Gabrielle Leithaug
Norwegian pop musician
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Gabrielle Leithaug (Bergen, 10 January 1985), better known by her mononym artist name Gabrielle, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. She is best known internationally for her breakout single "5 Fine Frøkner", which appears in the Norwegian TV series Skam.
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- Singer
- songwriter
Gabrielle Leithaug | |
|---|---|
| |
| Background information | |
| Also known as | Gabrielle |
| Born | Gabrielle Leithaug 10 January 1985 |
| Genres | |
| Occupations |
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| Years active | 2011–present |
| Label | Universal Music |
| Website | www |
Early life
Gabrielle was born in Bergen and resided in Hordvik, a neighbourhood in the city's Åsane borough, where she lived for 8 or 9 years.[1] Her family then lived in the city of Bergen for a year, before moving to Bønes in Bergen's Fyllingsdalen borough.[1] She attended upper secondary school in Fyllingsdalen, for one year, and later attended "Katten".[1]
She worked flipping burgers for around 3 years, and as a cleaner in schools.[1] She also worked as a radio host for a year and a half.[1] She once moved to Stavanger and intended to start an education within reiselivsutdanning, a tourism program.[2] She later studied music at Nord-Trøndelag University College.[2]
She was a member of a gospel choir—Gospel Bergen.[3]
Career
In 2009, Gabrielle competed on the first season of The X Factor Norway and finished in 7th place. After she switched her focus from English lyrics to Norwegian, she signed a contract with Norway's largest record company, Universal Music.[4][5]
2011–2018: Mildt Sagt, Nattergal and Vekk Meg Opp
In 2011, she released her first single, "Ring meg", which reached number one on the Norwegian VG-lista and on iTunes, sold eight times platinum in Norway, and was nominated for the 2012 Spellemannprisen in the category of Hit of the Year. On 2 March 2012, her debut album Mildt Sagt was released on CD, vinyl and digitally. She received the 2014 Edvardprisen in the category of Popular Music for the album Nattergal and was nominated for the Bendiksenprisen for 2014.
The song "5 Fine Frøkner" was nominated for Hit of the Year at the 2015 Spellemannprisen and Song of the Year at the 2014 P3 Gull. The song also gained renewed popularity (especially outside Norway, despite the lyrics being in Norwegian) in January 2017 after being used in an episode of Skam. She was nominated for the 2017 P3 Gull in the category Live Artist of the Year and for the 2018 Spellemannprisen in the category Pop Soloist for the EP Vekk Meg Opp.
2019–2020: Snart, Gabby
She released the album Snart, Gabby in 2019 and received three nominations for it ahead of the 2020 Spellemannprisen. She was also awarded the P3 Prize during the 2020 P3 Gull, which recognize artists who had influenced Norwegian music over the years.
2021–2023: Klipp Meg I Ti og Lim Meg Sammen
On 22 October 2021, Gabrielle released her fourth studio album, Klipp Meg I Ti og Lim Meg Sammen. For the album, she received the 2022 Spellemannprisen in the Pop category and was nominated for Release of the Year and Songwriter of the Year.
2024–present: Og Eg Lyger Så Det Renner Som en Foss Gjennom Rommet
Between March and April 2024, Gabrielle released two singles from her upcoming studio album: "Operahuset" and "Synd Synd Synd".[6][7] Her fifth studio album, Og Eg Lyger Så Det Renner Som en Foss Gjennom Rommet, was released on 31 May 2024 with Syver Storskogen as producer and Ole Torjus Hofvind as co-producer.[8] For the album, she received the Spellemann Award in the category Release of the Year,[9] and was also nominated for Songwriter of the Year, Pop and the TONO's Composer Award at the 2025 Spellemannprisen.[10] In August 2024, she headlined the Øyafestivalen; her set received critical acclaim.[11][12]
In 2025, Gabrielle became a coach on the tenth season of the talent competition show The Voice – Norges beste stemme.
Philanthropy
She is a Goodwill Ambassador for Kirkens Nødhjelp, and in that capacity she visited Syrian refugees in Lebanon in 2014.[13]
Personal life
She has previously stated that she is a natural red head and is heterosexual.[1]
She has said that when she was around 19, she loved someone, and the relationship ended, adding "that is possibly the one [breakup] that cut the deepest".[14] She has said that she once moved to Stavanger because she had an intimate relationship with someone who lived there.[2] She has said that she had been in a relationship with a guy for several years, before it ended.[15]
Her tattoos include a verse from the Bible.[16] She is a snowboarder, and spent a winter in Salt Lake City.[2] Leithaug has three sisters and one brother.[2]
She is a Christian[3] and regards faith as "rather personal".[16] In 2006 she said that "being a Christian and being an artist, are two different things for me. But I must sing about something I believe in; I like lyrics that go to some depth. A message about tits and ass and stuff like that, does not cut it for me".[3]
In 2012 she said that she "will not take on a role as a spokeswoman for the Christian artists".[16]
Discography
Albums
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR [18] |
DEN | SWE | ||||
| 2011 | "Ring Meg" | 1 | — | — | NOR: 10× Platinum | Mildt Sagt |
| "Bordet" | 7 | — | — | NOR: 2× Platinum | ||
| 2012 | "Inn I Deg" | — | — | — | ||
| "Høster" | — | — | — | |||
| "Mildt Sagt" | — | — | — | |||
| "Løkken" | — | — | — | |||
| 2013 | "Regn Fra Blå Himmel" | — | — | — | Nattergal - Kap 1 | |
| "#Sitterher" | — | — | — | |||
| 2014 | "5 Fine Frøkner" | 7 | 37 [19] | 4 [20] |
NOR: 3× Platinum
SWE: Platinum |
non-album singles |
| "Ti kniver" (featuring Thomas Eriksen) | — | — | — | |||
| 2015 | "Mer" | — | — | — | ||
| "Mellom Skyene" | — | — | — | |||
| "De Beste" | — | — | — | |||
| 2017 | "Vekk Meg Opp" | — | — | — | ||
| "Venter" | — | — | — | |||
| "September" | — | — | — | |||
| "Kyrie" | — | — | — | |||
| "Du Går Fri" | — | — | — | |||
| "Nye Joggesko" | — | — | — | |||
Awards and nominations
| Award | Year | Recipient(s) | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| MTV Europe Music Awards | 2017 | Gabrielle | Best Norwegian Act | Nominated | [21] |
| Spellemannprisen | 2012 | "Ring Meg" | Hit of the Year | Nominated | [22] |
| 2013 | Mildt Sagt | Newcomer of the Year & Gramo Scholarship | Nominated | [23] | |
| 2015 | "5 Fine Frøkner" | Hit of the Year | Nominated | [24] | |
| 2018 | Vekk Meg Opp | Pop Soloist | Nominated | [25] | |
| 2020 | Snart, Gabby | Album of the Year[note 1] | Nominated | [26] | |
| Songwriter of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Pop Artist | Nominated | ||||
| 2022 | Klipp Meg I Ti og Lim Meg Sammen | Release of the Year[note 2] | Nominated | [27] | |
| Songwriter of the Year | Nominated | ||||
| Pop | Won | [28] | |||
| 2025 | Gabrielle | TONO's Composer Award | Nominated | [10] | |
| Og Eg Lyger Så Det Renner Som en Foss Gjennom Rommet | Release of the Year[note 2] | Won | [9] | ||
| Songwriter of the Year (with Syver Storskogen) | Nominated | [10] | |||
| Pop | Nominated |
- This category is presented as Release of the Year since the 2022 Spellemannprisen.
- This category was presented as Album of the Year until the 2020 Spellemannprisen.