How did the fairy tale start?

Once upon a time.. is the start of all the most dear and prized fairy tales, this one being no exception. It all started when a 15 year old girl named Lene Marlin received a guitar from her parents for christmas. She had always enjoyed singing, and her parents thought the time maybe had come for her to learn the guitar as well. After a little fiddling around with the guitar at home in her room, she decided to display her skill to her friends, fellow pupils at school and other aquaintances, by playing her own compositions and singing her own lyrics.

They were, to put it mildly, impressed by her musical talent, and, during summer 1997, while Lene was away on vacation, they contacted a journalist of NRK Tromsø, The local office of the Norwegian broadcasting company, to find out how things would sound in a studio. Lene Marlin came home, unaware of what her friends had done, but was, finally, convinced to try performing in NRK's studio. Later on, on a bus-trip home, she met the same journalist from NRK, who asked whether he could present the results to the Norwegian Virgin-director, to which she answered yes. Two singles and an album later, This bus-trip has proved to be the start of a journey - not only home - but also to the stars. Best of all, unlike other nice fairy tales, this one doesn't end here, and is still an adventure in the making..

We've all heard Unforgivable Sinner and Sitting Down Here countless times on the radio, something which has also resulted in sky-high sales of the singles, as well as great expectations for Lene Marlins debut-album Playing my Game, released March the 22nd.

The newspapers didn't waste time praising the album, and the Norwegian People waited inpatiently for the album to be released. The last time such great expectations were placed on a Norwegian debut-album, was 14 years ago, back in 1985, in the glory-days of pop-group A-ha.

When, finally, the album was released to the public, people didn't waste time abandoning their homes to buy a record-high number of copies. Reports drifted in, telling stories of sell-outs on the very first day. Three days was all it took for her to pass the 50.000-mark, at which point she received a Norwegian Platinum-disc, proof of her success. On the 19th of February 1999, She also received an award by the Norwegian Music award "Spellemansprisen" for her song "Unforgivable Sinner".

This was Norway, but her talent has also been noticed outside the Norwegian borders. One of Europes largest music magazines, Music and Media, named Lene Marlin one of Europes greatest pop-comets in their review, and the situation isn't exactly worsened by the fact that radio- and TV-stations all over Europe are playing her song, to the approval and enthusiasm of the public. Japan - a country where 80% of the record-sales is based on Asian artists - is yet another example of a country taken by storm by Lene Marlin. During the music-exhibit "Music Talks" in Tokyo, where music giant Toshiba EMI present their most important new artists, Lene Marlins "Playing My Game" was exhibited. The result was that the down-to-earth girl from the cold north impressed both record-company managers as well as the press.

The fairy-tale might have ended here, but we KNOW that we haven't seen the last of Lene Marlin. You should click on the "articles"-page if you want more information about Lene Marlins career, We're you'll find an ever-growing number of links to reviews and articles.

Who is Lene Marlin, anyway?

Lene Marlin is 18 years old, living in Tromsø, Norway, where she's just finished her last year of high-school at Tromsdalen Videregående Skole. School is her greatest priority, and her grades are very good - in fact she received "Karolineprisen", an annual prize awarded by Wang Handelsskole in Oslo to pupils able to lead a very active life of sport and culture without neglecting school. After her final year at high-school, she's going to take a year off in order to dedicate her time to what she enjoys most of all - music, something we'll all be grateful for. Friends and family is something she values greatly, and she's never hesitant to bring them to the attention of journalists searching for the secret of her success.

Lene Marlin will also have to suffer a bit because of her new-found status as superstar. The press and the fans require attention, putting pressure on her life she'd prefer avoiding. First and foremost, she wants to enjoy her music, caring less for what the audience might say about the result, showing that despite her golden voice and her magic fingers, Lene Marlin is a down-to-earth normal Norwegian girl.