Noora Noor aka Noora (born 8 July 1979) is a Somali-Norwegian

neo soul Neo soul (sometimes called progressive soul) is a genre of popular music. As a term, it was coined by music industry entrepreneur Kedar Massenburg during the late 1990s to market and describe a style of music that emerged from soul and contempo ...

singer.

Career

Noor started early on her musical journey, performing locally from the age of 8. She got a recording contract with

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and t ...

at only 15. She then began working with

Stargate (production team) Stargate is a record producing and songwriting team composed of Tor E. Hermansen (born 14 October 1972) and Mikkel S. Eriksen (born 10 December 1972), based in Los Angeles. The team's genres include R&B, pop and hip hop. Stargate was establi ...

to make her first album. The success of the album launched Stargate's international career as R&B/Soul producers. Noor's debut album, ''Curious'', was released in 1999 and became one of the first notable Scandinavian R&B albums. The single "Need You" was also played constantly on "The Lick" on

MTV MTV (Originally an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable channel that launched on August 1, 1981. Based in New York City, it serves as the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group, part of Paramount Media Networks, a di ...

. ''Curious'' became a success also in Japan with more than 40,000 sales. It took five years until the release of her second album, ''All I Am'', in 2004, as Noor was diagnosed with

tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...

. The album included more self-penned songs, written in collaboration with US and UK songwriters. She is also featured on

Madcon Madcon is a Norwegian musical duo formed in 1992 by Yosef Wolde-Mariam and Tshawe Baqwa. They have released eight albums as of 2022. They are best known for the 2007 cover of " Beggin'" by The Four Seasons and the 2015 single " Don't Worry" feat ...

's 2007 album ''

So Dark the Con of Man ''So Dark the Con of Man'' is the second album by the Norwegian urban music duo Madcon, released in December 2007. Its title is an anagram used in '' The Da Vinci Code'', a 2003 novel by Dan Brown. Track listing Charts Weekly charts Y ...

'' and some Tommy Tee releases. In addition, Noor played Maria Magdalen in a big outdoor version of ''

Jesus Christ Superstar ''Jesus Christ Superstar'' is a sung-through rock opera with music by Andrew Lloyd Webber and lyrics by Tim Rice. Loosely based on the Gospels' accounts of the Passion, the work interprets the psychology of Jesus and other characters, with ...

''. Her most recent album, ''Soul Deep'', was released in Norway in March 2009 to rave reviews and was rated 6 "dice" in Norway's major newspaper

Verdens Gang ''Verdens Gang'' ("The course of the world"), generally known under the abbreviation ''VG'', is a Norwegian tabloid newspaper. In 2016, circulation numbers stood at 93,883, having declined from a peak circulation of 390,510 in 2002. ''VG'' is n ...

. Recorded in San Jose, California, with local blues and soul musicians, it also features members of

Little Charlie & The Nightcats Little Charlie & the Nightcats was an American electric blues and swing revival combo, active from 1976-2008. Several members reformed as Rick Estrin & The Nightcats. Biography Charles Baty (1953–2020) was studying mathematics at Un ...

. The producer was

Kid Andersen Christoffer "Kid" Andersen (born 15 January 1980) is a blues guitarist from Herre, Norway. By age 11, Andersen had gained the attention of Norwegian blues guitar teacher, Morten Omlid, who steered him towards traditional blues music. In 2001, ...

, the Norwegian band's guitar virtuoso. The album was released outside Norway during 2010, with the first single, in

Benelux The Benelux Union ( nl, Benelux Unie; french: Union Benelux; lb, Benelux-Unioun), also known as simply Benelux, is a politico-economic union and formal international intergovernmental cooperation of three neighboring states in western Europe: B ...

, made available in April/May 2010. In March 2011, Noor participated in the Norwegian national selection for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2011 The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Satellite" by Lena. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

, the

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 det ...

, with the song "Gone with the wind".

Discography

Albums

*1999: ''Curious'' *2004: ''All I Am'' *2009: ''Soul Deep''

Singles

* "Official" * "Need You" * "Zeros" * "Feelin' It" (with Tommy Tee and Jo Jo Pellegrino) * "Forget What I Said" * "Funky Way" * "What Man Have Done" * "Gone with the Wind"

Appearances

* "Hard to Read" (''

'') -

* "The Royal PortKids" (CD single) * "Old Angel Midnight" -

Paal Flaata Pål Flåta (born 8 April 1968) is a Norwegian vocalist, known from the band Midnight Choir and as a solo artist. Career Flaata was born in Skien, Norway. He started his career in the Skien band Memphis News and has since then been involved i ...

(2008) * "Elias og Kongeskipet" (movie and CD single) * "The Princess and the Frog" (Disney 2010 - Norwegian version)

Awards

* ''Hitawards'' (1999): Female Artist of the Year * ''Natt og Dag prisen'' (1999): Best Live Artist * ''

Spellemannprisen Spellemannprisen, often referred to as the Norwegian Grammy Awards in English, is a Norwegian music award presented to Norwegian musicians. The award was established by the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI), an organizati ...

(Norwegian Grammy Award)'' (2009): Female Artist of the Year

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Noor, Noora 1979 births Living people Soul singers Norwegian composers English-language singers from Norway Neo soul singers Somalian emigrants to Norway Spellemannprisen winners 21st-century Norwegian women singers Ballad musicians 21st-century Norwegian singers