Erlend Bratland

Erlend Bratland is a chart-topping Norwegian emo pop singer who rose to fame in 2008 as the winner of the television talent show Norske Talenter (i.e., "Norway's Got Talent"). Born on October 27, 1991, in Kvinnherad, Norway, he won the second season of Norske Talenter at the young age of 16, and much was made of how his emo fashion sense (e.g., colored hair, facial piercings, black clothing) contrasted sharply with his fairly conventional pop musical style. Upon signing a major-label recording contract with Sony BMG in the aftermath of his first-place finish on Norske Talenter, Bratland made his commercial recording debut in 2008 with "Lost," a song written by Dutch pop singer Anouk. A number one smash hit on the Norwegian singles chart, "Lost" was followed by another chart-topping hit, "Still Water." In the wake of these smash hits, Bratland released his full-length album debut, True Colors, an English-language effort laden with well-known cover songs, among them Nirvana's "Heart Shaped Box," Cyndi Lauper's "True Colors," Joni Mitchell's "River," and Queen's "Love of My Life." True Colors charted in the Norwegian albums Top Five for seven weeks and peaked at number two.