Kjell Sigurd Fjalsett (born 1952) is a Norwegian singer and musician. He made a name for himself in the Norwegian

gospel Gospel originally meant the Christian message ("the gospel"), but in the 2nd century it came to be used also for the books in which the message was set out. In this sense a gospel can be defined as a loose-knit, episodic narrative of the words an ...

and

Christian pop Contemporary Christian music, also known as CCM, Christian pop, and occasionally inspirational music is a genre of modern popular music, and an aspect of Christian media, which is lyrically focused on matters related to the Christian faith and s ...

scene as a teenager in the choir Believe, covering the song "

Oh Happy Day "Oh Happy Day" is a 1967 gospel music arrangement of the 1755 hymn by clergyman Philip Doddridge. Recorded by the Edwin Hawkins Singers, it became an international hit in 1969, reaching No. 4 on the US Singles Chart, No. 1 in France, Germany, an ...

" among other things. He later formed the gospel group '' Frisk Luft'' together with

Rune Larsen Rune Larsen (born 8 August 1948) is a Norwegian journalist, singer, musician, record producer and television presenter. He was born in Bergen. He made his stage debut in 1957, and his television debut in 1964. By that time, he had already played w ...

Ivar Skippervold Ivar Skippervold (born 14 March 1949) is a Norwegian singer and musician. He hails from Oslo, but moved to Lillesand as an adult. He took up music at an early age, and his first self-made music was protest songs. He became Christian out of a "reli ...

and

Arnold Børud Arnold Børud (born 28 October 1947) is a Norwegian singer, musician and record producer. Biography He grew up in Askim, and has been a devout Christian since the age of 18, when a friend invited him to a Christian camp. Only two years later, ...

. The group formed by coincidence in 1972, when Larsen and Børud, performing at Hedmarktoppen, spotted the already-known Fjalsett and Skippervold in the audience and invited them onto the stage. They released two LPs in the 1970s, and participated in a television show named ''Gospelkveld'' ('Gospel Evening'). It was said to be the first

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words ''Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρι ...

supergroup Supergroup or super group may refer to: * Supergroup (music), a music group formed by artists who are already notable or respected in their fields * Supergroup (physics), a generalization of groups, used in the study of supersymmetry * Supergroup ...

in Norway. They made a public comeback in 1998, and released the record ''Lifetime Friends'' in 2000. In 2004, they followed with ''I'll Never Find Another You''. The group performs live every now and then. He has also cooperated with songwriter and composer

Rolf Løvland Rolf Undsæt Løvland (born 19 April 1955) is a Norwegian composer, lyricist, arranger, and pianist. Together with Fionnuala Sherry, he formed the Celtic-Nordic group Secret Garden, in which he was the composer, producer, and keyboardist. He beg ...

, among others on his solo debut record ''En dag'' (1976). The record was

certified Certification is the provision by an independent body of written assurance (a certificate) that the product, service or system in question meets specific requirements. It is the formal attestation or confirmation of certain characteristics of a ...

as ''silver'', as one of the few gospel records until then in Norway. Fjalsett emphasized the importance of song lyrics over music, but also stated that the songs needed a commercial appeal beyond the Christian listener segment. Fjalsett cited

Andrae Crouch Andrae, Andræ (Danish) or Andrä is a surname and given name, which is a variant of Andreae, itself a patronymic (via the Latin genitive case) from the personal name Andreas. Notable persons with this name include: Surname * Ahmed-Tobias Andrä ...

David Gates David Ashworth Gates (December 11, 1940 – January 5, 2023) was a American singer-songwriter, guitarist, musician and producer, frontman and co-lead singer (with Jimmy Griffin) of the group Bread, which reached the top of the musical charts i ...

and

Bread Bread is a staple food prepared from a dough of flour (usually wheat) and water, usually by baking. Throughout recorded history and around the world, it has been an important part of many cultures' diet. It is one of the oldest human-made f ...

as inspirations. In 2007, Løvland was behind the single ''Reis meg opp'', a

cover version 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 ...

of "

You Raise Me Up "You Raise Me Up" is a song originally composed by the Norwegian-Irish duo Secret Garden. The music was written by Secret Garden's Rolf Løvland, and the lyrics by Brendan Graham. After the song was performed early in 2002 by the Secret Garden a ...

", which Fjalsett performed. The single charted on the list of Norwegian-language songs, ''Norsktoppen''. In 1982, Fjalsett won the contest for the official

FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1982 The FIS Nordic World Ski Championships 1982 took place on 19–28 February 1982 in Oslo, Norway at the Holmenkollen ski arena. This was Oslo's record-tying fourth time hosting the event after previously doing so in 1930, the 1952 Winter Olympics, ...

song. The song, titled ''Gullfeber'' ('Gold Fever') was written by Tore Aas and Jan Linnsund, performed by Kjell Fjalsett and

Anne Lise Gjøstøl Anne Lise Gjøstøl ( born 6 July 1952) is a Norwegian singer, actress and visual artist. She was born in Oslo. She made her record debut in 1965 with the single "Nå er karnevalet over", and album debut in 1971 with ''Ta min drøm''. She was aw ...

, and selected by a jury of three. ''Gullfeber'' narrowly edged out ''VM på ski'', performed by

Hanne Krogh Hanne Krogh (born 24 January 1956) is a Norwegian singer and actress from Haugesund and Oslo. Krogh is among the most selling record artists in Norway ever and is internationally well known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 1985 with Elisab ...

. In 2007, Fjalsett participated in the

anti-piracy Anti-piracy may refer to: * Anti-piracy, protection against copying of computer software. * Piracy#Anti-piracy measures anti-piracy measures, measures to counter maritime pirates. See also * Pirate (disambiguation) A pirate is a person who comm ...

campaign Piracy Kills Music. He resides at

Jar A jar is a rigid, cylindrical or slightly conical container, typically made of glass, ceramic, or plastic, with a wide mouth or opening that can be closed with a lid, screw cap, lug cap, cork stopper, roll-on cap, crimp-on cap, press-on c ...

in Bærum, is married and has three children.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fjalsett, Kjell 1952 births Living people Norwegian gospel singers Norwegian Christians Musicians from Bærum