Childhood and youth
Morten Harket was born on September 14, 1959 in the Norwegian city of Kongsberg. He is the second of five children of teacher Henny Katharina Johansen and doctor Raidar Harket. As a child, Morten always had a noisy company: brothers Gunvald (1956), Haakon (1961) and Kjetil (1967), sister Ingunn (1964).
Embed from Getty Images Singer Morten Harket
Harket's acquaintance with music happened early, as he himself said in an interview. At the age of 3, his father took him to a symphony orchestra concert. The abundance of harmonious sounds surprised the child a lot. The conductor, noticing this, took Morten in his arms. He was incredibly happy and wet his pants in front of the audience.
Harket's school years were not like a fairy tale - neither his peers nor his teachers understood the unique boy. After all, instead of misbehaving with his classmates, the boy collected butterflies and grew orchids and corals. The child was often beaten.
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Morten Harket in his youth
Perhaps the Norwegian’s biography would have turned out differently if not for his father. Raidar Harket was a musician in his youth, but, at the behest of his parents, having mastered a serious profession, he became a doctor. In Morten, the man sought to embody what he himself had not achieved.
When the young man turned 15, his parents hired a music teacher. Morten was lazy and capricious, and as a result, he had to give up the career of a great performer. The situation was saved by Harket's cousin, who in 1974 introduced him to the work of the Uraih Heep group. The killer hits revived the young man’s desire to get on stage.
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Morten Harket in his youth
Then Morten decided to start a group. Brother Haakon supported the idea. Together they came up with the piece "Spirit Battle", based primarily on organ music. Morten even drew the cover: a flaming Jesus surrounded by demons. The album was never released.
After school, Harket was faced with the question - army or college. The choice fell on the latter, and the motivation was extraordinary: the young man wore long hair, and in order not to cut it off, he entered the theological faculty. A year later, Morten became bored and finally decided to repay his debt to his homeland. Then the musician studied for another year at the Faculty of Natural Sciences in Oslo.
Biography of singer Yaar
The artist’s biography is still partially shrouded in darkness. Oddly enough, there is no information on the network regarding the nationality, parents, age and marital status of the musician. He did not give a single interview, at least one accessible to an English-speaking or Russian-speaking audience. We believe that this is a temporary situation and as its popularity grows, more data about the oriental beauty will appear.
However, it is known that the singer lives in Bucharest (Romania), and his Instagram nickname is Pitt Leffer (real or fictitious name under which he performed before; there are several tracks on YouTube). Judging by his appearance, we can assume that he is 30-35 years old. He may have emigrated to Romania from an Arab country.
As a boy, he studied at the Orthodox Theological Gymnasium in Bucharest, then continued to gnaw on the granite of science at the Faculty of Orthodox Theology – University of Bucharest.
This training helped him discover and develop a rare musical talent and an outstanding voice. Working in religious music choirs was another defining moment in his decision to conquer the pop and dance scene as an adult.
A musician with one of the guys from the band Havana.
Music
The young man, so similar in appearance to Patrick Swayze, was promised stunning success. Morten Harket's climb up the creative ladder began with the blues band Soldier Blue. The guys played mostly jazz, which the Norwegian considered monotonous and inconvenient for improvisation. The main performance venues were clubs, eateries, and cafeterias in Konsberg.
Morten Harket and Patrick Swayze / @morten._harket and @patrick_swayze_official
In September 1982, the group a-ha was formed. Morten became the third member of the team - Paul Vactor and Magne Furuholmen had been playing together since early childhood. The young people offered Harket the position of drummer, since Paul did not want to share vocal parts. But youthful maximalism was raging in Harket: he decided that he would sing, and nothing else. Finally, having come together, the three Norwegians left for London to seek fame.
At first, a-ha barely made ends meet: the three of them lived in two beds, went hungry and often quarreled. It’s amazing how in the first 3 years, before the release of the legendary track “Take On Me,” the band did not break up. By the way, the single was recorded three times, and only with the final attempt in 1985 was it possible to reveal the full potential of Harket’s voice and attract listeners.
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Morten Harket and the band a-ha
a-ha have recorded 11 albums, including the collection of live performances "Summer Solstice". In 2009, the group announced the breakup, and in 2015, in honor of the 30th anniversary of the debut album, they gathered again for supposedly 2 years. The team's activities continue to this day.
In 1993, Morten Harket released his debut solo album “Poetenes Evangelium”, the title of which translates as “gospel from the poets”. The record is the musical embodiment of an anthology of 20th-century Norwegian poetry depicting the life and death of Christ.
The authorship of the words and music for the debut album does not belong to Harket; in fact, he again acted as a vocalist. But he put more effort into creating the second collection “Wild Seed” (1995): he composed 5 songs and 9 melodies. The album contains 12 tracks in total.
a-ha - Summer Moved On
All of a-ha’s work and Harket’s first two albums were recorded in English, but because of his love for his native country, the singer created the Norwegian collection “Vogts Villa” (1996). Some songs were born from scratch, and the track “Vuggevise” is a re-reading of the English song “Lay Me Down Tonight” from “Wild Seed”.
For many years, Harket's solo work was suspended, which had a positive effect on the result. Released in 2008, the album “Letter from Egypt” topped the Norwegian chart for 22 weeks. Promotion was helped by a performance at the Nobel Prize in Oslo in 2007 with the singles "Letter from Egypt" and "Movies" and a joint concert by Harket, Voctor-Savoy and Furuholmen as solo performers.
Morten Harket – Letter from Egypt
"Out of My Hands" (2012) also topped the Norwegian charts. Critic Nick Levine of the BBC reviewed the album positively, noting that it was the best new music since a-ha's breakup.
"'Out of My Hand' isn't really that different from a-ha's last few albums, but it's still as fresh as Will Young's 'Echoes,'" Nick Levine noted in his review.
In 2014, the premiere of the sixth studio album “Brother” took place. The title track is inspired by the memoirs of British Islamist turned liberal activist Maajid Nawaz. The video for this track was shot by Hollywood director Harold Zwart, creator of the films “The Karate Kid” and “The Pink Panther 2.”
Morten Harket - Brother
It's clear from the album's playlist that Morten Harket has progressed as a writer and composer - 11 of the 12 songs were created in collaboration with Peter Quint and Ole Sverre Olsen, longtime friends and musicians.
Between the creation of albums, the a-ha vocalist managed to sing with many performers: with Scorpions at the MTV Unplugged concert he performed “Wind of Changes”, with Hayley Westenra - “Children First”, with the Pakistani group Junoon - “Piya”. But mostly Harket collaborated with Norwegian musicians, because he knew how difficult it was for Scandinavians to get out into the big world.
About the emergence of the band “RSAC x ELLA” and their success
Felix had already recorded “Naked Facts”, he later spoke about the creation of the album: “I wrote it and didn’t even think that it could be played by a live band. I was tossed from side to side - I had been working with one head for so many years, I was tired, fed up. That’s why the music in the album “throws”: from cynicism to romance and contemplation.” Amelchenko and Zatagin, who joined him, gave a powerful impetus to the group - they begin work on another collection called “Arguments”.
The release of the track “NBA” took place in October 2017, and then a group of musicians were asked: “Did you foresee success?” To this, Felix laughed and replied: “If they had foreseen it, they would have shot the video right away! Of course, we realized that it turned out to be a cool song, interesting and unusual, but we didn’t expect an unexpected “explosion.” The track was played on the air, gained plays, and in February “sharply floated to the top,” Bondarev’s words. Then the trio of friends did their research - who helped the single rise? We found out that the melody “hooked” lovers of low bass the most, and in terms of occupation, motorists took first place among fans of the single.
We definitely need to tell you how Ella Ponomareva came to the group. Her first communication with Felix Bondarev happened when he was still recording “Naked Facts”. This is what he said: “In 2017, some girl knocked on my Instagram and said: I want a fit. I asked who she was and listened to what she was singing. I saw that I participated in “The Voice of Ukraine” and reached the finals. I was pleasantly surprised when I listened to her: good voice, professional intonation.” Their collaboration began with the track “Trains”: Felix acted very cunningly, he sent her a completely non-working (according to him) demo version, which he did not even intend to use.
The girl worked on it, sent it back, and again she pleasantly surprised him: “It turned out cool! They did it, and it turned out that “Trains” from the collection was listened to most often. And I deliberately put them at the end - they still listened.” A trio of musicians invite Ella to perform with them - they met in Rostov in June 2018, where the girl sang “Trains” live. And at this time, the outlines of “NBA” were already emerging in Felix’s head: “Usually the birth of each track has some kind of history, but this one doesn’t, well, I can’t remember, I just wrote it and that’s it.” Then he said: “This proves that good music can come out of nowhere in a moment.”
Three friends thought: “Why not make a girl the vocalist in the song “NBA”,” and they took her into the group. Serious work began on the single, and it was a real collaboration. St. Petersburg poet Artem Morgunov wrote the second verse, Felix Bondarev himself sketched out the chorus (he sings it). The creation of the first verse belongs to Ella, this is what Felix said later: “She wrote this, rummaging through her notebooks from 2015, when she was trying to compose something.” The main melody of the song, the one that fans of the band especially liked later - a banjo with reverb, was made entirely using VST (electronic musical instrument and sound processing software).
Separately, about the flute. Felix called out on Instagram: “We urgently need the help of a flutist, we are recording a new track, and we need a melody played live on a flute.” A girl from St. Petersburg answered him: “I’m a flutist, but what should I do?” He sent a sketch to a stranger, and suddenly the answer comes: the young stranger does not have any means of recording! “Do you have an iPhone? If there is any, record it directly on the recorder and send it,” Felix answered her and probably shuddered internally when he imagined the result. What he received turned out to be not just suitable, but magnificent - they inserted this option into the track without any additional processing.
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The single “NBA”, included in the collection “Arguments”, became a real super hit! Felix's fourteen-year-old sister, an active music fan, called her brother every day and reported that he was quickly moving up in various charts. Various demo versions simply rained down on the musicians, who rushed to record them all and sundry. A clip with cars that appeared on YouTube in November 2018 became especially popular: it literally gained ten million views in just a month. Friends realized: it was time to shoot an official video - and it was released with the current name of the group, “RSAC x ELLA”.
There were truths and complaints, harsh criticism. Some fans of the band didn't really like the chorus, which Felix composed and sang himself. There were cases where they even wrote: “What did this man lose in such a cool single?” The lead singer of the group responded to this: “I know how to negotiate with myself, and since not everyone likes this option, I’ll come up with something,” and they recorded a separate version, purely in the “female” version. At the moment, “NBA Don’t Interfere” has high rotation on the “SHAZAM” resource; the group was invited to the “Evening Urgant” program, where they performed the single live.
Some “old-time” fans of Felix Bondarev expressed indignation: “Was it worth such efforts that the daring group turned into snot for women?” – it’s really difficult to switch directly from his previous compositions to the melodic and gentle song “Don’t Disturb”. To which the musician replied: “Everything is logical. I haven’t felt completely underground before. For me, nothing has changed by and large - before that I also composed “snot”, they just weren’t so noticeable.”
On August 12 of this year, the band performed at the Motherland Summer festival with great success. The team willingly gives interviews, talks about their creative plans, the history of the creation of the group and details of the release of the latest album. Felix always mentions one more person who plays an important role in the recording of all the hits. His words: “The name is Stas Astakhov, our so-called “gray cardinal.” He is involved in post-production and mixing of tracks. A true professional - with him we can “mix” an album in 24 hours, he does it very carefully and competently.”
photo https://www.instagram.com/ella_spela/
Now “RSAC x ELLA” are planning to perform at the Matinee festival in Voronezh. After Voronezh in the fall, the group will go on a grand tour of Russia: they will visit Kaliningrad, Krasnodar, St. Petersburg, Tomsk, Nizhny Novgorod, and visit Minsk - this is not a complete list of cities they are going to visit. On their official page on social media. networks it is written: “These three guys and a girl, unlike anyone else, provoke you to throw out your emotions at their concerts, and in return they are going to be charged with inspiration for further creativity. Not a bad deal, what do you think?”
Personal life
On the set of the “Take On Me” video in 1985, Morten Harket fell in love with his partner, actress Bunty Bailey, which led to a short romance. The girl went to Billy Idol, who was then at the peak of his fame. The breakup dealt a severe blow to Harket's pride.
Morten Harket and his wife Camilla Malmqvist /
A year later, fashion model Patrice Bourque healed her emotional wounds. The musician loved his chosen one very much, but the parents sensed something was wrong - they believed that Burke was with Harket only because of fame and money. As a result, the singer put an end to his toxic personal life. It turned out that the parents were right: immediately after the breakup, Burke wrote an article in the newspapers about her stormy relationship with Morten.
In 1987, at the airport, the singer met Camilla Malmqvist, an actress. 2 years later, on February 11, the girl became Harket’s wife, and on May 14, their son Jacob was born. On December 31, 1990, the family was replenished with Jonathon, and on April 14, 1993, with Tomina. The general photos show that the children are a copy of Camilla. In May 1998, after 8 years of marriage, the lovers separated.
Morten Harket and Ines Andersson / Who's Dated Who
In 1999, thanks to his brother Kjetil, Morten met Anne Mette Undlien, who on February 7, 2003 gave birth to a daughter, Henny, from the musician. The novel ended in March 2005. It is interesting that the exemplary father left Henny to Anna, but assured the press that he constantly visits his daughter.
A few months later, in August 2005, Morten began a relationship with personal assistant Ines Andersson. On September 16, 2008, the couple had a daughter, Carmen Poppy.
Popularity
The young man successfully moved to Moscow, rented an apartment there, and settled down. The time had come to do something, and first of all, he created a VKontakte public page dedicated to his work. He posted several of his own songs there and decided to gather an initial audience of listeners.
Users of the social network really liked his songs, they began to subscribe to his group en masse and write to him in private saying that they were impressed by his work. This inspired the young musician to record more and more new songs. At the moment, he has released about two dozen tracks. Video clips were shot for two songs. He plans to record a full-length studio album and expand his fan base.
Kirsan performs a lot in clubs and at private parties. More famous artists invite him to sing as an opening act. The guy never refuses such an opportunity, since music has become an integral part of his life. His parents and brother are very proud of him and regret that they once discouraged him from becoming a musician.
Morten Harket now
There is no news about Marten Harket’s solo work, but in October 2020 a-ha went on a world tour with their debut album “Hunting High and Low”. The route includes Ireland, Great Britain, the Netherlands, France, Germany, Poland and Russia.
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Morten Harket in the show “The Voice”
In January 2020, the 4th season of the Norwegian version of the show “The Voice” started. According to Harket's Instagram, he is one of the jury members.
Career path in the group's work
Before reforming as Ateez From in 2018 . The video, shot in Los Angeles, features sunny locations. The guys, dressed in urban style, sing against the backdrop of palm trees, the ocean, villas and blue sky.
The group's debut songs after the name change were "Pirate King" and "Treasure". In the “King of the Pirates” video, the guys dance passionately against the backdrop of rocks in the desert. The dance video for “Treasure” was shot in oriental style. The palace, fortress, palm trees and sand are reminiscent of the treasures of the sultans.
The first part of the debut album took seventh place in the Gaon ranking. In 2020, the Ateez group released their second disc. The guys shot a video for the song “Say My Name”. Stylish images of guys in black raincoats, hats with chains and faces hidden behind scarves migrated to the next video for the song “Hala Hala”. Ateez is the first Korean group to achieve worldwide fame in less than a year after their debut.
Important facts
In 2020, "Ateez" toured Korea and foreign countries. In April the group performed in the USA and Moscow. Ateez participants do not maintain personal pages on social networks. It's like they have no personal life. The guys are always busy at rehearsals and in the recording studio. The guys' thoughts are occupied with global success, fans and working on facial expressions. They are accompanied by cameras everywhere. Idols' lives are a complete reality show. Producers control their players so that they do not tarnish the label's reputation and bring maximum profit.
Only Jongho officially has a girlfriend. Choi Jisun is a member of the show 'Mixnine'. Therefore, it is likely that their relationship is part of a larger K-pop reality and a production move. The rest of the guys are forbidden to have lovers or advertise relationships with girls who do not belong to K-pop cuisine.
In 2020, Ateez signed a contract with the American band and represented Korea at the MTV Europe Music Awards ceremony, which was held in Seville, Spain. The group won the "Best Korean Performance" category.
In South Korea, Ateez won two prestigious awards on music shows "M Countdown" and "The Show". Victories at home became indicators of professional growth for the guys. The artists felt that their work during the internship was not in vain.
“Ateez” congratulated fans on the New Year on the group’s YouTube channel. The guys prepared a surprise - a video with a cover version of the David Bowie song “Space Oddity” performed by Hongjoong. The guys also announced the release of a new album and a world tour.
Greeting from the Ateez group - “8 make 1 team.” The guys are brilliant on stage, but simple and shy in everyday life. Ateez loves their fans and does charity work. San participates in . The organization helps girls from disadvantaged families or early marriages get an education and overcome social bias.
