Jonas Alaska
{{Short description|Norwegian singer}}
{{Infobox musical artist
|name = Jonas Alaska
|image = Jonas Alaska 2011.jpg
|background = solo_singer
|birth_name = Jonas Aslaksen
|genre = Acoustic music
|birth_date = {{birth date|1988|4|3|df=y}}
|birth_place= Åmli, Norway
|instrument = {{flat list|
- Vocals
- guitar}}
|years_active = 2011–current
}}
Jonas Alaska (born 3 April 1988), real name Jonas Aslaksen, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter. He won a Spellemannprisen award in 2012.
Biography
Hailing from Åmli, Aslaksen studied at the Liverpool Institute for Performing Arts from 2008 to 2011. In 2011 he scored his first hit single with "In the Backseat" and released his first solo album called Jonas Alaska. The album peaked at 5th on VG-lista, with 24 charting weeks in total.{{cite encyclopedia|year=|title=Jonas Alaska|encyclopedia=Store norske leksikon|url=http://www.snl.no/Jonas_Alaska|language=Norwegian|accessdate=31 August 2022}}
Alaska was nominated for three Spellemannprisen awards in 2012—"male artist of the year", "songwriter of the year" and "newcomer of the year"—winning the latter. In March 2013 he released his second album If Only As A Ghost, produced by Kjartan Kristiansen, which immediately entered 4th spot on the VG-lista chart. The review in the newspaper VG was however negative, with a dice throw of 3 (out of 6), elaborating about the song arrangements: "They have no uniqueness, but bear more of a mark that Alaska wants to be a much older man than he actually is. An older, well-read and American man".{{cite news|url=https://www.vg.no/rampelys/musikk/i/govLL/plateanmeldelse-jonas-alaska-if-only-as-a-ghost|title=Plateanmeldelse: Jonas Alaska - "If Only As A Ghost"|work=VG|date=7 June 2014|author=Bøe, Tor Martin|access-date=2 September 2019|language=no}} Universitas labelled most of the album "forgettable".{{cite news|url=https://www.universitas.no/anmeldelse-plate/langt-igjen-til-dylan/211712|title=Langt igjen til Dylan|last=Bakken|first=Jenny Dahl|date=6 March 2013|work=Universitas|language=no|access-date=13 June 2024}} Adresseavisen printed a positive review, a dice throw of 5, as the reviewer called Alaska "brilliant pop music".{{cite news|url=https://www.adressa.no/kultur/i/66kgl3/sekstitallspop-for-var-tid|title=Sekstitallspop for vår tid|last=Lundemo|first=Trygve|date=1 March 2013|work=Adresseavisen|language=no|access-date=13 June 2024}} The same score was found in Gaffa.{{cite news|url=https://gaffa.no/anmeldelser/2013/mars/releases/jonas-alaska-if-only-as-a-ghost/|title=Sval Alaska-sommer|last=Næss|first=Lene|date=2 March 2013|work=Gaffa|language=no|access-date=13 June 2024}}
In 2015 his third studio album, Younger was published by Columbia Records, the sound differing from the previous as the genre changed from blues or acoustic to indie rock. The reviews were chiefly positive, with full score given by Gaffa and a dice throw of 5 issued by several newspapers.{{cite news|url=https://gaffa.no/anmeldelser/2015/februar/releases/jonas-alaska-younger/|title=Fuzzpoppete mesterverk|last=Johansen|first=Morten Waage|date=18 February 2015|work=Gaffa|language=no|access-date=13 June 2024}}{{cite news|url=https://p3.no/yngre-enn-for/|title=Yngre enn før|last=Aandahl|first=Trine|date=25 February 2015|publisher=NRK P3|language=no|access-date=13 June 2024}}{{cite news|url=https://www.dagbladet.no/kultur/musikalsk-varme-i-store-mengder-fra-alaska/64026145|title=Musikalsk varme i store mengder fra Alaska|last=Øyre|first=Torgrim|date=1 March 2013|work=Dagbladet|language=no|access-date=13 June 2024}}{{cite news|url=https://www.oa.no/musikk/tar-en-bob-dylan/r/5-35-60581|title=Tar en Bob Dylan|last=Hermanrud|first=Frode|date=11 March 2015|work=Oppland Arbeiderblad|language=no|access-date=13 June 2024}}{{cite news|url=https://www.aftenbladet.no/kultur/i/aKPm2/tar-et-nytt-steg|title=Tar et nytt steg|date=20 February 2015|work=Stavanger Aftenblad|language=no|access-date=13 June 2024}} Vårt Land did however call the album "dangerously close on bordering cliché".{{cite news|url=https://www.vl.no/kultur/anmeldelse/2015/03/03/kjoleboksaktig-alaska/|title=Kjøleboksaktig Alaska|last=Solvang|first=Olav|date=3 March 2015|work=Vårt Land|language=no|access-date=13 June 2024}}
Alaska did however release acoustic versions of Younger – Side 1 and Younger – Side 2 in 2015. He followed with several albums; Fear Is A Demon (2017), Live at Parkteatret 2016 (2018), Roof Came Down (2020) and Girl (2021).
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Official website|url=http://www.jonasalaska.com/}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Alaska, Jonas}}
Category:Norwegian expatriates in England
Category:20th-century Norwegian singers