Quick Facts
Biography
Aurora Aksnes (born 15 June 1996), known mononymously as AURORA, is a Norwegian singer-songwriter. Her debut EP Running with the Wolves was released through Decca Records in May 2015, receiving widespread approval from online music blogs and national press. Later the same year she provided the backing track for the John Lewis Christmas advert, singing a cover of the Oasis song "Half the World Away". This cover appears as a bonus track on the deluxe version of her debut studio album, All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend, which was released worldwide on 11 March 2016.
Early life
Aurora Aksnes was born on 15 June 1996 in Stavanger, Norway to May Britt and Jan Øystein Aksnes. She has two older sisters, Miranda, a make-up artist, and Viktoria, a fashion designer. She grew up in Os, a municipality in Hordaland close to Bergen. She began creating melodies at the age of 6, and began writing lyrics at the age of 9.
Career
2012–16: All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend
Aurora's first track "Puppet" was released in December 2012, followed by her second, "Awakening" in May 2013. Her first single signed to her labels Glassnote Records and Decca Records, "Under Stars" was released in November 2014, and "Runaway" followed in February 2015. "Runaway" achieved success in the UK on streaming service Spotify, reaching 1 million streams after just 6 weeks. The track was also received positively by various online music blogs and national press such as the NME. Her second single, "Running with the Wolves" was released in April 2015 and received attention from national BBC stations Radio One, Radio Two and 6Music. The excitement surrounding the young songstress propelled her onto the festival circuit and she appeared at renowned summer festivals such as Way Out West, Wilderness and Green Man Festival. Aurora's third single, "Murder Song (5, 4, 3, 2, 1)" was released in September 2015 and has received continued support in national press, on national radio and popular online music blogs. She has been included on the soundtrack of FIFA 16, played a sold out headline show in London and supported Of Monsters and Men at Brixton Academy in November 2015. Aurora recorded a cover of the Oasis track "Half the World Away" for the 2015 John Lewis Christmas advert. Her next single, which came after "Half The World Away", was released in January 2016, titled "Conqueror" and a music video was uploaded the following month. Her debut album All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend was eventually released on 11 March 2016, receiving generally positive reviews from critics. After releasing it, she went on to embark on her European tour, making a number of visits to the UK in between. She featured in British band Icarus' song "Home" and released a cover of David Bowie's Life on Mars.
On 14 March 2016, Aurora made her American television debut on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, performing "Conqueror". Aurora soon after performed the track on Conan. On 25 July 2016 she performed her cover of "Life on Mars" on The Howard Stern Show. The following night on 26 July, she performed "I Went Too Far" on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. In January 2017, "I Went Too Far" was featured in the season 6 trailer for Girls.
2016–present: Second album
On the day of releasing her debut All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend, she said that it was "the first album of many" that she has planned. As of 12 May 2016, after coming back from her European tour, Aurora announced that she was ready to begin writing and producing more material, which will eventually form her second studio album. She has said in a facebook event that she has 15 demo songs and has written 1,000 songs/poems. Since the announcement, Aurora has released "I Went Too Far" as a single, and a music video for the track was released on July 4, 2016. On December 24th, 2016, it was revealed that she would be contributing to the upcoming si-fi thriller, Alien: Covenant.
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR | AUS | GER | IRL | UK | US | ||
| All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend |
| 1 | 51 | 24 | 66 | 28 | 150 |
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Running with the Wolves |
|
Singles
As lead artist
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GER | IRE | UK | US Alt | |||||||||||||||
| 2013 | "Awakening" | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||||||||||||
| 2014 | "Under Stars" | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||||||||||||
| 2015 | "Runaway" | — | — | — | — | Running with the Wolves - EP | ||||||||||||
| "Running with the Wolves" | 72 | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| "Murder Song (5, 4, 3, 2, 1)" | — | — | — | — | All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend | |||||||||||||
| "Half the World Away" | — | 22 | 11 | — | ||||||||||||||
| 2016 | "Conqueror" | — | — | — | 32 | |||||||||||||
| "I Went Too Far" | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| "Winter Bird" | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. | ||||||||||||||||||
As featured artist
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | "Home" (Icarus featuring Aurora) | N/A |
Other appearances
| Year | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|
| 2016 | "Life on Mars" | Girls, Vol. 3 (Music from the HBO Original Series) |
Filmography
Short films
| Year | Title | Production |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 | Into The Light | Kasafilms |
| 2016 | Nothing Is Eternal | The Fader |
Awards and nominations
| Year | Organization | Award | Work | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | European Border Breakers Awards | Album Of The Year: Norway 2016 | Running with the Wolves | Won |
| 2016 | Spellemannprisen | Årets Nykommer & Gramostipend (Newcomer of the Year & Gramo Scholarship) | Won | |
| MTV Europe Music Awards | Best Norwegian Act | Herself | Nominated | |
| 2017 | Spellemannprisen | Popsolist (Pop Solo Artist) | All My Demons Greeting me as a Friend | Pending |
| Årets Musikkvideo (Music Video of the Year) | I Went too Far | Pending |
- 2014.4.8: A scholarship of 50,000 Kroner from the Festivalen by:Larm's Forbildepriser ("Exemplar Prize")