Quick Facts
Biography
Jarle Bernhoft (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈjɑɭə ˈbæɳhʊft]; born on 21 June 1976), known professionally as Bernhoft (often stylized as Bern/hoft), is a Norwegian singer, multi-instrumentalist, composer and lyricist. Bernhoft is from Nittedal in Norway. He lived in New York City from 2014 until the summer of 2015 but has since moved back to Oslo. His best known songs are "Streetlights", "Shout" (a Tears for Fears cover), "Choices", "C'mon Talk" and "Stay With Me". He has also been in a number of bands, notably Explicit Lyrics and Span.
In June 2014 he appeared for the first time at the Glastonbury Festival and was featured by BBC One in a special performance of his song "Wind You Up."
In December 2014, it was announced that his album Islander was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best R&B Album for the 2015 Grammy Awards ceremony, held on 8 February 2015. His nomination is remarkable, as he was the first non-American artist to have been nominated in the 20 year-history of this US-dominated category. In a response to his nomination, Bernhoft stated that "Grammy has spoken. I make R&B music."
With bands
- in Explicit Lyrics
Hailing from Nittedal, Bernhoft attended Rud Upper Secondary School in Bærum where he joined the musical scene. Jarle Bernhoft, alongside Fridtjof "Joff" Nilsen, were members of Explicit Lyrics. Within a span of three years, the band released three albums, Fleshpulse (1996), Flow (1997) and Lipshave (1998).
- Span
After the breakup of Explicit Lyrics, Bernhoft, a vocalist and songwriter, and guitarist Nilsen joined drummer Fredrik Wallumrød and bassist Vemund Stavnes to form the band Span. After two EPs, Baby's Come Back (2002) and Found (2003), SPAN had two successful albums, Mass Distraction (2004) and Vs. Time (2005). The band broke up in 2005.
- Other collaborations
Bernhoft has contributed on a number of recordings and concerts with mostly Norwegian artists, such as Hanne Hukkelberg, Dadafon, Bigbang and The Køhn/Johansen Sextet.
He also played in the band Green Granadas using the stage name Rod Hot.
Solo
He released his first solo album Ceramik City Chronicles on 1 September 2008. In January 2010 Bernhoft released a double live album called 1:Man 2:Band, where one half is a recording from his solo show at a jazz café in Oslo (Kampen Bistro), and the other half is a recording from his concerts in Rockefeller and Molde Jazz Festival with a full band.
His second solo album, Solidarity Breaks, was released the next year in January 2011. It topped the VG-lista,. the Norwegian Albums Chart for a total of seven weeks (in July, August and September 2011). The album was credited to Bern/hoft rather than his full name Jarle Bernhoft. He was also credited as Bern/hoft in his 2014 follow-up album Islanders that also topped the VG-lista chart in May 2014.
In popular culture
In September 2011, Bernhoft appeared on The Ellen DeGeneres Show after producers of the show found his video on YouTube. While on the show he played his song "C'mon Talk".
In July 2013, and again in June 2014, he was featured as a musical guest on "Conan" on TBS.
Discography
Albums
- With Explicit Lyrics
- 1996: Fleshpulse
- 1997: Flow
- 1998: Lipshave
- With Span
- 2004: Mass Distraction
- 2005: Vs. Time
- With Børre Dalhaug's «Bigbandblast»
- 2004: Bigbandblast! (Real Records)
- Solo (studio)
| Year | Album | Credited to | Peak positions | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR | DEN | FR | |||
| 2008 | Ceramik City Chronicles | Jarle Bernhoft | 4 | – | – |
| 2011 | Solidarity Breaks | Bern/Hoft | 1 | 29 | 64 |
| 2014 | Islander | Bern/Hoft | 1 | 23 | 208 |
| 2016 | Stop/Shutup/Shout It Out | Bern/Hoft | 25 | ||
- Solo (Live)
| Year | Album | Credited to | Peak positions |
|---|---|---|---|
| NOR | |||
| 2010 | 1:Man 2:Band (live double album) | Jarle Bernhoft | – |
| 2011 | Walk With Me (Live at Chateau Neuf) | Bern/Hoft | 1 |
Singles
- With Span
- 2001: "Missing in Stereo"
- 2002: "Oh My Way Down"
- 2003: "Papa"
- 2004: "Don't Think the Way They Do"
- 2005: "Cut Like Diamonds"
- Solo
- 2008: "Streetlights"
- 2008: "Sunday"
- 2009: "Fly Away"
- 2011: "C'mon Talk"
- 2011: "Choices"
- 2012: "Stay with Me"
- 2012: "Shout" (France: #187)
- 2014: "Come Around" (France: #181)
- 2016: "We Have a Dream"
- Gorseth, Olav (2004-09-22). "Dødelig presist - Storbandplate produsert lag på lag" (in Norwegian). Bergens Tidende. Retrieved 2012-12-06.
- "Jarle Bernhoft / Bern/Hoftdiscography". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- "Jarle Bernhoft / Bern/Hoftdiscography". danishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- "Jarle Bernhoft / Bern/Hoftdiscography". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2014.
- "Jarle Bernhoft discography". norwegiancharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 2 May 2014.