On a Friday afternoon in the middle of August, in what is considered to be the hottest summer in recent memory, I sat in my living-room in Southampton preparing myself for an interview with pop-princess NORA. Words of wisdom I have always held near and dear; always prepare yourself for the unexpected. 

NORA was exactly that. An unexpected Norwegian pop sensation, who is ready to take London by storm with her new, re-vamped brand, sound and attitude that materialised itself in her upcoming EP “Boring Personality Disorder”. Wearing a striped purple and white two-piece outfit and codling her little dog in her home back in Norway, the interview unfolded. 

“Boring Personality Disorder” was originally set to release in 2020 as a four-track EP. With the pandemic pushing the scheduled timeline back by two-years, NORA has now added an additional two songs to the track list and is planning an Autumn release of the finalised project. Being trained in opera since the age of twelve and involving herself in the world of Jazz at the age of sixteen, being inspired by Jazz legends such as Nora Jones and Chet Baker, she is using this project to re-invent and re-brand her sound , expressing that “This sound gives me room as an artist and as a person to grow”. The sound in question is an alternative, edgy and darker side of pop, that embodies her love for Jazz and her unique training in the art of opera. As her favourite activity to do whilst gigging was to “Take a pop song, strip it down and jazz it up!”, it’s no surprise that NORA took the opportunity to branch out of boxes set by the boundaries of a genre and create the sound that Is “unapologetically me”. 

With two singles from the EP already released “Bad Man” and “Boys Getting Bored”, a real sense of her ‘unapologetic’ sound comes to light; the songs discuss topics of toxic relationships, toxic masculinity, mental health and a message to her “younger and naïve self”. The tracks play as power ballads that awaken the light in a dark atmosphere, as NORA rises from the ashes of her pain as a phoenix ready to soar and take the music world by storm. 

As NORA spoke about her time writing the songs for “Boring Personality Disorder” she gave insight  into the process.

“’Bad Man’ was actually written in 2018 and acted as a catalyst for  this EP, as it really embodies what I wanted to say through ‘Boring Personality Disorder’ which is to find your power again, not a newfound power but one you always knew that you  had inside you.” 

As the temperatures continued to soar, we diverted the discussion to a more light-hearted  topic of her favourite tracks on ‘Boring Personality Disorder’ to take a breather from heartbreak and heartache. “If I’m home alone or just by myself my favourite track would be  ‘Other Guys’, but if I was out partying with my girls and just trying to have some fun then I’d ask them to play ‘Boys Getting Bored’ as it’s a bit more playful and you can really get moving  with it.” 

As NORA takes us through her journey of ‘self-resilience’ and ‘self-empowerment’, not only through ‘Boring Personality Disorder’ but through her identity as an artist we see the dark pop-princess emerge as a standout artist in 2022. This year alone, NORA’s single ‘Cracks’  had its first play at international film festival CPH: DOX in Copenhagen, which will be heading to multiple TV channels this autumn. Leaving a mark not only in the UK, but across  the Scandinavian territories near her home country of Norway. 

NORA is set to take the coming years by storm and ‘Boring Personality Disorder’ is just a glimpse of her potential as an artist. As a phoenix rising from the ashes, so is NORA as she emerges onto the pop scene. 

If you like: Billie Eilish, Tate Mcrae or Birdy, you will love NORA.