Nils Bech (born April 8, 1981, in
Hønefoss
__NOTOC__
Hønefoss is a List of cities in Norway, town and the administrative center of the municipalities of Norway, municipality of Ringerike (municipality), Ringerike in Buskerud county, Norway. Hønefoss is an industrial center of inner Østl ...
) is a Norwegian singer, signed to
James Murphy's
DFA Records
DFA Records is an American independent record label founded in 2001 by Mo' Wax co-founder Tim Goldsworthy, musician James Murphy, and manager Jonathan Galkin. They previously had a production team called The DFA, consisting of Goldsworthy and ...
. Bech became famous for performing a classic Christmas anthem
O Holy Night
"O Holy Night" (original title: ) is a well-known sacred song for Christmas performance. Originally based on a French-language poem by poet Placide Cappeau, written in 1843, with the first line (Midnight, Christian, is the solemn hour) that c ...
for the Norwegian TV series
Skam. His version of O Holy Night received more than 1 million of streams on Spotify on the day it was published, placing him in the top of the global charts.
Early life
Bech was raised in a small Norwegian village outside Oslo and began performing at a very young age when he was singing at the Salvation Army for his grandmother and her friends.
At age 10, he began singing classical music and continued to do so until early 20s thinking he might do a career as an Opera singer but later moved to
electropop
Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a r ...
.
Career
In 2017 Bech presented a show telling the story of his life, it was shown in
Norway Opera and Ballet. He has also appeared in several theater plays including
Oslo's National Theater's version of Shakespeare's Richard III where he played a singing Lord Richmond. A scene between Lady Anne and Richard was recorded for Bech's music video "Please stay".
He is a frequent guest at events hosted by
Norwegian royal family. On April 7, 2017, Bech together with Norwegian ballet dancer
Silas Henriksen performed "A Sudden Sickness" at the celebration of 80th birthday of
Queen Sonja
Sonja (born Sonja Haraldsen on 4 July 1937) is Queen of Norway since 17 January 1991 as the wife of King Harald V.
Sonja and the then Crown Prince Harald had dated for nine years prior to their marriage in 1968. They had kept their relations ...
, and on August 29, 2018, again with Silas Henriksen he was seen in the
Oslo Cathedral
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, image = Oslo Cathedral.jpg
, imagesize = 230px
, imagelink =
, imagealt =
, landscape =
, caption = Oslo Cathedral from St ...
at the ceremony of the 50th anniversary of
King and Queen of Norway wedding performing his song "Thank You". The song tells a story of his grandmother meeting his boyfriend, Bech told on Instagram.
In the past, Nils Bech has performed in the New Museum in New York
and at the Venice Biennale
Personal life
Bech is openly gay.
Discography
Albums
* 2010: ''Look Back''
* 2012: ''Look Inside''
* 2014: ''One Year''
* 2016: ''Echo''
* 2020: ''Foolish Heart''
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bech, Nils
1981 births
Living people
20th-century Norwegian male singers
Norwegian LGBT musicians
People from Ringerike (municipality)