and actor. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, King of Rock and Roll", he is regarded as Cultural impact of Elvis Presley, one ...

, the first one in 1994.Lever som Elvis
(

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting Aksjeselskap, AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and ...

, August 15, 2003 In 1997, a media company of Norway, the

Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

, showed the documentary ''Kjell Elvis'', about his life as an impersonator. The documentary was also shown in

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

and

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. He arranged an Elvis Festival in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a seaside resort city and municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 112,000 as of January 2020, following the incorporation ...

in Norway in 2001, but it was not an economic success. He arranged a new festival 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 of ...

in 2002. He is (per August 2003) the only full-time professional Elvis impersonator in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...

. He broke the world record for singing Elvis hits, in August 2003, when he sang nonstop for 26 hours, four minutes and 40 seconds. The

also set a record for themselves, by streaming the whole 26-hour concert on their website. Kjell Elvis is known for his support of his friend

Vidar Kleppe Vidar Sveinung Kleppe (born 16 September 1963) is a Norwegian politician. He was a member of parliament and deputy leader of the Progress Party until he was suspended and left the party in 2001. He was the leader of the Democrats party from 200 ...

, a former MP for the Progress Party, and in 2001 stated that "if Elvis were alive, he would have voted for the Progress Party". He went on to support Kleppe in the Southern Norway List in the 2001 election, and subsequently Kleppe's Democrats party. For the 2013 parliamentary election he however campaigned for the new The Christians party, citing his support for socially conservative Christian policies.

Awards and nominations

In 1997, he came in sixth place in an Elvis competition in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

. In 1999 he came second in an unofficial European Championships of Elvis impersonators, that took place in Germany. He won the Nordic Championships in 2001. He was named

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a Continent#Subcontinents, subcontinent of Eurasia ...

's best Elvis-impersonator in 2006, and he came in third place at the World Championship for Elvis impersonators in 2006. In 2007, he was a finalist in ''The Ultimate Elvis Tribute Contest'', arranged by

Elvis Presley Enterprises Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc. (EPE) is a corporate entity created by "The Elvis Presley Trust" to conduct business and manage its assets, including Graceland.

.Elvis Presley Enterprises Announces Public Opportunity to Vote in Association with the First-Ever Official Elvis Tribute Artist Contest
Elvis.com, USAToday.com, August 15, 2007

References

External links

*
K. Elvis
on MySpace {{DEFAULTSORT:Elvis, Kjell 1968 births Living people Elvis impersonators Norwegian male singers People from Farsund People from Lyngdal