L8R (pronounced ''later'') was
Norway's first
boyband
A boy band is loosely defined as a vocal group consisting of young male singers, usually in their teenage years or in their twenties at the time of formation. Generally, boy bands perform love songs marketed towards girls and young women. Many ...
. The
quartet
In music, a quartet or quartette (, , , , ) is an ensemble of four singers or instrumental performers; or a musical composition for four voices and instruments.
Classical String quartet
In classical music, one of the most common combinations o ...
consisted of teenagers Ray David (Raymond David Henriksen), Erik Kinn (Knut Eirik Kokkin),
Kif Flinder (Christopher Flinder Petersen) and Chris Jensen (Christoffer Jensen).
History
Originally put together by the label
Tribe Records (NO) who was looking to build a group around young Henriksen whom they knew from several stage performances. In January 2002 an audition was made in the regions around
Oslo, looking for boys who could sing but with an emphasis on dancing abilities. Out of several hundred hopefuls Kokkin, Petersen and Jensen were chosen. Many months of hard work followed, grooming the boys into what would become Norway's first boyband, with Henriksen as the main vocalist.
The origin of the band name came from the boys themselves. From the beginning they would often keep in touch through
text messages, and used to end their messages with "c u l8r" (see you later), and thus the band name was born.
L8R described itself as "
metal pop" and their music and style was tougher than what one normally expected from boybands. This became evident with their debut single in 2003, ''Back in Black'', a cover of the classic
AC/DC
AC/DC (stylised as ACϟDC) are an Australian Rock music, rock band formed in Sydney in 1973 by Scottish-born brothers Malcolm Young, Malcolm and Angus Young. Their music has been variously described as hard rock, blues rock, and Heavy metal ...
-song. Debuting at #4 on VG-lista, Norway's official music chart, it quickly sold to
gold. Extensive touring and promoting followed, as well as two more singles; ''World of Pain'' and most notably ''In Da House''. The latter produced by
Swedish
Swedish or ' may refer to:
Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically:
* Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland
** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...
industrial rap metal group
Clawfinger and based on their old hit ''The Truth''. It reached #2 on the Norwegian charts and it too sold gold.
October 27, 2003, saw the release of their first and only album, ''Enter the Dragon''.
L8R's tough image seemed to work well with kids around their own age, especially with girls in their early teens. The boys were also given credit for their well-rehearsed stage shows and continued to perform around Norway well into 2004. In July of that same year group member Petersen, an aspiring dancer, got into a prominent dance academy in Oslo and decided to leave the band. With the friendship being very tight-knit in the group, the other boys would not continue without their fourth member and they chose to split up.
Discography
Albums
* ''Enter the Dragon'' (2003)
Singles
* ''Back in Black'' (2003)
* ''World of Pain'' (2003)
* ''In Da House'' (2003)
External link
Page at Norwegian Bandindex.no
{{DEFAULTSORT:Later
Norwegian boy bands