Though Tini was oneof thefirst of his
team tobeeliminated, Furuholmenwas
struckby her presence. “A lot of young
singers today try and showoff their skill
asmuch as possible, whereas Tini was
very centred and very careful about how
she approached the songs,” he says.
“Shedoes this restrained, very pure,
non-showy thing – it’s quiteunique.”
You can findher duet from the
showof Prince’s
NothingCompares 2
U
withMonika Blomeidon YouTube.
“Her performanceblewme away,”
Furuholmen says. “Theminute she
finished, [producer] Martin Terefe and
I ranbackstage and said, ‘Wewant to
make an albumwith you, this is not
the end!’ A couple ofmonths later I
rang and said, ‘Wemeant it, you should
really come andmake an albumwithus
in England.’”
Tini hadbeendestined to take over
the family’s retail store inKristiansand,
southernNorway – she had just
graduated in retail management when
she appearedon
TheVoice
. “When I
metMags andMartin, they changedmy
way of thinking: everything doesn’t have
tobe theway youplanned, other things
canhappen,” she says. “I’m glad I took
the step – everything happenedwhen
it should.”
Tini grewup listening tomusical
influences BillieHoliday and Ella
Fitzgerald andhad taken singing lessons
as a schoolgirl. She experimentedwith
songwriting at homebut sessions at
west London’s Kensaltown Studios
with someof Europe’s bestmusicians
and songwriters, including KT Tunstall,
cementedher confidence (producer
Martin Terefe hasworkedwith Jamie
Callum and James Blunt, among
many others).
Upbeat second single
SendMyStar
waswrittenby her in Londonwhen she
wasmissingher hubandEspen, a fourth-
grade teacher inNorway. They’ve known
eachother for nine years andbeen
married for four (“It’s important tohave
someonewhounderstands your dreams,
that’s key for us,” she says).
Londonhas been abig influenceon
the album–Regent Street andNew
Bond Street are referenced in twoof
the songs. “It’swhere I feel free and
that’swhatmy album is about,my
love for freedom andmy passion,” Tini
says. “I hopepeoplefind that placeof
freedom insideof themwhen they listen
to it.”
tinispage.com
“WhenImetMags
andMartin, they
changedmy
wayofthinking:
everythingdoesn’t
havetobetheway
youplanned”
Tini accostedon the shoot
inShoreditch, east London
n
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