Sampda Sharma, better known by her stage name Samsaya, is a Norwegian singer and actress of Indian descent.

Early life

Samsaya was born Sampda Sharma in Hamirpur to an Indian mother, Aruna Sharma, in the northern Indian state of

Himachal Pradesh Himachal Pradesh (; ; "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen mountain states and is characterized by an extreme landscape featuring several peaks ...

. She lived in India with her family and moved to Norway at the age of only eleven months. She grew up on

Ellingsrud Ellingsrud is a neighbourhood in the borough of Alna in the north-east part of Oslo, Norway. Ellingsrud consists of Ellingsrudåsen, Bakås, Fjeldstad, Karihaugen, Munkebekken, and the small area of Kaiekroken, located in the far east close to ...

in Oslo and went to Ellingsrudåsen skole and played football. Growing up she was influenced by Hip-hop and listened to

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

. She appeared with her first band at the age of nineteen. After several years of making music with other urban musicians 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 ...

, she got her breakthrough as an actress in the Norwegian movies, ''Folk flest bor i Kina'', the horror movie '' Villmark'' and '' Hawaii Oslo''.

Career

Music

In 2004 she released her debut album ''Shedding Skin''. She also released a video of the hit track "Ever been had?". After touring Norway, she took a break, and a couple of years later she set off to New York City. After spending a year in New York, she launched her single "Special blend" by Prayon, in collaboration with Levi's Norway. In 2008 she released a new single called "Change", produced by

Andre Lindal Andre Lindal (born February 19, 1977) is a Norwegian songwriter, record producer and musician from Oslo, now based in Los Angeles. He has produced for many popular artists and groups, including Maroon 5, Britney Spears, Justin Bieber, Kelly Clar ...

and Geir Hvidsten, which went to second place on the Norwegian singles chart,

VG-lista VG-lista is a Norwegian record chart A record chart, in the music industry, also called a music chart, is a ranking of recorded music according to certain criteria during a given period. Many different criteria are used in worldwide chart ...

. She was then signed to Bonnier Amigo, the same record label as

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" fe ...

, Paperboys and

Mira Craig Mira Scherdin Craig (born 31 July 1982) is a Norwegian R&B artist. Early life Craig's father is Ronaldo Craig an African American from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. She was born in 1982 in Oslo, and at the age of twelve, Craig performed the Whitney ...

. Her track "Dodge it" (Eve Nelson/Samsaya) was used in the Oscar-nominated movie ''

The Wrestler The Wrestler may refer to: * ''The Wrestler'' (1974 film), an American film directed by James A. Westman * ''The Wrestler'' (2008 film), an American film directed by Darren Aronofsky * "The Wrestler" (song), a song from the 2008 film written and ...

''. In 2009 she released the two singles "Money" produced by Jarl Aanestad and co-produced by Andre Lindal and "ADHD" produced by Jarl Aanestad. Samsaya released her single "Stereotype" from the upcoming album ''

Bombay Calling ''Bombay Calling'' is a 2006 feature documentary film directed by Ben Addelman and Samir Mallal. Produced by the National Film Board of Canada which follows the journey of Kaz Lalani the pioneer of Call Centre Outsourcing. ''Bombay Calling'' ...

'', produced by Roc Nation-producer Fred Ball. She has also signed a worldwide deal with BMG Chrysalis. In 2012 she collaborated with fellow Norwegian

Bertine Zetlitz Bertine Axeliane Robberstad Zetlitz (born 9 April 1975) is a Norwegian pop singer. Career Bertine Zetlitz began her musical journey at a young age, penning her first numbers aged just 12. After gaining a background in classical music, Zetlitz b ...

on the song and video "Electric Feet".

Movies and television

Samsaya has had several roles in

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 ...

movies. She has also been on several

shows on television and radio. In 2008 Samsaya was a VJ on the program ''Topp 10'' on the TV Music Channel

The Voice TV Norway The Voice TV was a Norwegian-language television channel operated by ProSiebenSat.1 Media AG that mostly broadcast music. It was launched in 2004, its sister channels in Sweden, Finland and Denmark launching the same year. In 2005, the channel in ...

. The popular show was seen by Norwegian teenagers on weekdays. In 2009, Samsaya has been on the front cover of magazines such as '' Henne'' and TV shows such as the Norwegian version of '' The Clash of the Choirs'', ''4-stjerners middag halv åtte'' on

TV Norge TVNorge (literally "TVNorway"; originally abbreviated TVN, now just abbreviated N in the logos) is a Norwegian television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA. History TVNorge went on the air on 5 December 1988 and was the first adver ...

and ''Zebra Grand Prix'' on TV2.

Discography

Albums

*2015: ''Bombay Calling'' *2004: ''Shedding skin''

Singles

Soundtrack

*2008; "Dodge it" (Nelson / Samsaya) (Soundtrack from ''

'')

Selected filmography

References

External links

Samsaya's official Website and Blog

Samsaya's official Youtube Channel

Samsaya on Twitter

Samsaya at Myspace
{{DEFAULTSORT:Samsaya 1979 births Living people Norwegian Hindus Norwegian people of Indian descent Norwegian film actresses Norwegian pop singers Norwegian television presenters Indian emigrants to Norway Singers from Himachal Pradesh People from Hamirpur district, Himachal Pradesh Women musicians from Himachal Pradesh 21st-century Norwegian singers 21st-century Norwegian women singers Norwegian women television presenters