Pål Flåta (born 8 April 1968) 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 the ...

vocalist, known from the band

Midnight Choir Midnight Choir was a Norwegian alternative rock/alt-country band active from 1992 to 2004. Biography The members of Midnight Choir were Al DeLoner (Atle Bystrøm 'Olsen'), Paal Flaata, and Ron 'Bystrøm' Olsen. (Atle and Ron are brothers) The b ...

and as a solo artist.

Career

Flaata was born in

Skien Skien () is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county in Norway. In modern times it is regarded as part of the traditional region of Grenland, although historically it belonged to Grenmar/Skiensfjorden, while Grenland referred the Norsj ...

, Norway. He started his career in the Skien band Memphis News and has since then been involved in Paal & Pål Band with Pål Jensen, Carsten "Kesh" Holt, and

Vidar Busk Vidar Busk (born 19 May 1970 in Langesund, Norway) is a Norwegian guitarist, vocalist, composer and record producer within genres blues and soul. Store Norske Leksikon (in Norwegian) (in Norwegian) Career Busk grew up in Langesund, but went t ...

. In the early 1990s, Flaata traveled to

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 ...

along with two other musicians. There, they played

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music on the street and were called the Hashbrowns. Then the band got a record deal, and went to the US to record an album. Hashbrowns was then transformed to Midnight Choir. Flaata was in the forefront of Midnight Choir, until the band was dissolved in 2004, and was involved in the outlet of five albums plus a compilation. He debuted as a solo artist in 2002 with ''In Demand'' and continued as a solo artist after the dissolution of Midnight Choir. They were nominated for the

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 ...

2012 for the album ''Wait by the Fire'' in the class Country. In 2008, Flaata also participated on the children's record ''Magiske Kroker & Hemmeligheter'' produced by

Linn Skåber Linn Skåber (born 31 March 1970) is a Norwegian actress, singer, comedian, text writer and TV personality. She made her stage début on Oslo Nye Teater (''Centralteatret'') in 1997, playing the title role in Goldoni's comic opera Mirandolina. ...

and

Jacob Young Jacob Wayne Young (born September 10, 1979) is an American actor and producer. He is a five-time Daytime Emmy Award nominee, winning once in 2002 for his role as Lucky Spencer in the soap opera ''General Hospital'' (2000–2003). He is best know ...

, with the song "Fredag". Other artists who participated were Simone Larsen,

Maria Haukaas Storeng Maria Haukaas Mittet (née Storeng, born 3 August 1979) also known as simply Maria is a Norwegian recording artist. She gained national recognition in 2004 for her participation in the ''Idol'' reality television series, and international recogn ...

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Alejandro Fuentes Alejandro Javiero Fuentes (born 5 November 1987 in Chile) is a Norwegian singer. He rose to prominence after finishing third in Norwegian Idol's third season in 2005. Later in 2005, he released the album ''Diamonds and Pearls'', which reached ...

, Julius Winger,

Live Maria Roggen Live Maria Roggen (born 22 March 1970) is a Norwegian jazz singer, songwriter and composer. Roggen was born in Oslo and educated at Foss High School (violin and vocals). She studied sociology and Musicology intermediate at the University of Osl ...

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Alexander Rybak Alexander Igorevich Rybak (russian: Александр Игоревич Рыбак) or Alyaxandr Iharavich Rybak ( be, Аляксандр Ігаравіч Рыбак; born 13 May 1986) is a Belarusian-Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pian ...

, and

Andrea Bræin Hovig Andrea Bræin Hovig (born 19 July 1973) is a Norwegian actress. She graduated from the Norwegian National Academy of Theatre in 1998, and has since acted both at Det Norske Teatret (the Norwegian Theater) and at Nationaltheatret (the National The ...

. He has performed alongside

Stephen Ackles Stephen Ackles (born 15 February 1966), son of Norwegian mother (Bergliot Kittilsen) and American father (Allan Dale Ackles) is a beloved Norwegian vocalist, pianist, and songwriter who mainly play rock 'n' roll inspired by Jerry Lee Lewis, Chu ...

and Vidar Bush. They have released a tribute album to

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, a Christmas album and a gospel album together. On the single "Come Tomorrow" from 2016, he sings with his daughter Maia Flaata.

Personal life

He was married 20 July 2013, to Stine Sollie Flåta (b. Sollie 1988).

Discography

Solo albums

*2002: ''In Demand'' (Universal Music) *2005: ''Rain'' (S2 Records) *2006: ''Christmas Island'' (Grammofon) *2008: ''Old Angel Midnight'' (Wilma Records) *2012: ''Wait by the Fire - Songs of

Chip Taylor Chip Taylor (born James Wesley Voight; March 21, 1940) is an American songwriter and singer noted for writing "Angel of the Morning" and " Wild Thing". Early life Taylor was born on March 21, 1940, in Yonkers, New York. He is the brother of a ...

'' (Rootsy) *2014: ''Bless Us All - Songs of

Mickey Newbury Milton Sims "Mickey" Newbury Jr. (May 19, 1940 – September 29, 2002) was an American songwriter, recording artist, and a member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Early life and career Newbury was born in Houston, Texas, on May 19, ...

'' *2016: ''Come Tomorrow - Songs of

Townes Van Zandt John Townes Van Zandt (March 7, 1944 – January 1, 1997) was an American singer-songwriter.

'' * 2017: ''Love and Rain: The Athletic Sessions''

Collaborations

;Within

*1994: ''Midnight Choir'' (Fjording) *1996: ''Olsen's Lot'' (S2 Records) *1998: ''Amsterdam Stranded'' (S2 Records) *2000: ''Unsung Heroine'' (Glitterhouse Records) *2002: ''Selected Songs'' (S2 Records) *2003: ''Waiting for the Bricks to Fall'' (S2 Records) *2005: ''All Tomorrows Tears: The Best of Midnight Choir'' (S2 Records) With

and

Vidar busk Vidar Busk (born 19 May 1970 in Langesund, Norway) is a Norwegian guitarist, vocalist, composer and record producer within genres blues and soul. Store Norske Leksikon (in Norwegian) (in Norwegian) Career Busk grew up in Langesund, but went t ...

* 2016: ''En storslått hyllest til Elvis!'' * 2017: ''I Wish Everyday Could Be Like Christmas!'' * 2018: ''A Thing Called Love – The Gospel Album''

References

External links

*
Paal Flaata, "Bless us all"
at YouTube
Paal Flaata – Releave me(sic) (encore) – Rockefeller, Oslo – 2011-12-04
at YouTube
Midnight Choir Biography
at

Store Norske Leksikon The ''Great Norwegian Encyclopedia'' ( no, Store Norske Leksikon, abbreviated ''SNL''), is a Norwegian-language online encyclopedia. The online encyclopedia is among the most-read Norwegian published sites, with more than two million unique vis ...

{{DEFAULTSORT:Flaata, Paal Norwegian male singers Norwegian pop musicians Norwegian composers Norwegian male composers 1968 births Living people Musicians from Skien