Keiino

KEiiNO
KEiiNO at Cologne Pride 2019 (left to right: Alexandra, Tom Hugo, Fred)
KEiiNO at Cologne Pride 2019
(left to right: Alexandra, Tom Hugo, Fred)
Background information
OriginNorway
Genres
Years active2018–present
Members
Websitekeiino.com

KEiiNO (/ˈkeɪnoʊ/ KAY-noh, Norwegian: [kæɪˈnoː]; is a Norwegian band consisting of Sámi rapper Fred Buljo and singers Alexandra Rotan and Tom Hugo. The group was created in late 2018 in order to participate in Melodi Grand Prix 2019; they won the competition and were thus selected to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, where they finished in sixth place and first in the public vote.[1]

Background and career

The group was established in the late summer of 2018 when Tom Hugo and his husband, Alex Olsson, began writing "Spirit in the Sky", a song inspired by historical struggles for equality. They later joined Sámi rapper and joiker Fred-René Buljo and singer Alexandra Rotan. The group name Keiino was inspired by the name of Buljo's home town Kautokeino (Northern Sami: Guovdageaidnu). The last part -geaidnu translates to the 'way' or 'road', which Buljo said "represents the road that brought us together" in an interview with TV 2.[2] In an interview with the Kven-minority-centered media Ruijan Kaiku, Fred Buljo discussed his Kven/Finnish ancestry, and that they had worked with a Finnish producer, and thus landed on the name keino, the Kven variant of North Sami geaidnu 'way'.[3] Alexandra Rotan explained that they each had their own career before Keiino, but it was Keiino that showed them the way to success.[3]

As a result of winning Melodi Grand Prix 2019, the group represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 with the song "Spirit in the Sky". In the second semi-final held on 16 May 2019, they qualified to the final. At the finals, their entry received the highest points from the televoting with a total of 291 points, although combined with their lesser score from the jury groups they finished in sixth place, with 331 points. Following Eurovision, the group was appointed by the Sámi Parliament of Norway as ambassadors for the UN Year of Indigenous Languages.[4]

On 8 May 2020, the group released their debut studio album, Okta. The album peaked at number 30 on the Norwegian chart. Okta was re-issued twice, first as a Norway-only deluxe CD in October 2021, and later as Okta (Guokte) on 24 February 2022.

On 11 January 2021, it was announced that Keiino would participate in the Melodi Grand Prix 2021 final with the pre-qualified song "Monument". The song was released at midnight on 15 January 2021 with the group's debut performance of the song during the first heat of Melodi Grand Prix 2021 on 16 January 2021. The song reached the top four in the final on 20 February 2021, eventually reaching the gold duel, but lost to Tix's "Fallen Angel".[5]

Keiino embarked on an Australian tour in early 2022, which included performances at the Australian national final and the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.[6] During the tour, Rotan was admitted to hospital due to an infected koala scratch.[7]

They took part in Melodi Grand Prix 2024 with the song "Damdiggida".[8] Advancing from their semi-final, they ultimately finished in second place to Gåte's "Ulveham".[9]

Discography

Albums

List of studio albums, with selected details
Title Details Peak chart positions
NOR
[10] 		UK Down.
[11]
Okta 30 63

Extended plays

List of EPs, with selected details
Title EP details
Midnight Marina

Singles

As lead artist

Title Year Peak chart positions Certifications Album or EP
NOR
[13] 		AUT
[14] 		BEL
(FL)
Tip
[15] 		IRE
[16] 		NLD
[17] 		SWE
[18] 		SWI
[19] 		UK
[20]
"Spirit in the Sky" 2019 1 61 19 84 55 33 7 61 Okta
"Shallow" — — — — — —[A] — — Non-album single
"Praying" — — — — — — — — Okta
"Vill ha dig" — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"Dancing in the Smoke" — — — — — — — — Okta
"Colours" 2020 — — — — — — — —
"Black Leather"
(featuring Charlotte Qamaniq) 		— — — — — — — —
"Would I Lie"
(featuring Electric Fields) 		— — — — — — — —
"I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)" — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"Transarctic Lover"
(with Sordal) 		— — — — — — — — Okta (Deluxe)
"A Winter's Night" — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"Monument" 2021 7 — — — — — — —
  • IFPI NOR: Platinum[21]
 Okta (Deluxe)
"Unbreakable" — — — — — — — —
"Drivers License" — — — — — — — — Non-album single
"Summer of My Life" — — — — — — — — Okta (Deluxe)
"Mellom Bakkar og Berg"
(with Kautobahn) 		— — — — — — — — Non-album single
"Addjas" — — — — — — — — Okta (Deluxe)
"End of Time (Taste of Heaven)" — — — — — — — —
"Venus" — — — — — — — —
"A New Beginning" — — — — — — — —
"On a Night Like This" 2022 — — — — — — — — Non-album singles
"Mother of the Night" — — — — — — — —
"Nights of Thunder" — — — — — — — —
"Alt du kan se" 2023 — — — — — — — — Midnight Marina
"The Sun Always Shines on TV" — — — — — — — —
"Ritma" — — — — — — — —
"Get Up" — — — — — — — — Non-album singles
"Insomnia" — — — — — — — —
"Damdiggida" 2024 14 — — — — — — —
"Hero, Baby" — — — — — — — —
"Disco" — — — — — — — —
"Say It Like That"[23] — — — — — — — —
"Northern Boy"[24] — — — — — — — —
"—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory.
Title Year Album or EP
"A New Beginning"
(Peder Elias featuring Keiino) 		2022 Love & Loneliness

Awards and nominations

Award Year Category Nominee(s) Result Ref.
Spellemannprisen 2019 Song of the Year "Spirit in the Sky" Nominated
[25]
ESC Radio Awards Best Group Keiino Won
[26]
Sami Music Awards [no] 2020 Open Class Won
[27]
Producer of the Year Won

Notes

  1. ^ "Shallow" did not enter the Swedish Singellista Chart, but peaked at number 12 on the Swedish Heatseeker Chart.[22]

References

  1. ^ Ertesvåg, Oda Ruggesæter (2 March 2019). "Dette er årets MGP-artister". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
  2. ^ "Dette betyr joiken i Melodi Grand Prix-vinnerlåten". TV 2 (in Norwegian Bokmål). 2 March 2019. Archived from the original on 7 July 2019. Retrieved 5 March 2019.
  3. ^ a b Heidi Nilima Monsen (22 November 2019). "KEiiNo er faktisk litt kvensk". Ruijan Kaiku (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 28 January 2021. Retrieved 21 January 2021.
  4. ^ Tsinivits, Kyriakos (27 April 2020). "KEiiNO set to release their debut album 'OKTA' featuring two Australian based indigenous acts". Aussievision. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  5. ^ "Rotterdam 2021 Grand Final Scoreboard". Eurovision. Archived from the original on 23 May 2021. Retrieved 25 May 2021.
  6. ^ "Update: 'Eurovision – Australia Decides' lineup nearly complete 🇦🇺". 23 January 2022. Archived from the original on 9 March 2022. Retrieved 9 March 2022.
  7. ^ "KEiiNO-Alexandra: Rispet opp av koala - sendt til sykehus". vg.no (in Norwegian). 7 March 2022. Retrieved 26 April 2022.
  8. ^ "Norway's Melodi Grand Prix 2024: The 18 artists and songs". Eurovision.tv. EBU. 5 January 2024. Archived from the original on 5 January 2024. Retrieved 5 January 2024.
  9. ^ Hyttebakk, Jon Marius; Svelstad, Oda Elise; Vedeler, Linda Marie (3 February 2024). "Gåte er vinneren av Melodi Grand Prix 2024" [Gåte are the winners of Melodi Grand Prix 2024]. nrk.no (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK. Archived from the original on 4 February 2024. Retrieved 4 February 2024.
  10. ^ "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 21, 2020". VG-lista. Archived from the original on 3 June 2020. Retrieved 22 May 2020.
  11. ^ "Official Album Downloads Chart Top 100 | Official Charts Company". www.officialcharts.com. Archived from the original on 10 December 2021. Retrieved 29 May 2020.
  12. ^ "OKTA EP". Apple Music. Archived from the original on 11 December 2021. Retrieved 3 April 2020.
  13. ^ "Discography KEiiNO". Norwegian Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 1 July 2023. Retrieved 11 March 2019.
  14. ^ "Discographie KEiiNO". austriancharts.at. Archived from the original on 10 June 2023. Retrieved 31 May 2019.
  15. ^ "Discografie KEiiNO". Ultratop. Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  16. ^ "Discography KEiiNO". irish-charts.com. Archived from the original on 22 April 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  17. ^ "Discografie KEiiNO". dutchcharts.nl. Archived from the original on 27 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  18. ^ "Discography KEiiNO". swedishcharts.com. Archived from the original on 22 May 2023. Retrieved 24 May 2019.
  19. ^ "Discographie KEiiNO". hitparade.ch. Archived from the original on 23 April 2023. Retrieved 27 May 2019.
  20. ^ "Keiino | full Official Chart history". Official Charts Company. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 25 May 2019.
  21. ^ a b c d "Norwegian certifications – Keiino" (in Norwegian). IFPI Norway. Retrieved 7 January 2023.
  22. ^ "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 26". Sverigetopplistan. Archived from the original on 18 April 2023. Retrieved 28 June 2019.
  23. ^ "Song KeiiNo "Say It Like That"". Scandipop. 1 October 2024. Retrieved 4 October 2024.
  24. ^ "Song KeiiNo "Northern Boy"". Scandipop. 13 December 2024. Retrieved 6 January 2025.
  25. ^ Hætta, Wenche Marie; Myrskog, Lena Marja; Holmestrand, Anne Biret (28 March 2020). "Keiino livččii odne sáhttán vuoitit Spellemannbálkkašumi" (in Northern Sami). NRK. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  26. ^ "KEiiNO interview on receiving ESC Radio Award 'Best Group 2019'". ESC Radio. 1 August 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2024.
  27. ^ Norvang, Kolbjørn (2 February 2020). "Keiino tok storeslem under Sami Music Awards" (in Norwegian Bokmål). NRK. Retrieved 2 October 2024.

Media related to Keiino at Wikimedia Commons

Preceded by Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest
2019 		Succeeded by