The Norwegian singer-songwriter Anna Lotterud, better known as Anna of the North, has seen her music become popular around the world. Her song ‘Lovers’ from 2017 has gone viral multiple times and the early success in her career made it possible for her to live in L.A. and feature on a song with Tyler, the Creator. Her soothing voice and soft pop has reached an audience much bigger than most Nordic artists.
But becoming popular through the internet and social media has also been a disorienting road to success for Anna. It might mean that a lot of people know of her music without really listening to it. Especially in a world where everything moves quickly, and we rush through to the next dopamine fix.
On her newest album, ‘Girl In A Bottle’, she reflects on these sides of modern life. On how we choose the quick rush over the lasting connections and seem sometimes to get stuck in our own bubbles. It’s vulnerable and relatable. We had the pleasure of meeting her while she was getting ready for her first show on her European tour at Hotel Cecil in Copenhagen. With warmth and honesty she told us about creating ‘Girl In A Bottle’, TikTok and singing in Norwegian.
In London. I think because my career started on the internet I feel more like an internet artist than a Norwegian artist. So I have more of a connection to and more collaborators in London than in Norway and in the music scene there. I feel very different from my fellow artists in Norway, because many struggle to get their music to an audience outside of Norway. I succeeded with that and I sort of never returned home. But recently I have written some music in Norwegian and it has made my connection stronger and it makes me long more towards Norway.
First of all it’s music that I really love and enjoy. It took a lot of time writing it but I had a lot of fun with it. I wrote ‘Waiting For Love’ in 2024, so two years before it came out, and I just think through the years the album sort of made itself. It’s sort of like a diary reflecting the things I have gone through in this time of my life. Also with the name ‘Girl In A Bottle’ reflects feeling a bit caught in this modern world with dating and love in a world where everything expires so fast.
Yes, definitely. And also just the way we choose to live our lives instead of sticking with something or sticking through something, we’d rather escape to the next more adventurous thing. And I do think that it is ruining our ability to make deeper connections. There’s something that we are losing in our modern times. And it’s the same thing with the stuff we buy and the music as well – we don’t even listen to albums anymore. We are taught today to rush through everything.
I do love TikTok in the sense because it’s a way for people to show their music and show their art and there are so many people today that probably wouldn’t have been found without TikTok. But then again I just don’t find it so amusing anymore. Maybe I’m just getting old, haha!
In relation to ‘Lovers’ I find it hard, because I don’t really know how to use TikTok. I haven’t found my way of doing it. Obviously my song has gone viral, but it takes so much to sort of contain that and find a way to keep the momentum going.
To be honest, I feel like the virality of the song ruined more for me. I sort of feel like I have become a one-hit-wonder. The song has just always been there and a lot of people only know that one song.
I feel like my career has been perfect in a lot of ways, I’ve done tours and amazing collabs, it’s been great. And then this thing comes along and it puts pressure on me to be more commercial – it puts me in a different light.
I feel like I’ve come to a place in my career where I long to be more home. I never thought I’d write in Norwegian. I’ve always loved writing in Norwegian, but ever since I was little I’ve always written music in English, probably because I was inspired by, you know, Spice Girls.
Yeah, but it sort of happened organically. It was just me and some friends in the studio trying it out, and then I just thought it sounded really good. It felt freeing in a way to not be writing in my second language – as well as feeling a bit cringe, haha! I do feel like in Norwegian I’m one person and in English I’m a different person. I can’t express myself in the same ways in the two languages.
Yes, a hundred procent. And I’m really happy I did it, it was a part of me that people hadn’t seen. I think doing music in English people in Norway could feel a bit disconnected from it. I see it here in Denmark, artists are singing in Danish and doing really well, and it seems like people just really connect to their own languages now. It has been nice to connect more to a Norwegian audience.
And I do feel like I’m going to go more in that direction. Also because with everything happening I don’t see myself going back to the U.S. anytime soon. I love my fans there and I’m so appreciative of what I’ve achieved and what people have given me. But maybe there’s a new chapter for me now. I want to calm down and don’t feel like traveling everywhere all the time. I feel like there’s a new Anna growing.
The Norwegian singer-songwriter Anna Lotterud, better known as Anna of the North, has seen her music become popular around the world. Her song ‘Lovers’ from 2017 has gone viral multiple times and the early success in her career made it possible for her to live in L.A. and feature on a song with Tyler, the Creator. Her soothing voice and soft pop has reached an audience much bigger than most Nordic artists.
But becoming popular through the internet and social media has also been a disorienting road to success for Anna. It might mean that a lot of people know of her music without really listening to it. Especially in a world where everything moves quickly, and we rush through to the next dopamine fix.
On her newest album, ‘Girl In A Bottle’, she reflects on these sides of modern life. On how we choose the quick rush over the lasting connections and seem sometimes to get stuck in our own bubbles. It’s vulnerable and relatable. We had the pleasure of meeting her while she was getting ready for her first show on her European tour at Hotel Cecil in Copenhagen. With warmth and honesty she told us about creating ‘Girl In A Bottle’, TikTok and singing in Norwegian.
In London. I think because my career started on the internet I feel more like an internet artist than a Norwegian artist. So I have more of a connection to and more collaborators in London than in Norway and in the music scene there. I feel very different from my fellow artists in Norway, because many struggle to get their music to an audience outside of Norway. I succeeded with that and I sort of never returned home. But recently I have written some music in Norwegian and it has made my connection stronger and it makes me long more towards Norway.
First of all it’s music that I really love and enjoy. It took a lot of time writing it but I had a lot of fun with it. I wrote ‘Waiting For Love’ in 2024, so two years before it came out, and I just think through the years the album sort of made itself. It’s sort of like a diary reflecting the things I have gone through in this time of my life. Also with the name ‘Girl In A Bottle’ reflects feeling a bit caught in this modern world with dating and love in a world where everything expires so fast.
Yes, definitely. And also just the way we choose to live our lives instead of sticking with something or sticking through something, we’d rather escape to the next more adventurous thing. And I do think that it is ruining our ability to make deeper connections. There’s something that we are losing in our modern times. And it’s the same thing with the stuff we buy and the music as well – we don’t even listen to albums anymore. We are taught today to rush through everything.
I do love TikTok in the sense because it’s a way for people to show their music and show their art and there are so many people today that probably wouldn’t have been found without TikTok. But then again I just don’t find it so amusing anymore. Maybe I’m just getting old, haha!
In relation to ‘Lovers’ I find it hard, because I don’t really know how to use TikTok. I haven’t found my way of doing it. Obviously my song has gone viral, but it takes so much to sort of contain that and find a way to keep the momentum going.
To be honest, I feel like the virality of the song ruined more for me. I sort of feel like I have become a one-hit-wonder. The song has just always been there and a lot of people only know that one song.
I feel like my career has been perfect in a lot of ways, I’ve done tours and amazing collabs, it’s been great. And then this thing comes along and it puts pressure on me to be more commercial – it puts me in a different light.
I feel like I’ve come to a place in my career where I long to be more home. I never thought I’d write in Norwegian. I’ve always loved writing in Norwegian, but ever since I was little I’ve always written music in English, probably because I was inspired by, you know, Spice Girls.
Yeah, but it sort of happened organically. It was just me and some friends in the studio trying it out, and then I just thought it sounded really good. It felt freeing in a way to not be writing in my second language – as well as feeling a bit cringe, haha! I do feel like in Norwegian I’m one person and in English I’m a different person. I can’t express myself in the same ways in the two languages.
Yes, a hundred procent. And I’m really happy I did it, it was a part of me that people hadn’t seen. I think doing music in English people in Norway could feel a bit disconnected from it. I see it here in Denmark, artists are singing in Danish and doing really well, and it seems like people just really connect to their own languages now. It has been nice to connect more to a Norwegian audience.
And I do feel like I’m going to go more in that direction. Also because with everything happening I don’t see myself going back to the U.S. anytime soon. I love my fans there and I’m so appreciative of what I’ve achieved and what people have given me. But maybe there’s a new chapter for me now. I want to calm down and don’t feel like traveling everywhere all the time. I feel like there’s a new Anna growing.
The Norwegian singer-songwriter Anna Lotterud, better known as Anna of the North, has seen her music become popular around the world. Her song ‘Lovers’ from 2017 has gone viral multiple times and the early success in her career made it possible for her to live in L.A. and feature on a song with Tyler, the Creator. Her soothing voice and soft pop has reached an audience much bigger than most Nordic artists.
But becoming popular through the internet and social media has also been a disorienting road to success for Anna. It might mean that a lot of people know of her music without really listening to it. Especially in a world where everything moves quickly, and we rush through to the next dopamine fix.
On her newest album, ‘Girl In A Bottle’, she reflects on these sides of modern life. On how we choose the quick rush over the lasting connections and seem sometimes to get stuck in our own bubbles. It’s vulnerable and relatable. We had the pleasure of meeting her while she was getting ready for her first show on her European tour at Hotel Cecil in Copenhagen. With warmth and honesty she told us about creating ‘Girl In A Bottle’, TikTok and singing in Norwegian.
In London. I think because my career started on the internet I feel more like an internet artist than a Norwegian artist. So I have more of a connection to and more collaborators in London than in Norway and in the music scene there. I feel very different from my fellow artists in Norway, because many struggle to get their music to an audience outside of Norway. I succeeded with that and I sort of never returned home. But recently I have written some music in Norwegian and it has made my connection stronger and it makes me long more towards Norway.
First of all it’s music that I really love and enjoy. It took a lot of time writing it but I had a lot of fun with it. I wrote ‘Waiting For Love’ in 2024, so two years before it came out, and I just think through the years the album sort of made itself. It’s sort of like a diary reflecting the things I have gone through in this time of my life. Also with the name ‘Girl In A Bottle’ reflects feeling a bit caught in this modern world with dating and love in a world where everything expires so fast.
Yes, definitely. And also just the way we choose to live our lives instead of sticking with something or sticking through something, we’d rather escape to the next more adventurous thing. And I do think that it is ruining our ability to make deeper connections. There’s something that we are losing in our modern times. And it’s the same thing with the stuff we buy and the music as well – we don’t even listen to albums anymore. We are taught today to rush through everything.
I do love TikTok in the sense because it’s a way for people to show their music and show their art and there are so many people today that probably wouldn’t have been found without TikTok. But then again I just don’t find it so amusing anymore. Maybe I’m just getting old, haha!
In relation to ‘Lovers’ I find it hard, because I don’t really know how to use TikTok. I haven’t found my way of doing it. Obviously my song has gone viral, but it takes so much to sort of contain that and find a way to keep the momentum going.
To be honest, I feel like the virality of the song ruined more for me. I sort of feel like I have become a one-hit-wonder. The song has just always been there and a lot of people only know that one song.
I feel like my career has been perfect in a lot of ways, I’ve done tours and amazing collabs, it’s been great. And then this thing comes along and it puts pressure on me to be more commercial – it puts me in a different light.
I feel like I’ve come to a place in my career where I long to be more home. I never thought I’d write in Norwegian. I’ve always loved writing in Norwegian, but ever since I was little I’ve always written music in English, probably because I was inspired by, you know, Spice Girls.
Yeah, but it sort of happened organically. It was just me and some friends in the studio trying it out, and then I just thought it sounded really good. It felt freeing in a way to not be writing in my second language – as well as feeling a bit cringe, haha! I do feel like in Norwegian I’m one person and in English I’m a different person. I can’t express myself in the same ways in the two languages.
Yes, a hundred procent. And I’m really happy I did it, it was a part of me that people hadn’t seen. I think doing music in English people in Norway could feel a bit disconnected from it. I see it here in Denmark, artists are singing in Danish and doing really well, and it seems like people just really connect to their own languages now. It has been nice to connect more to a Norwegian audience.
And I do feel like I’m going to go more in that direction. Also because with everything happening I don’t see myself going back to the U.S. anytime soon. I love my fans there and I’m so appreciative of what I’ve achieved and what people have given me. But maybe there’s a new chapter for me now. I want to calm down and don’t feel like traveling everywhere all the time. I feel like there’s a new Anna growing.
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