Jan Werner Danielsen
Encyclopedia
Jan Werner Danielsen, artist name Jan Werner, (10 April 1976, Nord-Odal
– 29 September 2006, Oslo
) was a Norwegian
pop
, classical
, and rock
singer, famous for his powerful voice which stretched over four and a half octaves. His breakthrough came after winning two important talent contests, most notably on national television in the show Talentiaden (NRK) in 1994.
He was one of the most popular and highest-selling recording artists in Norway at his death at the age of 30.
and he wanted to sing like her. Danielsen won his first talent show in 1988, at the age of twelve; the prize was a record deal and he released the single "Jeg Ser En Dag" (I See The Day). Then he had already been singing for two-thirds of his lifetime, as his first public appearance in a musical setting was at the age of four. He became widely noticed when he was appearing and singing in the popular youth program called Midt I Smørøyet on Norwegian Television NRK with "Somewhere" and between 1988 and 1993 he sang regularly with the Hamar Symphony Orchestra. In 1992 Jan Werner got his second record deal, and was also included in plans for the cultural events around the Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway in 1994.
and received the first ever Olympic medal that was awarded the Olympics in Lillehammer in 1994. The same year he represented Norway during the international finals of the Eurovision with Elisabeth Andreassen
, where they had a sixth place with the songDuet. In 2000, Jan Werner again was part of the Norwegian final of Eurovision and this time alone. He came in second place with the song "One More Time". Charmed won with "My Heart Goes Boom."
Jan Werner debuted as an adult-recording artist in the 1995 with the album All by Myself, which went gold. Inner Secrets, his second album, came two years later in 1997. It sold 14 000 copies and contained some self-written compositions and a duet with Karin Krog
. The third, Music of the Night came in 1999 with interpretations of songs from musicals such as Chess
, West Side Story
, and Les Misérables
. His fourth, Singer of Songs (2003) is the best selling with over 120,000 copies and it became his biggest seller to date. It reached second place on the national album chart. The fifth and final album, Stronger, was released after his death on 13 November 2006.
Jan Werner has participated in many musical contexts, from pop to classical, from Christmas carols to musical songs. He has interpreted the classics such as Johann Sebastian Bach (Air), and he has made his own songs and melodies. He has performed with artists such as Benedicte Adrian, Secret Garden
, Sølvguttene
, Tommy Körberg
, Øivind Blunck
, Outer Suløens Jass-ensemble, and last but not least the Swede Robert Wells
in the Royal Albert Hall in 2003. That was a personal highlight of his career and he was singing "Air" by Johann Sebastian Bach
. He also performed that song on the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in December this year. In addition, he toured as the artistic director of Dissimilis.
Elisabeth Andreassen
and Jan Werner continued to work after their duet under the Eurovision in 1994. From 1997 they held Christmas concerts all over Norway, and in the summer of 1999 they recorded an album in the Uranienborg Church (Oslo) with selected tracks from the same tour. On the Christmas-concert tour in 2004 he now was a solo artist and the Norwegian Bishop Rosemarie Köhn
was with him on selected concerts. Jan Werner has sold a total of nearly 1 million copies in Norway, a country with just 4.6 million people and over one million concert tickets.
In September 2006, only a week before his death, Jan Werner and his manager was in Canada to put business plans in conjunction with Jan Werner's international career. This included a springtour with The Canadian Tenors in 2007. In May 2007, The Canadian Tenors held a mini-tour in Norway, with a concert-tribute to Jan Werner. They wanted to pay tribute to Jan Werner in his own way and they also recorded his version of "Always There" (from "Stronger"), for their CD "The Canadian Tenors" in 2009.
was throughout his career the subject of much talk and many rumors. Jan Werner never gave a clear answer when reporters asked about this. But in the book published in 2007, Werner`s father Thor Egil Danielsen says that Jan Werner was not bisexual, gay or heterosexual. "Werner's unresolved sexual orientation characterized his life. It was problematic for him. He never took any final choice between women and men, simply because he could not. It was the truth, that the press was always looking for. He told us that it had nothing to do with gender, but that he fell in love with people," writes his father in the book.
During 2003 and 2004 his health condition and finances deteriorated. According to his father, the debt and money problems gave Jan Werner anxiety, and the first serious anxiety attack came during a summer show in 2003 in Tønsberg. Jan Werner struggled with performance anxiety and very high expectations of himself.
flat. The news caused an outpouring of grief in the Norwegian entertainment industry. His family denied rumours about his death being the result of a suicide. At the time he had recently finished a new album, Stronger, which, in accordance with the wishes of his family, was released as planned. It went on to become a huge success, selling 63,000 copies in its opening week alone, reaching number one in the Norwegian chart "VG-lista
".
At his funeral the church was packed with colleagues and celebrities, the highlight being his former duet partner Elisabeth Andreassen performing "You Raise Me Up
" together with a recording of Danielsen's voice, accompanied by the song's composer Rolf Løvland
on piano. The mourners responded with a standing ovation. He was later buried in Sand Church in Nord-Odal. The family wanted to have the memory ceremony in Oslo because Sand church is not large enough to accommodate all who wanted to show the deceased artist one last honor.
The result of the autopsy was finally ready in early January 2007. It appears that Danielsen's death was caused by heart failure, most likely as a result of an inflammation of the bronchi of the lungs, combined with physical fatigue after a period with too much work.
Christmas 2007, his family released, in cooperation with Salvation Army
, the Christmas album Eg Veit I Himmerik Ei Borg with previously unreleased live-recordings from various concerts and TV appearances.
On November 22, 2010, the double-album One More Time - The Very Best Of, with several new and unknown recording came out. These recordings was found by Jan Werner's family after his death and released in cooperation with the Universal Music. This album was received very well among both critics and audiences.
Nord-Odal
Nord-Odal is a municipality in Hedmark county, Norway. It is part of the traditional region of Odal. The administrative centre of the municipality is the village of Sand. The parish of Nordre Odalen was established as a municipality on 1 January 1838 .-Name:The last element is the old district...
– 29 September 2006, Oslo
Oslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
) was a Norwegian
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
, classical
Classical music
Classical music is the art music produced in, or rooted in, the traditions of Western liturgical and secular music, encompassing a broad period from roughly the 11th century to present times...
, and rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
singer, famous for his powerful voice which stretched over four and a half octaves. His breakthrough came after winning two important talent contests, most notably on national television in the show Talentiaden (NRK) in 1994.
He was one of the most popular and highest-selling recording artists in Norway at his death at the age of 30.
Childhood star
Jan Werner Danielsen was born in Nord-Odal in Norway in 1976. He was particularly known for his interpretations of popular musical hits and his voice, which stretched over four and a half octaves. He started very early to sing songs by Barbra StreisandBarbra Streisand
Barbra Joan Streisand is an American singer, actress, film producer and director. She has won two Academy Awards, eight Grammy Awards, four Emmy Awards, a Special Tony Award, an American Film Institute award, a Peabody Award, and is one of the few entertainers who have won an Oscar, Emmy, Grammy,...
and he wanted to sing like her. Danielsen won his first talent show in 1988, at the age of twelve; the prize was a record deal and he released the single "Jeg Ser En Dag" (I See The Day). Then he had already been singing for two-thirds of his lifetime, as his first public appearance in a musical setting was at the age of four. He became widely noticed when he was appearing and singing in the popular youth program called Midt I Smørøyet on Norwegian Television NRK with "Somewhere" and between 1988 and 1993 he sang regularly with the Hamar Symphony Orchestra. In 1992 Jan Werner got his second record deal, and was also included in plans for the cultural events around the Olympic Games in Lillehammer, Norway in 1994.
Commercial success
Danielsen broke through as a national celebrity and artist in the 1994. He participated and won the national talent competition Talentiaden on NRK television with the song "The Right to Sing" and "Anthem" from ChessChess (musical)
Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
and received the first ever Olympic medal that was awarded the Olympics in Lillehammer in 1994. The same year he represented Norway during the international finals of the Eurovision with Elisabeth Andreassen
Elisabeth Andreassen
Elisabeth Gunilla Andreassen - also known as just "Bettan" - is a Swedish-Norwegian singer who has finished both first and second in the Eurovision Song Contest....
, where they had a sixth place with the songDuet. In 2000, Jan Werner again was part of the Norwegian final of Eurovision and this time alone. He came in second place with the song "One More Time". Charmed won with "My Heart Goes Boom."
Jan Werner debuted as an adult-recording artist in the 1995 with the album All by Myself, which went gold. Inner Secrets, his second album, came two years later in 1997. It sold 14 000 copies and contained some self-written compositions and a duet with Karin Krog
Karin Krog
Karin Krog is a Norwegian jazz vocalist.- Life and career :She started to sing at an early age and in 1955 she was hired by the pianist Kjell Karlsen to sing in his sextet.Her great grandfather is Anders Heyerdahl...
. The third, Music of the Night came in 1999 with interpretations of songs from musicals such as Chess
Chess (musical)
Chess is a musical with music by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, formerly of ABBA, and with lyrics by Tim Rice. The story involves a romantic triangle between two top players, an American and a Russian, in a world chess championship, and a woman who manages one and falls in love with the other;...
, West Side Story
West Side Story
West Side Story is an American musical with a script by Arthur Laurents, music by Leonard Bernstein, lyrics by Stephen Sondheim, and choreographed by Jerome Robbins...
, and Les Misérables
Les Misérables (musical)
Les Misérables , colloquially known as Les Mis or Les Miz , is a musical by Claude-Michel Schönberg, based on the novel of the same name by Victor Hugo....
. His fourth, Singer of Songs (2003) is the best selling with over 120,000 copies and it became his biggest seller to date. It reached second place on the national album chart. The fifth and final album, Stronger, was released after his death on 13 November 2006.
Jan Werner has participated in many musical contexts, from pop to classical, from Christmas carols to musical songs. He has interpreted the classics such as Johann Sebastian Bach (Air), and he has made his own songs and melodies. He has performed with artists such as Benedicte Adrian, Secret Garden
Secret Garden (duo)
Secret Garden is an award-winning Irish-Norwegian duo playing New Instrumental Music, also sometimes erroneously known as Neo-classical music.Secret Garden features the Irish violinist Fionnuala Sherry and the Norwegian composer/pianist Rolf Løvland...
, Sølvguttene
Sølvguttene
Sølvguttene is a boy choir founded by Torstein Grythe in June, 1940. He would hold the position as conductor until 2006, when Fredrik Otterstad took over. The choir had its first rehearsals in his apartment in Oslo, but were soon offered to rehearse in Norwegian Broadcasting’s facilities...
, Tommy Körberg
Tommy Körberg
Bert Gustav Tommy Körberg is a Swedish singer, actor, and musician. In 1969, he won Swedish Recording Industry Award Grammis in a category Best Debut Performance. English-speaking audiences know him best for his role in the Benny Andersson–Björn Ulvaeus–Tim Rice musical Chess...
, Øivind Blunck
Øivind Blunck
Øivind Blunck is a Norwegian comedian and actor.He is best known for his numerous performances with the Norwegian Theatre, and for playing the eccentric, moped-driving ladies' man "Fridtjof", living in Enebakk...
, Outer Suløens Jass-ensemble, and last but not least the Swede Robert Wells
Robert Wells
Robert Wells may refer to:* Bob "Hoolihan" Wells , American TV personality* Rob Wells, Canadian musician, songwriter and producer* Robb Wells , Canadian actor and screenwriter* Robby Wells , American college football coach...
in the Royal Albert Hall in 2003. That was a personal highlight of his career and he was singing "Air" by Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach
Johann Sebastian Bach was a German composer, organist, harpsichordist, violist, and violinist whose sacred and secular works for choir, orchestra, and solo instruments drew together the strands of the Baroque period and brought it to its ultimate maturity...
. He also performed that song on the Nobel Peace Prize Concert in December this year. In addition, he toured as the artistic director of Dissimilis.
Elisabeth Andreassen
Elisabeth Andreassen
Elisabeth Gunilla Andreassen - also known as just "Bettan" - is a Swedish-Norwegian singer who has finished both first and second in the Eurovision Song Contest....
and Jan Werner continued to work after their duet under the Eurovision in 1994. From 1997 they held Christmas concerts all over Norway, and in the summer of 1999 they recorded an album in the Uranienborg Church (Oslo) with selected tracks from the same tour. On the Christmas-concert tour in 2004 he now was a solo artist and the Norwegian Bishop Rosemarie Köhn
Rosemarie Köhn
Rosemarie Köhn was a bishop in the Diocese of Hamar of the Church of Norway who retired from her post as of November 1, 2006. Bishop Köhn was born to a German father and Norwegian mother and immigrated to Norway in 1946.Köhn graduated from the University of Oslo with a cand.theol. degree...
was with him on selected concerts. Jan Werner has sold a total of nearly 1 million copies in Norway, a country with just 4.6 million people and over one million concert tickets.
In September 2006, only a week before his death, Jan Werner and his manager was in Canada to put business plans in conjunction with Jan Werner's international career. This included a springtour with The Canadian Tenors in 2007. In May 2007, The Canadian Tenors held a mini-tour in Norway, with a concert-tribute to Jan Werner. They wanted to pay tribute to Jan Werner in his own way and they also recorded his version of "Always There" (from "Stronger"), for their CD "The Canadian Tenors" in 2009.
Personal life
Jan Werner's sexual orientationSexual orientation
Sexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
was throughout his career the subject of much talk and many rumors. Jan Werner never gave a clear answer when reporters asked about this. But in the book published in 2007, Werner`s father Thor Egil Danielsen says that Jan Werner was not bisexual, gay or heterosexual. "Werner's unresolved sexual orientation characterized his life. It was problematic for him. He never took any final choice between women and men, simply because he could not. It was the truth, that the press was always looking for. He told us that it had nothing to do with gender, but that he fell in love with people," writes his father in the book.
During 2003 and 2004 his health condition and finances deteriorated. According to his father, the debt and money problems gave Jan Werner anxiety, and the first serious anxiety attack came during a summer show in 2003 in Tønsberg. Jan Werner struggled with performance anxiety and very high expectations of himself.
Death
On 29 September 2006, Danielsen's friend and manager Febe Rognstad found him dead in his OsloOslo
Oslo is a municipality, as well as the capital and most populous city in Norway. As a municipality , it was established on 1 January 1838. Founded around 1048 by King Harald III of Norway, the city was largely destroyed by fire in 1624. The city was moved under the reign of Denmark–Norway's King...
flat. The news caused an outpouring of grief in the Norwegian entertainment industry. His family denied rumours about his death being the result of a suicide. At the time he had recently finished a new album, Stronger, which, in accordance with the wishes of his family, was released as planned. It went on to become a huge success, selling 63,000 copies in its opening week alone, reaching number one in the Norwegian chart "VG-lista
VG-lista
VG-listen is a Norwegian record chart. It is weekly presented in the newspaper VG and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation program Topp 20. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continent around the world. The data is collected by...
".
At his funeral the church was packed with colleagues and celebrities, the highlight being his former duet partner Elisabeth Andreassen performing "You Raise Me Up
You Raise Me Up
"You Raise Me Up" was the debut single from Westlife's fifth studio album, Face To Face.This version is considered by many to be the most popular , of all the various versions of the same song. The single peaked at #1 on the UK Singles Chart, making it the band's 13th Number One. It was the first...
" together with a recording of Danielsen's voice, accompanied by the song's composer Rolf Løvland
Rolf Løvland
Rolf Løvland is a Norwegian composer. Together with Fionnuala Sherry, he formed the celtic group Secret Garden, where he played as the composer/producer/keyboardist...
on piano. The mourners responded with a standing ovation. He was later buried in Sand Church in Nord-Odal. The family wanted to have the memory ceremony in Oslo because Sand church is not large enough to accommodate all who wanted to show the deceased artist one last honor.
The result of the autopsy was finally ready in early January 2007. It appears that Danielsen's death was caused by heart failure, most likely as a result of an inflammation of the bronchi of the lungs, combined with physical fatigue after a period with too much work.
Releases after his death
In November 2006, the controversial biography of Jan Werner Danielsen - "Just Werner" penned by his father, Thor-Egil Danielsen was released.Christmas 2007, his family released, in cooperation with Salvation Army
Salvation Army
The Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
, the Christmas album Eg Veit I Himmerik Ei Borg with previously unreleased live-recordings from various concerts and TV appearances.
On November 22, 2010, the double-album One More Time - The Very Best Of, with several new and unknown recording came out. These recordings was found by Jan Werner's family after his death and released in cooperation with the Universal Music. This album was received very well among both critics and audiences.
Albums
- All by Myself (1995)
- Inner Secrets (1997)
- Music of the Night (1998)
- Bettan & Jan Werners jul (1999)
- Over the Rainbow and Other Musical Highlights (2000 with Bettan)
- Singer Of Songs (2003)
- Stronger (2006)
- Eg Veit I Himmelrik Ei Borg - Salvation ArmySalvation ArmyThe Salvation Army is a Protestant Christian church known for its thrift stores and charity work. It is an international movement that currently works in over a hundred countries....
Christmas Album 2007 (2007) - One More Time - The Very Best Of (2010)
Singles
- "Jeg Ser En Dag/My Prayer" - Debut-radiosingle (1989)
- "Duett" - Duet with Elisabeth AndreassenElisabeth AndreassenElisabeth Gunilla Andreassen - also known as just "Bettan" - is a Swedish-Norwegian singer who has finished both first and second in the Eurovision Song Contest....
(1994) - "Time Will Let You Know" (1995)
- "Carry Me/All by Myself" (1995)
- "Step Out" (1997)
- "Halde Deg Inntil Meg" - Duet with Malin Holberg (1997)
- "Come Back to Me" (1997)
- "Inner Secrets" (1997)
- "Find Your Way" (1997)
- "Friend" - Duet med Karin KrogKarin KrogKarin Krog is a Norwegian jazz vocalist.- Life and career :She started to sing at an early age and in 1955 she was hired by the pianist Kjell Karlsen to sing in his sextet.Her great grandfather is Anders Heyerdahl...
(1997) - "One Night in Bangkok" (1998)
- "Bonne Chance a France" - Official European Fotbalcup-single med Synnøve Svabø (1998)
- "Anthem" - Radio Version (1998)
- "Here for You" (1998)
- "One More Time" (2000)
Other
- Singing the song "He Lives In You" ("Han Bor I Oss") in the Norwegian version of The Lion King 2 movie (1998)
- Singing the official "Brannmann Sam" song ("Fireman Sam") for his nephew Filip's birthday (2004)
- Singing "Mary Did You Know?" on the Gospel-album with the Norwegian gospel-choir Mosaic (2005)
Television (selection)
- Midt I Smørøyet (TV) - NRK (1988) (Guest Appearance)
- Rett Hjem (TV) - NRK (1994) (Guest Appearance)
- Talentiaden 1994 (TV) - NRK (1994)
- Melodi Grand Prix 1994 (TV) (with Elisabeth AndreassenElisabeth AndreassenElisabeth Gunilla Andreassen - also known as just "Bettan" - is a Swedish-Norwegian singer who has finished both first and second in the Eurovision Song Contest....
) - NRK (1994) - Vindu Mot Lillehammer (TV) - NRK (1994) (Guest Appearance)
- NyttårsRondo (TV) - NRK (1994) (Guest Appearance)
- Du Skal Høre Mye (TV) - NRK (199?) (Guest Appearance)
- Pick-up (TV) - NRK (1997) (Guest Appearance)
- XLTV (TV) - NRK (1997?) (Guest Appearance)
- Åpen Post (TV) - NRK (1999) (Guest Appearance)
- Beat for Beat (TV) (with Benedicte Adrian) - NRK (2000?) (Guest Appearance)
- Mine damer og herrer (TV) (with Elisabeth AndreassenElisabeth AndreassenElisabeth Gunilla Andreassen - also known as just "Bettan" - is a Swedish-Norwegian singer who has finished both first and second in the Eurovision Song Contest....
) - TV2 (2000?) (Guest Appearance) - Melodi Grand Prix 2000 (TV) - NRK (2000)
- Først og Sist (TV) - NRK (2000) (Guest Appearance)
- Retro (TV) - (with Grethe Svendsen) NRK (2000?) (Guest Appearance)
- Numme og Gunstrøm - Før og Nå (TV) - TV2 (2001) (Guest Appearance)
- Nobel Peace Prize Concert 2003 (TV) - NRK (2003)
- Frelsesarmeens Julekonsert 2003 (TV) - NRK (2003)
- Fra Halvsju til Reser - Stjernefabrikken 25 år (TV) - NRK (2004) (Guest Appearance)
- Senkveld med Thomas og Harald (TV) - TV2 (2005?) (Guest Appearance)
- Med Rett Til Å Synge (TV) - NRK (2006)
- Tommy and Jan Werner - The Show - DVD (2006)