Biography
Anne-Karine Strøm is a Norwegian singer from Bøler in Oslo. She was discovered as a as a child when she won a song contest at the youth restaurant Rondo in Oslo in 1963. The victory allowed her to record a single, participate in television programs and perform at Folkparkshow in Sweden. Anne-Karine Strøm also managed to sing in Italian, and she released several singles in the 1960s.
She joined the bands Beefeaters and Finn Eriksen’s orchestra, while at the same time she started to focus on a solo career. In 1971 she released her debut album “Drømmebilder”. This was the first of a total of six solo albums by her during the seventies and eighties.
Anne-Karine Strøm was an active participant in the Melodi Grand Prix in the 1970s. The first time she participated was in 1971 with the solo song “Hør litt på meg”. The following year she tried again, this time with Ellen Nikolaysen with the song “Håp”. In Melodi Grand Prix 1973 Anne-Karine Strøm participated with Arne Bendiksen’s group Bendik Singers, who sang “Å, for et spill”. The group won the Norwegian final and participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 1973 in Luxembourg. Here they performed the song in English, “It’s Just a Game”, with features of many European languages.
Anne-Karine Strøm won the Melodi Grand Prix 1974 with the solo song “Hvor er du?”. At the international finals , the song was translated into English, and was titled “The First Day of Love”. Anne-Karine Strøm performed the song with Bendik Singers.
In the Melodi Grand Prix 1975 Strøm participated with the song “1 + 1 = 2”. In the 1976 Melodi Grand Prix, she participated for the last time in the competition, this time with the song “Mata Hari”. Anne-Karine Strøm performed the song in silver trousers. In the international final in The Hague, another “Mata Hari” in 17th place of 18 songs.
Anne-Karine Strøm has emerged as a solo artist even after the Melodi Grand Prix period. She released her third solo album in 1978, and in the late 1970s, she also participated in musical cabaret with Ole Paus and Øystein Sunde. In addition, she has shared music albums by other artists, including Rolv Wesenlund and Harald Heide-Steen jr.
In the 1980s, she first released a pop-prized album. In 1986, she released “Landet utenfor”. After that, Anne-Karine Strøm has not produced anything anymore as an artist. She also made a short career playing supporting roles in three films. She has been working as a journalist since 1990.
Anne-Karine Strøm was married to Ole Paus in the 1970s. She is the mother of Marcus Paus (born 1979), who is a wellknown composer.
