The road to success and to Eurovision hasn’t been an easy one for Margaret Berger. 27 year old Margaret was born in Trondheim on the 11th of October, 1985. She grew up on the remote island of Hitra, just off the Trøndelag coastline, living there for twelve years, before moving back to the mainland. Already in her formative childhood years, she showed considerable interest for music, singing with a gospel choir and writing and composing her own songs as a twelve year old.
Her major breakthrough into the music industry came with her participation in the talent show, Idol, coming second back in 2004. She wasted no time in going into the recording studio, resulting in the critically acclaimed album Chameleon, the same year, reaching number four on the album charts. Chameleon spawned the hit single Lifetime Guarantee, which gave Margaret her first Norwegian Grammy award for best music video of the year. She was also nominated for best newcomer of the year.
After her debut release, Margaret began her transformation into a fully fledged artist, moving more and more toward the electronica genre. Two years later, the difficult second album emerged, Pretty Scary Silver Fairy, which didn’t fare as well as its predecessor, only making number eight on the charts. Although underperforming commercially, her second album proved to be equally as successfull with the critics. The single Samantha lifted from the album in the summer/autumn of 2006 performed slightly better, making number six.
Always one to stake out her own path, Margaret remained true to her vision, and began to make a name for herself as a DJ and as a figure that enjoyed considerable respect on the Norwegian electronica scene. After a fairly long absence from the commercial music scene, which saw the talented artist work for NRK amongst other things, she released the single In A Box in 2011. Again, her work proved to be a hit with the critics, yet failed to convince the masses. Two years would pass before Ms. Berger would return to the limelight, upon entering the Norwegian selections Melodi Grand Prix 2013 with her entry, I Feed You My Love, proving to be her biggest hit to date and reviving her career. She is currently working in the studio on her third album, Chastisement, scheduled for a release in early June. She has worked alongside numerous producers including Lo-Fi-Frik and says she has been influenced by fellow Nordic contemporary artists such as Björk and The Knife.
