Aurora

Aurora Aksnes (Norwegian pronunciation: [æʉ̯ˈɾùːɾɑ ˈɑ̂ksˌneːs]; born 15 June 1996), known simply as Aurora (stylized in all capital letters), is a Norwegian singer, songwriter and record producer. She is considered one of Norway's biggest artists. Born in Stavanger and raised in the towns of Høle and Os, she began writing her first songs and learning dance at the age of six. After some of her songs were uploaded online and became popular in Norway, she signed a recording contract with Petroleum Records, Decca and Glassnote Records in 2014. Aurora gained recognition with her debut extended play (EP), Running with the Wolves (2015), which contained the sleeper hit "Runaway". Later that year, she provided the backing track for the John Lewis Christmas advert, singing a cover of the Oasis song "Half the World Away".

She was one of the biggest breakouts acts in Norwegian pop music in the 2010s, topping the VG-lista Topp 40 Album for 2 consecutive weeks with her debut studio album All My Demons Greeting Me as a Friend (2016), which received generally positive reviews, charting in various European countries and earning platinum certification two times in Norway. Her second studio album Infections of a Different Kind (Step 1) (2018) was the first part of a two-part album, while the second part was her third studio album, A Different Kind of Human (Step 2) (2019). Her fourth studio album The Gods We Can Touch was released on 21 January 2022. Aurora released her fifth studio album, What Happened to the Heart?, on 7 June 2024.

Her music is primarily electropop, folk, and art pop with vocals referred to as "ethereal". She only played piano at the beginning of her career, but later involved herself in percussion and other aspects of music production. In addition to her solo work, Aurora has collaborated with and co-written songs for other artists, including Askjell, Sub Urban, Sondre Lerche, Tom Odell and the Chemical Brothers. In 2022 Aurora worked alongside film composer Hans Zimmer, providing vocal work for the Frozen Planet II soundtrack. Together they performed "Take Me Back Home" at the Royal Albert Hall as part of BBC's Earth Proms.