Touraj Keshtkar
( fa, تورج کشتکار; born 26 May 1987), known professionally as Tooji, is a Norwegian singer, painter, model and television host. He represented
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2012
The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azerb ...
in
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...
,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
and finished 26th (last) in the final. Beginning with his single "Cocktail", he also started using the
kanji
are the logographic Chinese characters taken from the Chinese script and used in the writing of Japanese. They were made a major part of the Japanese writing system during the time of Old Japanese and are still used, along with the subsequ ...
characters () in his artistic identity.
Career
Tooji Keshtkar was born in
Shiraz
Shiraz (; fa, شیراز, Širâz ) is the fifth-most-populous city of Iran and the capital of Fars Province, which has been historically known as Pars () and Persis. As of the 2016 national census, the population of the city was 1,565,572 p ...
,
Iran
Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran, and also called Persia, is a country located in Western Asia. It is bordered by Iraq and Turkey to the west, by Azerbaijan and Armenia to the northwest, by the Caspian Sea and Turkmeni ...
, and moved to
Norway
Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of ...
when he was one year old. At the age of 16, he started modelling. Afterwards, he started working on
MTV Norway where he presented "Super Saturday" and "Tooji's Top 10".
He was also educated as a social worker and has worked in asylum reception centres. He now works as a child protection consultant in the department of after-care.
He won
Melodi Grand Prix 2012
Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The Norwegian entry was selected through Melodi Grand Prix 2012, a national selection consisting of three semi-finals and a final, organised by the Norwegian broadcaste ...
and was given the opportunity to represent Norway in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2012
The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azerb ...
in
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...
,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
with his entry "
Stay
Stay may refer to:
Places
* Stay, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in the US
Law
* Stay of execution, a ruling to temporarily suspend the enforcement of a court judgment
* Stay of proceedings, a ruling halting further legal process in a tri ...
" which qualified from the second semi-final and went on to place 26th (last) in the final, scoring 7 points.
On 10 March 2012, he presented the international jury votes on behalf of Norway at the finals of
''Melodifestivalen'' 2012, the Swedish preselection. On 18 May 2013 he presented the Norwegian votes for the
Eurovision Song Contest 2013 held in
Malmö
Malmö (, ; da, Malmø ) is the largest city in the Swedish county (län) of Scania (Skåne). It is the third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the sixth-largest city in the Nordic region, with a municipal popul ...
,
Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic countries, Nordic c ...
.
Since 2012, Tooji presents, with
Margrethe Røed
Margrethe Røed (born 10 December 1976) is a Norwegian television presenter on NRK Barne-Tv and Super Barne-TV on the television and radio channel NRK Super.
In 2009, she took part in the TV programme ''Skal vi danse?
''Skal vi danse'' is th ...
, the
Melodi Grand Prix Junior
Melodi Grand Prix Junior, also spelled as MGPjr, is a Norwegian television song competition for aspiring singers between the ages of 8 and 15. The competing songs are written by the participants themselves and are sung primarily in Norwegian, and ...
in Norway. In 2013, he released a single entitled "Rebels". Tooji himself describes ‘Rebels’ as “dramatic pop-dance, with new organic elements blended in with hard electronica“.
He moved to
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
to advance his sound. With the release of the song "Packin' Guns". He combines electronic elements with urban heavy and organic sound. Tooji uses irony to contrasts with a dark and heavy beat. With his education and background as a social worker, his songs often express a political and social message. Tooji's single "Cocktail" deals with the gender roles in today's society. The music video starts with a quotation from
Gloria Steinem
Gloria Marie Steinem (; born March 25, 1934) is an American journalist and social-political activist who emerged as a nationally recognized leader of second-wave feminism
Second-wave feminism was a period of feminist activity that began in ...
: "We've begun to raise daughters more like sons... but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters". After coming out, he released his The Father project. Tooji's single and EP ''Father'' emanating from the project is about sexual relationships in the church and the hypocrisy in the public positions of the church. The music video for his following single "Say Yeah" tackles homophobic hate crimes.
Personal life
Tooji holds a bachelor's degree in child welfare. He has worked in asylum reception centres helping children and teenage refugees and victims of
human trafficking
Human trafficking is the trade of humans for the purpose of forced labour, sexual slavery, or commercial sexual exploitation for the trafficker or others. This may encompass providing a spouse in the context of forced marriage, or the extrac ...
. This work motivated him to use his songs and profile to speak out for those who suffer in silence. Tooji is a supporter of
LGBT
' is an initialism that stands for lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender. In use since the 1990s, the initialism, as well as some of its common variants, functions as an umbrella term for sexuality and gender identity.
The LGBT term is a ...
and
women's rights
Women's rights are the rights and entitlements claimed for women and girls worldwide. They formed the basis for the women's rights movement in the 19th century and the feminist movements during the 20th and 21st centuries. In some countries, ...
, as well as a supporter of Green Wave, Iran's democratic reform movement. Tooji wore a Free Iran green bracelet during his performance in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2012
The Eurovision Song Contest 2012 was the 57th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Baku, Azerbaijan, following the country's victory at the with the song " Running Scared" by the duo Ell & Nikki. It was the first time Azerb ...
held in
Baku
Baku (, ; az, Bakı ) is the capital and largest city of Azerbaijan, as well as the largest city on the Caspian Sea and of the Caucasus region. Baku is located below sea level, which makes it the lowest lying national capital in the world an ...
,
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan (, ; az, Azərbaycan ), officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, , also sometimes officially called the Azerbaijan Republic is a transcontinental country located at the boundary of Eastern Europe and Western Asia. It is a part of th ...
.
In June 2015, Tooji
came out
Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity.
Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...
as gay to the Norwegian website
Gaysir
Gaysir is a Norwegian website, aimed mainly at gay, bisexual and trans
Trans- is a Latin prefix meaning "across", "beyond", or "on the other side of".
Used alone, trans may refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media
* Trans (festival), a former ...
, stating that he hoped he could make it easier for young gay people by being open about his own sexuality. He was praised for his decision by the Norwegian
National Association for Lesbians, Gays, Bisexuals and Transgender People.
The Father Project and single
His EP and single "Father" was part of his coming out process by tackling the difficult subject of sex and the church. He said "My new video "Father" is out, and so am I!".
The music video is filmed inside an Oslo church and depicts Tooji, hooded and caped like a monk, interrupting an attractive priest in the middle of his sermon and kisses him passionately, after which the video cuts to the couple having gay sex in front of the altar, along with generally approving reactions of the congregation met with a lot of criticism.
Ole Christian Kvarme
Ole Christian Mælen Kvarme (born November 11, 1948 in Molde) is a Norwegian bishop of the Church of Norway. He was bishop of Oslo in the Lutheran Church of Norway from 2005 and 2017. As Bishop of Oslo, Kvarme was the personal prelate of the Norw ...
, the Bishop of Oslo of the Lutheran
Church of Norway
The Church of Norway ( nb, Den norske kirke, nn, Den norske kyrkja, se, Norgga girku, sma, Nöörjen gærhkoe) is an evangelical Lutheran denomination of Protestant Christianity and by far the largest Christian church in Norway. The church b ...
, condemned the video as "totally unacceptable" and "a gross misuse of the church", accusing the video's producers of misinforming the church's administration prior to filming about the video's actual contents.
[TheLocal.no: Tooji coming out video 'gross misuse of church']
/ref>
Tooji said he lost his job as a host to ''Melodi Grand Prix Junior'', a version of Eurovision for younger performers as a result of the "Father" video and the Father Project. "The reason I was fired was that the music video was not consistent with being a role model for children," he said.[ ''The Father Project'' is an attack on organized religion's hypocrisy and willingness to persecute others for being different. Tooji called this project as "the most important thing I've done in my life".Wiwibloggs: Norway: Tooji comes out, releases new song “The Father Project”]
/ref>
Discography
Extended plays
Singles
References
External links
Tooji's official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:Tooji
1987 births
Norwegian television presenters
Living people
Norwegian social workers
English-language singers from Norway
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2012
Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Norway
People from Shiraz
Naturalised citizens of Norway
Iranian emigrants to Norway
Gay singers
Iranian LGBT people
Norwegian LGBT musicians
21st-century Norwegian male singers
20th-century LGBT people
21st-century LGBT people