I
t’s 9pmon a Tuesday
night incentral Oslo’s
grandoldoperahouse,
theFolketeateret, but
there’s not a soprano in
sight. Instead, thebright spotlights of
this 1,400-seater hall are focusedon
twofigures, Vegard andBård Ylvisåker –
thebrothers behindhitNorwegian
comedy duo Ylvis -who areengaging the
audience inchat, prior to recording their
weekly talk show,
I kveldmedYLVISLIVE
(
TonightwithYlvisLive
).
A girl in the front row raises her hand
and asks for a selfiewith thepair. “It’s
my 17thbirthday,” she sayswith abroad
American accent. “I came toOslo all the
way from Texas just to see the show.”
Itmight seemextraordinary that an
English-speaking teen shouldfly halfway
across theworld towatch a show she
won’t understand awordof, but that just
goes to showhowpopular thebrothers
havebecome since their novelty EDM song
andmusic video
TheFox (WhatDoes the
FoxSay?)
went viral in2013.
Produced as a favour by thehit-making
Norwegianproduction team Stargate,
the songwas actuallymeant tobe an
“anti-hit” aired for comedy valueon
I
kveldmedYLVISLIVE
. To the surpriseof
everyone involved, it propelled Ylvis to
international fame, reachingnumber six
on the
Billboard
Hot 100 in theUS for
threeconsecutiveweeks. Todate, it’s had
nearly 575million YouTube views. Hence,
the Texan teen in the audience.
“It’s very strange for twoNorwegian
guyswhohave aNorwegian talk show and
talkNorwegian all the time,” says Vegard,
after the show. “Nothingwedowill ever
be as popular as
TheFox
,” saysBård. “It
was aweird strokeof luck.”
But then, luck is something thebrothers
believe is anessential ingredient of
success – including their own. In2000,
theywerediscovered at amusical
productionput onbyBård’s high-school
inBergen. (Vegardhad already left school,
butwas still involved as abacking singer.)
“It’s a very clichéd showbiz story,”
Bård says. Producer and impresarioPeter
Brandt, whohad just beenfiredby his
main artist andwas on the lookout for
new talent, came across reviews of the
school play in the local paper, and the rest
is history. “If that hadn’t happened, we
wouldn’t havepursued this.”
Havingbeenbrought up in amusical
family, thebrothers hadplayed various
instruments – from violin to guitar – since
a young age. Despite their talent, however,
theywerenever interested in serious
musical careers. “Youdecide tobecome
a comedianwhen youdon’twant tobe
responsible for your actions,” saysBård.
“Youdon’t believe yourworkwill be good
enough, and youmake it comedy so you
can always hidebehind that flag.”
Hismodesty seemsunfounded,
considering theyhavea legionof fans–
the showgets440,000 viewers aweek.
They tune in toenjoycomiccapers, from
hidden-camera stunts and live sketches
to thepair’sparticularbrandofmusical
pastiche,whichhashad them labelled the
“NorwegianFlight of theConchords”.
“We’re kindof nerdy,” says Vegard.
“We’re always analysingmusic and
recognising thecheap tricks of different
genres.” Take theduo’s recent
ACapella
video, ahilarious dig at the instrument-
free genre inwhich a singing group saves
a schoolboy from abandof bullies using
thepower ofmusic– thinkwoollenhats,
leatherwrist straps and a “lookon your
face like you know Jesus personally”.
“That videowas like givingbirth to
abigbaby through anostril,” says Vegard.
It’sworth theeffort, though. The video
launchedon5 January this year and
hadover 1.4million YouTube views in just
onemonth.
Theduohave now collaboratedwith
Norwegian sopassengers canwatch
onboard the latest instalments of
I kveld
med YLVISLIVE
, featuring their trademark
mix of chat, stunts, skits andmusic
videos. And, to reflect their growing
international following, it’s subtitled in
English. “I never dreamt it was possible
todowhat I donow,” says Bård, “but I’m
very happy doing it.”
ylvis.com
Norwegianflies toOslo frommore than100
destinations.Bookflights,ahotelanda
rental caratnorwegian.com
“The
ACapella
videowas
likegivingbirth toabig
baby throughanostril”
n
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