KEiiNO
KEiiNO is Norway's 2019 Eurovision Song Contest entry. The band mixes electronic pop with Nordic folk melodies and joik, the traditional form of song of the Sami people. The trio was formed in 2018 by award-winning platinum singer and songwriter Tom Hugo, Sami rapper/joiker Fred Buljo and singer Alexandra Rotan. They will perform 'Spirit In The Sky' in Tel Aviv.Spirit in the Sky is inspired by the Sami belief that nature gives you strength in times of trouble. It is composed and written by the band in collaboration with Finnish hit-producer Henrik Tala, German producer R. Schramm and lyricist Alexander Olsson. KEiiNO won Melodi Grand Prix (MGP), Norway's televised pre-selection for the 2019 Eurovision Song Contest, by a landslide. Their song has already skyrocketed to the top of the Norwegian charts.
Alexandra Rotan finished third in last year’s MGP in a duet with former Eurovision representative Stella Mwangi. The 22-year-old made it onto Norwegian music fans' radars with her success in MGP Junior and Norwegian Idol. She has since toured extensively as a supporting vocalist for Alan Walker.
Fred Buljo is a 30-year-old native of the northern Norwegian town of Kautokeino. He burst on to the Norwegian scene in 2008 when he competed in Norway’s Got Talent with the Sami rap group Dulova Duottar. He has since played numerous live shows all over Scandinavia and Russia, and is widely considered one of the Sami music scene’s most talented performers.
Tom Hugo Hermansen is a seasoned songwriter whose CV includes hit pop songs performed by groups across Asia. The 39-year-old has had radio hits in Norway and Germany as a solo artist, and MGP fans will remember his previous appearances in 2013 and 2018. Hermansen has written top hits for K-pop supergroups EXO, SHiNee and TVXQ, as well as German Echo-nominee Y’akoto.
