Vispop is a music genre which originated from and became popular in the Scandinavian countries in the mid-1960s. The term is derived from the word ''

visa Visa most commonly refers to: *Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company ** Visa Debit card issued by the above company ** Visa Electron, a debit card ** Visa Plus, an interbank network *Travel visa, a document that allows ...

'' which denotes traditional and popular

folk song Folk music is a music genre that includes #Traditional folk music, traditional folk music and the Contemporary folk music, contemporary genre that evolved from the former during the 20th-century folk revival. Some types of folk music may be c ...

of Sweden. In

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a 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 Jan Mayen and t ...

the term applied to this type of accompanied singing is ''visesang''. During the 1970s this was among the most popular genres of music in Scandinavia.

Characteristics

Vispop is typically performed by a singer-songwriter playing an acoustic guitar, and the lyrics often expresses social commentary. Musical groups such as the Norwegian group Ballade! also occur. The genre could be compared to American

folk rock Folk rock is a hybrid music genre that combines the elements of folk and rock music, which arose in the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom in the mid-1960s. In the U.S., folk rock emerged from the folk music revival. Performers suc ...

or bluegrass.

List of notable artists

;Norway *

Ane Brun Ane Brun (; born Ane Brunvoll on 10 March 1976) is a Norwegian songwriter, guitarist, and vocalist of Sami people, Sami origin. Since 2003, she has recorded ten albums, eight of which are studio albums of original material (including a collecti ...

Alf Cranner Alf Cranner (25 October 1936 – 3 March 2020) was a major Norwegian folk singer, lyricist and painter, considered by many to be the pioneer of the Norwegian folk music wave of the 1960s. (in Norwegian) (in Norwegian) The citation for the award o ...

Jan Eggum Jan Eggum (born 8 December 1951) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. He has been characterized as a "face for the melancholy", and the themes in his songs are often broken hearts, loneliness, and sorrow. Sometimes his lyrics include social critici ...

Finn Kalvik Finn Bjørn Kalvik (born 30 April 1947) is a Norwegian singer and composer. Early career He was born in Fåvang, but his family moved to the working class district of Grorud, Oslo in 1952. Early in his career Kalvik found success putting music t ...

Åse Kleveland Åse Maria Kleveland (born 18 March 1949) is a Norwegian singer, guitarist, politician and activist. A well-known folk singer and traditional guitarist in Norway, she was appointed Minister of Culture in Norway in 1990, and held the position u ...

Kristian Kristensen Kristian Kristensen (born May 12, 1992) is a Norwegian singer/songwriter from Harstad, Norway. He started his solo career in 2013 through the Norwegian TV-show The Voice, and signed with Warner Music Norway in 2015. Career Ahead of his participa ...

Moddi Pål Moddi Knutsen (born 18 February 1987 in Senja), known by the artist name Moddi, is a Norwegian musician, author and activist, whose contemporary folk music often includes songs of protest or social justice. Background Pål Knutsen grew up o ...

Lillebjørn Nilsen Bjørn "Lillebjørn" Falk Nilsen (born 21 December 1950) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and folk musician. He was born in Oslo, and is considered by some to be the leading "voice of Oslo", thanks to numerous classic songs about the city from th ...

Siri Nilsen Siri Anne Nilsen (born 12 April 1985) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and voice actress. "As the daughter of two folksingers, Lillebjørn and Shari Nilsen, she grew up surrounded by music." Nilsen is noted for the sincerity of her song writi ...

Øystein Sunde Øystein Olaf Sunde (born 24 January 1947) is a Norwegian folk singer and guitarist. He is known for his high-speed guitar and banjo style and his satirical lyrics. Although often regarded as a comedian, Sunde is a versatile guitarist who has pl ...

Halvdan Sivertsen Halvdan Sivertsen (born 5 January 1950) is a Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist. He was born in Tromsø, but raised and lives in Bodø. He has won Spellemannprisen awards five times, twice with his group Gitarkameratene, and received the ...

* Frida Ånnevik ;Sweden *

Lisa Ekdahl Lisa Ekdahl (born 29 July 1971 in Hägersten, Stockholm, Sweden) is a Swedish popular music singer and songwriter. She has so far released 10 albums, most of them in Swedish but some entirely in English. Her voice has been described as "child-lik ...

Ted Gärdestad Ted Arnbjörn Gärdestad (; 18 February 195622 June 1997) was a Swedish singer, songwriter, musician and actor known internationally as Ted. Gärdestad began his acting career in 1966 and began playing music in 1971, signing with Polar Music. Ass ...

Jakob Hellman Jakob Hellman (born 20 October 1965) is a Swedish pop singer. His debut album, '' ...och stora havet'', released in 1989, was his only release for 32 years. He released his second album, ''Äntligen borta'', on 8 January 2021. He is still a well ...

Uno Svenningsson Uno Svenningsson (born 1 July 1959 in Hagelstorp, Sweden) is a Swedish pop singer-songwriter and guitarist, who has been active in music since the late 1970s. He was the singer in the pop group "Freda'" in the early 1980s and early 1990s, and t ...

Cornelis Vreeswijk Cornelis Vreeswijk (; ; 8 August 1937 – 12 November 1987) was a Dutch-born Swedish singer-songwriter, poet and actor. He emigrated to Sweden with his parents in 1949 at the age of twelve. He was educated as a social worker and hoped to become ...

Characteristics

List of notable artists

See also