Meet Angelina Jordan, a talented singer from Norway who won Norway’s Got Talent when she was just eight! It must be amazing to be exceptionally talented at something, but sadly it’s a gift only a select few possess. Imagine being so talented that you appear on America’s Got Talent: The Champions when you’re only 14 years old.
Angelina’s full name is Angelina Jordan Astar, and she was born on the 10th of January, 2006, in Oslo. Her father, Gerry Christian Slattman, is Swedish and her mother, Sara Astar, is Norwegian. In addition, Sara had an Iranian mother and a Japanese father, so it’s no wonder Angelina has elements of these cultures in her features.
Angelina also has a younger sister named Juliette, and they have dueted on a couple of YouTube videos. Angelina was winning prizes so early in her life that it’s not surprising that her interest in singing began at a young age. When she was only one-and-a-half, she saw a YouTube video of the late, great Whitney Houston performing her massive worldwide hit I Will Always Love You. Whitney, Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington were Angelina’s initial inspirations and musical influences.
Angelina pursued her love of singing at school. She attended the Oslo Waldorf School, which offers an after-school program by the Oslo School of Music and Performing Arts. She primarily studied the piano and received vocal training, but she can also play the violin, guitar and flute. Clearly, Angelina has a natural talent for music.
When she was seven, Angelina entered Norway’s Got Talent. She sang Billie Holiday’s Gloomy Sunday in the audition and blew away the judges. The YouTube video of her audition went viral and has now been viewed more than 20 million times. Angelina sailed through to the finals and received 46% of the votes, pretty impressive considering there were ten acts.
Following the show, Angelina fame on YouTube, coupled with her win, pushed her into the media spotlight around the world. She was featured in the Daily Mirror, People and Time, had a small role in Netflix’s series Lilyhammer and achieved her ambition to sing at the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in 2014.
Philanthropy is very important to Angelina. When she was six, she met a homeless girl who had no shoes. They talked for a long time, and Angelina gave the girl her shoes. She also made a solemn vow that she would not wear shoes on stage again until every child in the world had a pair of shoes. She has performed barefoot on stage ever since and has also written a book about this experience. It makes her the youngest published author in Norway’s history.
Since 2014, she has released one EP, one album and many singles. She progressed straight to the finals of America’s Got Talent: The Champions when Heidi Klum hit the gold buzzer. She performed Queen’s Bohemian Rhapsody, and the band themselves even praised her performance. Freddie Mercury was a musical legend, so praise from his bandmates when you are only fourteen is quite the accolade.
In 2016 supremely talented Swedish DJ Avicii picked Angelina to sing the vocals on his worldwide advert for Volvo. She sang Feeling Good by Nina Simone, and it was a stunning cover. Angelina has now signed with Republic Records, so we can expect more beautiful music from this talented young lady. If you want to see more from this very talented singer from Norway, subscribe to her YouTube channel or follow her on Facebook or Instagram.