Anna Lotterud was born in a tiny Norwegian hamlet two hours south of Oslo. Settled with a boyfriend, she was working in a shop when one of her more persistent customers suggested traveling to shake up her ennui and enliven her latent creativity. Taking her at her word, Anna traveled halfway across the globe and enrolled in a graphic design course in Melbourne, whilst secretly harboring musical ambitions. Slowly, pleasingly, these quiet dreams would unravel into the sumptuous mood music we now know today as Anna of the North.

With the release of her otherworldly 2017 debut album, ‘Lovers’, Anna of the North’s tender melodies and lyrical storytelling had pricked all the right ears, building her a devoted fanbase, diving headfirst into her singular vision.

Whilst working on her follow-up album ‘Dream Girl’, debut album ‘Lovers’ and its eponymous lead single took on an unexpected life of its own. These songs of heartache, guilt and the tentative joys of moving on continued to unite a global audience in their intimate shared experiences.

Few modern artists, too, could appear as at home working with Tyler, the Creator (“911” and “Boredom”) and Rejjie Snow (“Charlie Brown”) as they are slow-duetting with HONNE (“Feels So Good”). The record’s word-of-mouth success culminated in the title track going viral from a placement in Netflix’s hit coming-of-age film, ‘To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before’. It’s a modern-day pop ballad that you fall in love with, and an artist even more people, you sense, are about to fall in love with.

2020 was consistently busy for Anna who won a Spellemannprisen (Norwegian Grammy Award) for her “Dream Girl” music video. “Dream Girl” was also featured in the Global Apple iPad Commercial and the track saw an overall streaming increase to 187% in its first week of airing. The track then got a fresh-take from Anna herself with “Dream Girl (Home Made)”. Mere weeks later, Anna was startled to hear yet another track, “Playing Games,” as she finished the first episode of the new Netflix Series ‘Never Have I Ever.’ She opened for Katy Perry on a livestream in partnership with the Coca Cola Foundation to support COVID-19 relief efforts and performed at the first ever Zoomtopia.

Up next and serving as an unintentional ode to 2020, “Here’s To Another” released as an anthem for reflecting on and letting go of all the negative in the past year. The nostalgic-sounding, melancholic but happy record sets the tone for a new era of Anna of the North. Pairing a steady yet euphoric beat with tongue-in-cheek lyrics that feel distinctly Anna but also fit the unified thought of “here’s to another year,” the Oslo based artist is building her own colorful world of pop music and inviting us on the ride

All of which has led Anna of the North – at times, entirely by accident – to where she
currently finds herself in 2022. That rare songwriter who strikes an emotional chord and resonates regardless of continent, collaborator or genre. A pop star who has perhaps always been hiding in plain sight.