Monica Heldal (born 24 January 1991 in Bergen, Norway) is a Norwegian musician (vocals, guitar) and songwriter. Her debut studio album, Boy From the North, was released on 4 November 2013. For the album she received two awards during Spellemannprisen in 2013: Rookie of the Year and Best Pop Solo Artist. She also won the Bendiksenprisen in 2013 and was nominated for the Statoil Scholarship that same year. ^[1]

Early life and career

Monica Heldal was born in Arna, Norway, on 24 January ^[2] 1991. At 16, she began to play and compose music, writing the song "Silly Willy", which was later included in her studio debut. ^[3]

Style and influences

Heldal's musical style draws from many different musical genres, primarily folk and blues. The latter is inspired by her main influence, Rory Gallagher. ^[3] She is well known for her use of fingerpicking technique and various complex guitar tunings, much like one of her other sources of inspiration, Nick Drake. ^[3]

Collaborations

In 2012 Monica Heldal was featured in the song Burgh Island of The Burgh Island EP by the English singer-songwriter Ben Howard, where she is both playing guitar and singing.

Awards

• Rookie of the Year (2013), Spellemannprisen
• Best Pop Solo Artist (2013), Spellemannprisen
• Bendiksenprisen (2013)

Discography

• Boy From the North (2013)
• The One in the Sun (2016)
• Ravensdale (2021)

References

External links

• Official Site