Tom Hugo Hermansen (born 29 October 1979 in

Kristiansand Kristiansand is a city and Municipalities of Norway, municipality in Agder county, Norway. The city is the fifth-largest and the municipality is the sixth-largest in Norway, with a population of around 116,000 as of January 2020, following th ...

), better known as simply Tom Hugo, is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and musician. He is currently living in

Oslo Oslo ( or ; ) is the capital and most populous city of Norway. It constitutes both a county and a municipality. The municipality of Oslo had a population of in 2022, while the city's greater urban area had a population of 1,064,235 in 2022 ...

Career

Recording artist

In 2007, Hugo moved to

Hamburg Hamburg (, ; ), officially the Free and Hanseatic City of Hamburg,. is the List of cities in Germany by population, second-largest city in Germany after Berlin and List of cities in the European Union by population within city limits, 7th-lar ...

and started working with Káme Entertainment and All Access Entertainment. In 2009, ''I apologise EP'' was released on the indie-label BrilJant/Indigo. He released his debut-album ''Sundry Tales'' in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

June 2012. The single "Open Up Your Eyes" released in summer 2011 peaked at #100 on German radio-charts. ''Sundry Tales'' was also released in Norway on HW Records/Musikkoperatørene, and peaked at 23rd place on the Norwegian charts. The single "Open Up Your Eyes" peaked at #20 on the Norwegian radio-charts, and follow-up single "Million Doors" was A-listed 12 weeks at Norway's largest radio-station (

NRK P1 NRK P1 is a nationwide digital radio channel operated by the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation (NRK). It is the result of the NRK radio channel reform initiated in 1993 by radio director Tor Fuglevik. NRK P1 is the direct descendant of NRK's fir ...

). Hugo has played many live-shows in both his home-countries, including a support-tour for

The Overtones The Overtones are a UK-based vocal harmony group. They were discovered by a Warner Bros. Records talent scout while working as decorators in a shop near Oxford Street, singing during their tea break. Their first album, '' Good Ol' Fashioned Love ...

and festivals like Palmesus 2012, Welt Astra Tag, Reeperbahn-festival and Quart 09. He has also played live on the TV shows ''ZDF MorgenMagazin'' and ''God Morgen Norge'' (TV2-Norway), and was in the prime-time TV show ''Beat for Beat'' in Norway on 23 September 2012.

Melodi Grand Prix

In 2013, he participated for the first time in the

Melodi Grand Prix Melodi Grand Prix (), commonly known as Grand Prix and MGP, sometimes as Norsk Melodi Grand Prix, is an annual music competition organised by Norwegian public broadcaster (NRK). It determines for the Eurovision Song Contest, and has been sta ...

with the song "Det er du" (It is You). However, he did not qualify for the Final. In 2018, he participated for the second time with the song "I Like I Like I Like". However, he did not qualify for the Gold Final. In 2019, he participated for the third time as part of the supergroup Keiino, who won and later represented Norway at

Eurovision Song Contest 2019 The Eurovision Song Contest 2019 was the 64th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Tel Aviv, Israel, following the country's victory at the with the song "Toy" by Netta. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union ...

with the song "

Spirit in the Sky "Spirit in the Sky" is a song by American singer-songwriter Norman Greenbaum, originally written and recorded by Greenbaum and released in December 1969 from his album '' Spirit in the Sky''. The single became a gold record in the United S ...

". He and Keiino would return again for

Melodi Grand Prix 2021 ''Melodi Grand Prix 2021'' was the 59th edition of the Norwegian music competition Melodi Grand Prix (MGP). The contest served as the country's preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2021. The competition was organized by NRK and was hel ...

with the song "

Monument A monument is a type of structure that was explicitly created to commemorate a person or event, or which has become relevant to a social group as a part of their remembrance of historic times or cultural heritage, due to its artistic, historical ...

", placing second behind Tix and his song ''

Fallen Angel Fallen angels are angels who were expelled from Heaven. The literal term "fallen angel" does not appear in any Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic religious texts, but is used to describe angels cast out of heaven. Such angels are often described ...

''. Keiino took part in

Melodi Grand Prix 2024 ''2024'' was the 62nd edition of (MGP), the annual Norwegian music competition that serves as the country's preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest. It was organised by Norway's public broadcaster NRK, and consisted of three semi-finals ...

with the song "Damdiggida," placing second behind

Gåte (; ) is a band from Trøndelag, Norway playing Norwegian folk music bred with metal and electronica. Their style has been referred to as progressive folk-rock. The band was put together by Sveinung Sundli (violin, keyboards) in 2000 and ori ...

and their song "

Ulveham "" (; ) is a song by Norwegian folk rock and metal band Gåte. It was originally released 12 December 2023 on the EP ''Vandrar'' as a track. It was later shortened and re-published as a single upon its selection to participate in Melodi Grand P ...

". He was announced as Norway's spokesperson for the 2025 Eurovision on 14 May.

Radiojam

As well as being an artist and songwriter, Hugo is one of the vocalists in the Norwegian band Radiojam.

Songwriting

Tom Hugo has co-written songs for artists in

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

and

Asia Asia ( , ) is the largest continent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which ...

. In

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, Korean supergroup

TVXQ TVXQ (stylized as TVXQ!; , ), known as Tohoshinki in Japan, is a South Korean pop duo formed by SM Entertainment, composed of U-Know Yunho and Max Changmin. Originally a five-member boy band which also consisted of members Kim Jae-joong, Hero ...

released "Very Merry Xmas" on 27 November 2013, a song co-written by Tom and Chris Busek. In summer 2013, Hugo co-wrote the B-side "Sunny Day Hero" taken from

SHINee Shinee ( ; ; ; stylized as SHINee) is a South Korean boy band formed by SM Entertainment in 2008. The group consists of four members: Onew, Key (entertainer), Key, Choi Min-ho, Minho, and Taemin. Originally a five-piece band, Jonghyun died on ...

's gold-selling maxi-single "

Boys Meet U ''Boys Meet U'' is the second Japanese studio album by the South Korean boy band SHINee, released on June 26, 2013, in Japan by EMI Records Japan. Background A Japanese version of "Sherlock (Clue + Note)" was released in Japan on May 16, 2012, ...

". He has written 3 tracks together with Y'akoto for her album ''Baby Blues'', released by

Warner Bros Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American film studio, filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios Burbank, Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and th ...

. Germany in 2012. The co-written single "Without You" did fairly well on radio. The album peaked at #20 in Germany, and was nominated for an Echo award in 2013. Together with Finnish songwriter Erik Nyholm, he wrote the single "Hard to Love You" performed by ebastian Wurthwhich was released in 2011. The single peaked at #18 on the German charts. In 2010, Meg Pfeiffer recorded "Love is Easy" co-written by Tom Hugo,

Tebey Tebey Solomon Ottoh (born October 14, 1983), known Mononymous person, mononymously as Tebey, is a Canadian-American country music singer and multi-genre songwriter. His debut single, "We Shook Hands (Man to Man)", hit 47 on the ''Billboard (mag ...

and Sebastian Kirchner for her album ''Bullrider'' (#63 on German charts). Hugo was until recently signed by Universal Music Publishing in Germany.

Personal life

Hugo is openly

gay ''Gay'' is a term that primarily refers to a homosexual person or the trait of being homosexual. The term originally meant 'carefree', 'cheerful', or 'bright and showy'. While scant usage referring to male homosexuality dates to the late ...

. He married his partner, Alexander Nyborg Olsson, on 4 December 2018. The pair wrote "Spirit In The Sky" together, alongside Keiino's other members.

Discography

Studio albums

Extended plays

Singles

As lead artist

Other appearances

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hugo, Tom Living people 1979 births Norwegian songwriters Musicians from Kristiansand Norwegian expatriates in Germany 21st-century Norwegian male singers Gay singers Gay songwriters Norwegian gay musicians Norwegian LGBTQ singers Norwegian LGBTQ songwriters 20th-century Norwegian LGBTQ people 21st-century Norwegian LGBTQ people 21st-century Norwegian singers