Who is this whippersnapper presuming to play a cover of a song by the Boss on The Voice Norway 2022? Well, Jørgen Dahl Moe’s boyish looks and reversed baseball cap make him look younger than the 25-years-old he was at the time of his blind audition for The Voice. He also had form. In his previous appearance on a televised singing competition, in 2009, Moe won the Melodi Grand Prix Junior at age 13.

The Melodi Grand Prix Junior is a live-broadcast TV competition for singers aged 8 to 15. The accompanying album, Melodi Grand Prix Junior 2009, which included Moe’s self-written song, Din Egen Vei (which translates as Your Own Way), topped the Norwegian album charts for a week. Without further ado, here is Jørgen Dahl Moe with Bruce Springsteen’s Dancing in the Dark from his The Voice audition.

Moe soon gets the audience clapping and the judges turning. As the song progresses, the judges can’t hide how impressed they are. They lean forward and occasionally exclaim. Two minutes in, judge Matoma visibly sheds a tear. Posted in January 2022 the video had 8M views.Sandro Santos comments: “One of the best covers I’ve ever heard. Simply brilliant. Perfect English, perfect tones, perfect tempo. Bruce Springsteen should be honoured”. The claim that this is an exceptional cover recurs.

Manjoe Malinao says “I’ve been a big fan of the Boss but boy this young man has put this old song to a whole new level of beauty with a hint of sadness”. There are hundreds more similar comments, showing that there is a sizeable audience that prefers Moe’s more delicate and emotional take on the song to what Cash Box described as Springsteen’s “gutsy vocals set to a hard-driving backbeat”. Here is Jørgen Dahl Moe with the Elvis Presley classic Always On My Mind (written by Wayne Carson).

As you’ve noticed, Moe’s cover of Always on my Mind was also from his run on The Voice. In Norway, Jørgen Dahl Moe was the favourite to win The Voice. He did not disappoint. In May 2022, he was announced winner of the seventh season of The Voice Norway.

Moe grew up in Andebu, on the outskirts of Sandefjord. 120KM South of Oslo, Sanefjord is described by Visit Norway as a modern yet charming seaside town and a popular holiday destination. The city has large forests and numerous sandy beaches. Moe started playing the guitar when he was five years old. He was fond of writing and singing his own songs.

Moe attended Sandefjord upper secondary school, where he joined the music, dance and drama program. He took singing lessons for two years with singing teacher Kristin Vold Nese. Meanwhile, he was also fond of playing football. He played club football with his local club, Andebu, and, in 2009, the same year as he won Melodi Grand Prix Junior, he won the trick competition during the Norway Cup football event.

Meanwhile Moe performed at local concerts and festivals whenever he could, and continued to write his own music. He independently released his debut single, I Never Had You, in 2018. In 2020, he released an EP called Suicide Circus. Here is Jørgen Dahl Moe’s live television performance of Purple Rain from The Voice Norway 2022 finals: