Per André Sundnes (born June 16, 1966 in Bodø) is a

Norwegian Norwegian, Norwayan, or Norsk may refer to: *Something of, from, or related to Norway, a country in northwestern Europe * Norwegians, both a nation and an ethnic group native to Norway * Demographics of Norway *The Norwegian language, including ...

journalist and talk show host. He is often described as a

trend A fad or trend is any form of collective behavior that develops within a culture, a generation or social group in which a group of people enthusiastically follow an impulse for a short period. Fads are objects or behaviors that achieve shor ...

and pop culture expert with a particular interest for

music Music is generally defined as the art of arranging sound to create some combination of form, harmony, melody, rhythm or otherwise expressive content. Exact definitions of music vary considerably around the world, though it is an aspe ...

and

fashion Fashion is a form of self-expression and autonomy at a particular period and place and in a specific context, of clothing, footwear, lifestyle, accessories, makeup, hairstyle, and body posture. The term implies a look defined by the fashion i ...

Eurovision commentator

In autumn 2006 it became known that Sundnes from 2007 would take over the job as the commentator in

Melodi Grand Prix Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix ( no, Norsk Melodi Grand Prix), is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster Norsk Rikskringkasting (NRK). It det ...

and the Norwegian commentator for the Eurovision Song Contest, after

Jostein Pedersen Jostein Pedersen (born 11 August 1959 in Dønna) is a Norwegian musical journalist and reporter, television commentator and "music intelligencia". He was the Norwegian commentator to the Eurovision Song Contest in 1994, and from 1996 to 2006. Sinc ...

. Sundnes' first shows were the

Melodi Grand Prix 2007 Melodi Grand Prix 2007 (shortened ''MGP 2007'') was the television show in which the Norwegian entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was chosen. Just like in 2006, there were three semifinals held before the final, where televoting decided ...

and the

Eurovision Song Contest 2007 The Eurovision Song Contest 2007 was the 52nd edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Helsinki, Finland, following the country's victory at the with the song "Hard Rock Hallelujah" by Lordi. Organised by the European Broadcasti ...

in Helsinki, Finland. It was announced in December 2007 that Sundnes would not be commentating the 2008 Eurovision finals. The reason given was that both Sundnes and previous commentator Jostein Pedersen were strong personalities with a colorful language, and NRK wanted someone more anonymous, as they didn't want the commentator to overshadow the songs in the competition. Sundnes did however host the four Norwegian semi-finals and the final, in the national selection,

Melodi Grand Prix 2008 Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with the song " Hold On Be Strong" written by Mira Craig. The song was performed by Maria Haukaas Storeng. NRK organised the national final ''Melodi Grand Prix 2008'' in order to select the ...

. In 2009 he co-hosted, with

Maria Haukaas Storeng Maria Haukaas Mittet (née Storeng, born 3 August 1979) also known as simply Maria is a Norwegian recording artist. She gained national recognition in 2004 for her participation in the ''Idol'' reality television series, and international recogn ...

(the Norwegian representative at Eurovision in 2008), the

Melodi Grand Prix 2009 Norway participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 2009 with the song " Fairytale" written and performed by Alexander Rybak. NRK organised the national final ''Melodi Grand Prix 2009'' in order to select the Norwegian entry for the 2009 contest in ...

. In addition, he was also part of the team that followed

Alexander Rybak Alexander Igorevich Rybak (russian: Александр Игоревич Рыбак) or Alyaxandr Iharavich Rybak ( be, Аляксандр Ігаравіч Рыбак; born 13 May 1986) is a Belarusian-Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pian ...

to the

Eurovision 2009 The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 was the 54th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Moscow, Russia, following the country's victory at the with the song " Believe" by Dima Bilan. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

in Moscow, Russia. He will return to Melodi Grand Prix in 2010 as host as well, now joined by Marte Stokstad, and in 2011 as a host with Anne Rimmen.

Career

Sundnes has a

bachelor's degree A bachelor's degree (from Middle Latin ''baccalaureus'') or baccalaureate (from Modern Latin ''baccalaureatus'') is an undergraduate academic degree awarded by colleges and universities upon completion of a course of study lasting three to six ...

in film and tv at the

London Institute University of the Arts London is a collegiate university in London, England, specialising in arts, design, fashion and the performing arts. It is a federation of six arts colleges: Camberwell College of Arts, Central Saint Martins, Chelsea Coll ...

. Before he became a journalist in the Norwegian broadcasting Corporation

NRK NRK, an abbreviation of the Norwegian ''Norsk Rikskringkasting AS'', generally expressed in English as the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation, is the Norwegian government-owned radio and television public broadcasting company, and the largest ...

he worked as a teacher. Since 2002 he has been the music and trend commentator in the show ''Store Studio'' on NRK. In 2005 he authored the book ''Chic og bruk'', which he co-wrote with journalist Lillian Vatnøy.''Aftenposten'': «Det spøker i forlagene»

References

External links

(NRK)
Sundnes at ''Først & sist'' 2006
(NRK, November 17, 2006) {{DEFAULTSORT:Sundnes, Per 1966 births Living people Melodi Grand Prix Norwegian music journalists Norwegian television personalities Norwegian journalists Norwegian LGBT entertainers People from Bodø