Anne-Karine Strøm (born 15 October 1951) is a Norwegian singer, best known for having taken part in the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest selection,

Melodi Grand Prix Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norsk Melodi Grand Prix, is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster (NRK). It determines for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been sta ...

, in six consecutive years between 1971 and 1976, winning on three occasions (twice as a soloist and once as a member of an ensemble) and representing Norway in the

Eurovision Song Contest The Eurovision Song Contest (), often known simply as Eurovision, is an international Music competition, song competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) among its members since 1956. Each participating broadcaster ...

s of 1973, 1974 and 1976.

Melodi Grand Prix

Strøm's Melodi Grand Prix appearances were as follows: *

1971 * The year 1971 had three partial solar eclipses (Solar eclipse of February 25, 1971, February 25, Solar eclipse of July 22, 1971, July 22 and Solar eclipse of August 20, 1971, August 20) and two total lunar eclipses (February 1971 lunar eclip ...

: "Hør litt på meg" – 10th *

1972 Within the context of Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) it was the longest year ever, as two leap seconds were added during this 366-day year, an event which has not since been repeated. (If its start and end are defined using Solar time, ...

: "Håp" – 4th *

1973 Events January * January 1 – The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 14 - The 16-0 19 ...

: "Å for et spill" (as member of the

Bendik Singers The Bendik Singers were a four-member Norwegian vocal group, brought together by singer and composer Arne Bendiksen to participate in the Norwegian Eurovision Song Contest selection, Melodi Grand Prix, in 1973. The group consisted of Anne-Kari ...

) – 1st *

1974 Major events in 1974 include the aftermath of the 1973 oil crisis and the resignation of United States President Richard Nixon following the Watergate scandal. In the Middle East, the aftermath of the 1973 Yom Kippur War determined politics; ...

: "Hvor er du" – 1st *

1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 – Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...

: "1+1=2" – 4th *

1976 Events January * January 2 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 18 – Full diplomatic ...

: "Mata Hari" – 1st

Eurovision Song Contest

The

' 1973 winning song was given English-language lyrics and retitled " It's Just A Game" for the 18th Eurovision Song Contest, which took place on 7 April in

Luxembourg City Luxembourg (; ; ), also known as Luxembourg City ( or ; ; or ), is the capital city of Luxembourg and the Communes of Luxembourg, country's most populous commune. Standing at the confluence of the Alzette and Pétrusse rivers in southern Luxe ...

, where it finished in seventh place of 17 entries. Strøm travelled to

Brighton Brighton ( ) is a seaside resort in the city status in the United Kingdom, city of Brighton and Hove, East Sussex, England, south of London. Archaeological evidence of settlement in the area dates back to the Bronze Age Britain, Bronze Age, R ...

, England for the 1974 contest, held on 6 April. Again, the song had been translated into English as " The First Day of Love", and backing vocals were provided by the other Bendik Singers. This was the notable contest which was won by

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

and also featured several already internationally established names (

Olivia Newton-John Dame Olivia Newton-John (26 September 1948 – 8 August 2022) was a British and Australian singer and actress. With over 100 million records sold, Newton-John was one of the List of best-selling music artists#100 million to 119 million record ...

Gigliola Cinquetti Gigliola Cinquetti (; born Giliola Cinquetti on 20 December 1947) is an Italian singer, songwriter and television presenter. Life and career Gigliola Cinquetti was born into a wealthy family in Verona, Italy. At the age of 16, she debuted at ...

, Mouth & MacNeal). In this competitive field, "The First Day of Love" struggled to attract votes and ended as one of four songs sharing last place with just three votes each. Strøm's final Eurovision appearance, at the 1976 contest in

The Hague The Hague ( ) is the capital city of the South Holland province of the Netherlands. With a population of over half a million, it is the third-largest city in the Netherlands. Situated on the west coast facing the North Sea, The Hague is the c ...

on 3 April, ended in complete failure, as "

Mata Hari Margaretha Geertruida MacLeod (, ; 7 August 187615 October 1917), better known by the stage name Mata Hari ( , ; , ), was a Dutch Stripper, exotic dancer and courtesan who was convicted of being a spy for German Empire, Germany during World War ...

" placed last of the 18 participating songs. Prior to the contest "Mata Hari", a very modern and contemporary disco-style song, had been expected to do well, but it was suggested afterwards that Strøm's rather odd outfit and performance on the night may have cost votes. With two last-place finishes from three entries, Strøm is usually cited as the least successful artist to have appeared in more than one Eurovision Song Contest as the only artist to date finish in last place twice.

Post-Eurovision

In the late 1970s Strøm began performing in musical cabarets with Øystein Sunde and her then husband Ole Paus. She released three albums between 1978 and 1986, which reflected a move towards a more serious style of music.Biography at MIC Norsk Musikkinformasjon
(Norwegian)

Albums discography

*1971: ''Drømmebilde'' *1975: ''Anne Karin'' *1978: ''Album'' *1982: ''Casablancas Døtre'' *1986: ''Landet utenfor''

References

External links

Discography at 45cat
{{DEFAULTSORT:Strom, Anne-Karine 1951 births Living people Melodi Grand Prix winners Eurovision Song Contest entrants Norwegian women singers Musicians from Oslo English-language singers from Norway