Ylvis
Ylvis (Norwegian pronunciation: [ˈʏ̀lvɪs]) is a Norwegian comedy duo consisting of brothers Vegard and Bård Ylvisåker. They debuted as professional variety artists in 2000 and have since appeared in several countries in variety shows, comedy concerts, television shows, radio shows and music videos. They hosted the Norwegian talk show I kveld med Ylvis (Tonight with Ylvis) (2011-2016). Their song and music video "The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)", written and filmed for the talk show, went viral on YouTube in September 2013. The video currently has over 951 million views as of August 2020.[1] They released an album called Ylvis: Volume I, a compilation of ten older singles. In 2018 the brothers released [Stories From Norway]. “The Ylvis brothers collected headlining stories from Norway and presented them as short, musical documentaries”
| Ylvis | |
|---|---|
 Vegard (left) and Bård Ylvisåker (right) | |
| Medium | |
| Nationality | Norwegian |
| Years active | 2000–present |
| Genres |
|
| Notable works and roles | |
| Members |
|
| Website | Ylvis |
Early life and debut
Vegard Urheim (born 19 May 1979 in Trondheim) and Bård Urheim Ylvisåker (born 21 March 1982 in Bergen) were born to parents (Hans Terje Ylvisåker and Helga Urheim) from the Sogn district of Western Norway, the older two of three brothers. The younger brother is Bjarte Urheim. Their early childhood years were spent in Angola and Mozambique, where their father was an engineer during the civil wars there. After a few years in Africa, the family moved back to Bergen, where the brothers received a musical upbringing and were trained in classical instruments. Vegard played the viola and Bård the violin.[2] However, both quit during their youth, Vegard instead focusing on guitar, voice, piano, double bass and comedy, and Bård on guitar, voice, comedy and acrobatics such as aerial silk.
While attending high school at Fana gymnas, they were heavily involved in school and variety shows as well as the school choir. During a performance, they were spotted by impresario Peter Brandt, who orchestrated their debut as professional variety artists at Ole Bull Teater in Bergen in 2000. Their debut show was called "Ylvis en kabaret" ("Ylvis: A Cabaret")[3] and was followed in 2003 by "Ylvis en konsert" ("Ylvis: A Concert").
2006–09
In 2006, the brothers signed a management contract with the live production company Stageway. They also debuted as hosts on national broadcasting with the radio show O-fag (orienteringsfag, theoretical subject, named after a subject previously taught in Norwegian primary schools, a combination of science and social studies) on NRK Radio.
In January 2007, they appeared onstage at Ole Bull Theater with a new variety show, Ylvis III. They toured with the show for almost three years, the last show being played in Odda in western Norway in December 2009. The show was also recorded and published on DVD. Also in 2007, they debuted as hosts on national television with the show Norges herligste (Norway's Most Wonderful), a version of the Swedish show 100 höjdare (100 Highs). This was released on DVD as well as broadcast on Swedish TV.
In 2008 they released a second series of the radio show O-fag and also a new TV show based on their Ylvis møter veggen stage show on TVNorge, a game show concept inspired by the "Brain Wall", a feature in the Japanese game show Tonneruzu no Minasan no Okage deshita on Fuji TV.
This was followed up by another game show, Hvem kan slå Ylvis (Who can beat Ylvis?) in 2009, based on the German show Schlag den Raab (Beat Raab). Members of the public were invited to try to beat the brothers at various tasks, with a reward of up to one million Norwegian kroner.
2009–present
In 2010, they hosted Nordens herligste (The Nordic’s Most Wonderful), a pan-Nordic version of the show. In 2011 they reprised their variety stage show with "Ylvis 4", premiering at the Ole Bull Theater with the entire run sold out before opening night. That year, the brothers also launched a comedy talkshow I kveld med Ylvis (Tonight with Ylvis) on TVNorge, with Calle Hellevang-Larsen from comedy trio Raske Menn as a sidekick.
Upon being renewed for a second season, the brothers created a production company, Concorde TV,[4] in order to retain rights and creative control of their work. The second series was broadcast in 2012, with David Batra replacing Hellevang-Larsen in the role of sidekick. In the Fall of 2013, Hellevang-Larsen returned for the third series of I kveld med Ylvis. Despite technical difficulties during the broadcast, the first episode took the top ratings spot.[5]
A number of comedy and parody music videos, either originally featured on I kveld med Ylvis or used to promote the show, have been released onto YouTube and other streaming media. "The Fox" and "Stonehenge" have also been released as singles. "The Fox", produced by StarGate and M4SONIC, which was released on 3 September 2013 to promote the upcoming third series of I kveld med Ylvis, went viral on YouTube and received 31 million views in its first two weeks.[6] It was the most watched video on YouTube worldwide in 2013,[7] and as of July 2020, the video has over 947 million views.[1]
Ylvis received offers for interviews, concerts, and major label record contracts from several countries following the release of "The Fox". Their first performance abroad was on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in the United States, where they appeared on 20 September 2013.[8] They also made an appearance at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas the next day. On 9 October 2013, Jimmy Fallon brought them to his late night show to perform live.[9] On 11 October 2013, they performed on The Today Show outside the studios. On 15 November 2013 they performed on BBC Children in Need where they were joined on stage by Jedward, The Cheeky Girls and Bucks Fizz. On 22 November 2013 Ylvis attended Mnet Asian Music Awards for the first time, and received the International Favorite Artist award.
On 12 December 2013, they appeared on Live! with Kelly and Michael to promote their new children's book titled "What Does the Fox Say?" and later to perform. The book What Does the Fox Say? debuted as no. 1 on The New York Times Best Seller list.[10]
On 15 October 2014 Ylvis released on iTunes a single titled "I Will Never Be A Star", which was recorded by their younger brother, Bjarte Ylvisåker. On 19 November 2015 Ylvis released their first album Ylvis: Volume I on iTunes, which is a collection of some of their popular YouTube hits. On 5 January 2016, Ylvis revealed the music video and song "a capella" on I kveld med YLVIS on TVNorge.[11] "a capella" parodies a cappella groups like Pentatonix.[12][13][14]
On 1 November 2017, it was revealed that the brothers would start a new television show entitled Stories from Norway.[15] The show, which blends the mockumentary genre with musical numbers,[15] premiered on 19 February 2018 on TVNorge.[16]
In 2019, both members appeared on the first season of Kongen Befaler (Norway's version of Taskmaster).[17]
Filmography
| Television | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2007–08 | Norges herligste | Host | 14 episodes |
| 2008 | Ylvis møter veggen | 10 episodes | |
| 2009 | Hvem kan slå Ylvis | 8 episodes | |
| 2010 | Nordens herligste | 9 episodes | |
| 2011–present | I kveld med YLVIS | 71 episodes | |
| 2018 | Stories from Norway | Various | 7 episodes |
| Radio | |||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2006 | O-fag | Host | |
| 2008 | |||
Stage
| Stage | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Title | Role | Notes |
| 2000–01 | Ylvis en kabaret | Various | |
| 2001 | Ylvis Goes Philharmonic | ||
| 2002 | Ylvis Goes Philharmonic – episode II | ||
| 2003–05 | Ylvis en konsert | ||
| 2007–09 | Ylvis III | Over 200 performances | |
| 2011–13 | Ylvis 4 | ||
| 2014–15 | The Expensive Jacket Tour | 23 concerts in Norway and Sweden | |
| 2017 | The Expensive Jacket Tour | 1 concert in Slovakia (Pohoda festival) | |
Discography
Studio albums
| Title | Album details | Peak chart positions |
|---|---|---|
| NOR [18] | ||
| Ylvis: Volume I |
|
24 |
| Stories from Norway: Northug |
|
17 [19] |
Singles
| Year | Title | Peak chart positions | Album | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR [18] |
AUS [20] |
CAN [21] |
DEN [22] |
FIN [23] |
NZ [24] |
SWE [25] |
SWI [26] |
UK [27] |
US [28] | |||
| 2000 | "Rumour Says"[29] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
| 2004 | "Kjempeform"[30] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2011 | "Stonehenge"[31] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "La Det På Is"[32] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Sammen Finner Vi Frem"[33] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Work It"[34] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2012 | "Jeg Heter Finn"[35] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Someone Like Me"[36] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Janym (Жаным)"[37] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Jan Egeland"[38] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Pressure"[39] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Da Vet Du At Det Er Jul"[40] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Volume 1 | |
| 2013 | "The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)"[41] | 1 | 9 | 19 | 9 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 45 | 17 | 6 | Non-album single |
| "The Cabin"[42] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Volume 1 | |
| "Massachusetts"[43] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2014 | "Trucker's Hitch"[44] | 10 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| "Mr. Toot"[45] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "I Will Never Be a Star"[46] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Yoghurt"[47] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Ytterst På Tissen"[48] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Intolerant"[49] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Shabby Chic"[50] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2016 | "A Capella"[51] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles |
| "Old Friends"[52] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Engine for Gabriel"[53] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "Language of Love"[54] (featuring Esther Roe)[55] |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| "—" denotes single that did not chart or was not released. | ||||||||||||
DVD releases
- Ylvis III
- Norges herligste
- Nordens herligste
Awards
| Year | Award | Category | Project | Recipient | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | Komiprisen | Best Ensemble | Ylvis | Nominated | |
| 2007 | Komiprisen | The Year's Funniest (Audience Award) | Ylvis III | Ylvis | Nominated |
| 2008 | Gullruten | People's prize | Bård and Vegard Ylvisåker | Nominated | |
| 2011 | Komiprisen | The Year's Numbers | Ylvis 4 | Ylvis | Nominated |
| The Year's Funniest (Audience Award) | Ylvis | Nominated | |||
| 2012 | Gullruten[56] | TV Name Of The Year | Bård and Vegard Ylvisåker | Nominated | |
| Best Entertainment | I Kveld Med Ylvis | Ylvis | Nominated | ||
| Best New Programme | Ylvis | Nominated | |||
| Best Male Presenter | Bård Ylvisåker | Nominated | |||
| Komiprisen | Best Performance - TV/Film | I Kveld Med Ylvis | Ylvis | Won | |
| The Year's Funniest | Ylvis | Nominated | |||
| 2013 | Komiprisen | Best male artist, TV/Film/Net | Bård Ylvisåker | Nominated | |
| Mnet Asian Music Awards[57] | International Favorite Artist | Ylvis | Won | ||
| 2014 | World Music Awards | World's Best Song | "The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)" | Ylvis | Nominated |
| World's Best Video | Ylvis | Nominated | |||
| World's Best Group | Ylvis | Nominated | |||
| Spellemannprisen[58] | Hit Of The Year | "The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)" | Ylvis | Won | |
| Gullruten[59] | TV Moment Of The Year | "The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)" | Ylvis | Won | |
| Best Event | Live: Helkveld Med Ylvis | Ylvis | Nominated | ||
| Audience Award | Ylvis | Nominated | |||
| Komiprisen | The Year's Male TV Comedian | Bård Ylvisåker | Nominated | ||
| Radio Disney Music Awards[60] | Stuck In Our Heads – Catchiest New Song | "The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)" | Ylvis | Won | |
| MTV Millennial Awards[61] | Viral Video Of The Year | "The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)" | Ylvis | Won | |
| 2015 | Berlin Video Music Awards[62][63][64] | Best Animation | "Ytterst På Tissen" | Julian Nazario Vargas, Animaskin | Nominated |
| Gullruten[65][66][67] | Best Entertainment Program | I kveld med Ylvis LIVE | Ylvis | Nominated | |
| Best Male TV Host | I kveld med Ylvis LIVE | Bård Ylvisåker | Nominated | ||
| Audience Award | Vegard Ylvisåker, Bård Ylvisåker | Nominated | |||
| TV Moment Of The Year[68] | Ylvis and Charter-Svein - I kveld med Ylvis Live! | Ylvis and Charter-Svein | Nominated | ||
| Nordic Music Video Awards[69][70] | Post Production | "Ytterst På Tissen" | Ylvis | Nominated | |
| Best Artist Performance | "I Will Never Be A Star" | Bjarte Ylvisåker and Ole Martin Hafsmo | Won | ||
| Music Video Of The Year | "Intolerant" | Ylvis | Nominated | ||
| GAFFA Audience Award | "Intolerant" | Harald Zwart (director) | Won | ||
| 2016 | Komiprisen | Humor Program Of The Year | I Kveld Med Ylvis LIVE | Ylvis | Won |
| Male TV Comedian Of The Year | I Kveld Med Ylvis LIVE | Bård Ylvisåker, Vegard Ylvisåker | Nominated | ||
| Humor Moment Of The Year | I Kveld Med Ylvis LIVE | Ylvis | Nominated | ||
| The Year's Funniest | I Kveld Med Ylvis LIVE | Ylvis | Nominated |
References
- "The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)" on YouTube
- "Ylvis goes philharmonic". Bergens Tidende. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
- "Om oss". Ylvis Holding ASA. Archived from the original on 14 September 2013. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
- "Concorde TV AS - 998009812 - Firmapresentasjon". www.purehelp.no (in Norwegian).
- "Ylvis knuste konkurrentene" (in Norwegian). Se og Hør. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
- "The Fox: "What Did The Fox Say?" Hits 31 Million Views And Still Counting (With Video) - Entertainment & Stars". Archived from the original on 18 October 2013. Retrieved 19 September 2018.
- "Most-Watched YouTube Videos of 2013: Ylvis, Harlem Shake & More". The Daily Beast. 11 December 2013. Retrieved 5 October 2014.
- "Fremførte "The Fox" for første gang" (in Norwegian). TV2. Retrieved 20 September 2013.
- Itzkoff, Dave (11 October 2013). "The Fox Says, 'I Can Make You Famous'". The New York Times. Retrieved 12 October 2013.
- "Ylvis book tops New York Times bestseller list". The Local - Norway's News in English. 20 December 2012. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- Nyland, Bjørn Kristian (8 January 2016). "Ny Ylvis-låt går verden rundt: Vil brødrene gjenta The Fox-suksessen?" [New Ylvis song goes around the world: Would brothers repeat The Fox-success?]. Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- Anderson, L.V. (6 January 2016). "Ylvis' New Music Video Explains Why A Cappella Groups Have Been Singing "Boodelooap" All This Time". Slate. Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- Mav (6 January 2016). "Vokální muzika je nejvíc, přesvědčují norští komedianti. Přemůže všechna bezpráví". Reflex (in Czech). Archived from the original on 11 January 2016. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
- Rancken, David (11 January 2016). "Ylvis Has A New A Capella Hit". KLUV. Archived from the original on 13 January 2016. Retrieved 13 January 2016.
- Grindem, Karianne; Espeli, Hedda Fannemel (1 November 2017). "Ylvis gjør comeback med spesielt program". Dagbladet. Aller Media. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
- Braseth, Sofie (9 February 2018). "Ylvis snakker ut om USA-floppen". Se og Hør. Aller Media. Retrieved 21 May 2018.
- "Dplay". www.dplay.no. Retrieved 16 November 2019.
- "Discography Ylvis". Norwegian Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- "VG-lista – Topp 40 Album uke 12, 2018". VG-lista. Retrieved 24 March 2018.
- "Discography Ylvis". Australian Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- "Ylvis – Chart History: Billboard Canadian Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.
- "Discography Ylvis". Danish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- "Discography Ylvis". Finnish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- "Discography Ylvis". New Zealand Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- "Discography Ylvis". Swedish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- "Discographie Ylvis". Swiss Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- "Ylvis > UK Charts". officialcharts.com/ Official Charts Company.
- "Ylvis – Chart History: The Hot 100". Billboard. Prometheus Global Media.
- "Ylvis - Rumour Says". YouTube.
- "Ylvis - Kjempeform". YouTube.
- tvnorge (6 September 2013). "Ylvis - Stonehenge [Official music video HD]". YouTube. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- tvnorge (18 September 2013). "Ylvis - La det på is [Official music video HD]" (in Norwegian). YouTube. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- tvnorge (11 October 2013). "Ylvis - Sammen finner vi frem [Official music video HD]" (in Norwegian). YouTube. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- tvnorge (27 November 2012). "Ylvis - Work it [Official music video HD]". YouTube. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- "Ylvis - Jeg Heter Finn". YouTube.
- tvnorge (12 September 2012). "Ylvis - Someone Like Me [Official music video HD]". YouTube. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- tvnorge (21 October 2012). "Ylvis - Janym (Жаным) [Official music video HD]". YouTube. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- tvnorge (30 September 2012). "Ylvis - Jan Egeland [Official music video HD]". YouTube. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- tvnorge (8 November 2012). "Ylvis - Pressure [Official music video HD]". YouTube. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- tvnorge (14 November 2012). "Ylvis - Da vet du at det er Jul [Official music video HD]". YouTube. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- tvnorge (3 September 2013). "Ylvis - The Fox (What Does The Fox Say?) [Official music video HD]". YouTube. Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- tvnorge (19 September 2012). "Ylvis - The Cabin [Official music video HD]". YouTube. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- tvnorge (22 October 2013). "Ylvis - Massachusetts [Official music video HD] (Explicit Lyrics)". YouTube. Retrieved 21 December 2013.
- tvnorge (16 September 2014). "Ylvis - Trucker's Hitch [Official music video HD]". YouTube. Retrieved 17 September 2014.
- tvnorge (30 September 2014). "Ylvis - Mr. Toot [Official music video HD]". Retrieved 30 September 2014.
- tvnorge (14 October 2014). "Ylvis - I Will Never Be A Star (Bjarte Ylvisåker) [Official music video HD]". Retrieved 14 October 2014.
- tvnorge (28 October 2014). "Ylvis - Yoghurt [Official music video HD]". Retrieved 28 October 2014.
- tvnorge (11 November 2014). "Ylvis - Ytterst På Tissen [Official music video HD]". Retrieved 13 November 2014.
- tvnorge (18 November 2014). "Ylvis - Intolerant [Official music video HD]". Retrieved 18 November 2014.
- "Ylvis - Shabby Chic". YouTube.
- Ylvis - a capella [Official music video HD], 5 January 2016, retrieved 19 January 2016
- Ylvis - Old Friends [Official music video HD], 19 January 2016, retrieved 20 January 2016
- TVNorge (1 March 2016), Ylvis - Engine For Gabriel [Official Music Video HD], retrieved 3 March 2016
- TVNorge (25 March 2016), Ylvis - Language of Love [Official music video HD], retrieved 25 March 2016
- LoL #languageoflove #seal 💬🎶❓❗️⭐️ #bårdylvisåker #ylvis #behindthescenes
- "Her er de nominerte til årets Gullruten". Retrieved 15 August 2014.
- "2013 M.net Korean Music Festival Winners list" Archived 14 July 2014 at the Wayback Machine. MAMA. Retrieved 14 December 2014.
- "Spellemann.no". Retrieved 2 February 2014.
Årets Hit: Ylvis - «The Fox»
- "Årets TV-øyeblikk - The fox". Retrieved 27 July 2014.
- "Radio Disney Music Awards 2014: Selena Gomez, One Direction, Taylor Swift Among Winners". Retrieved 3 August 2014.
- "MTV Millennial Awards 2014 Winners List: Dulce María, Maluma, CD9 Among Fan Favorites!". Retrieved 13 August 2014.
- "BMVA 2015 Online Competition via Dailymotion". Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- "BEST ANIMATION - Berlin Music Video Awards 2015". Archived from the original on 24 April 2015. Retrieved 19 April 2015.
- "Berlin Music Video Awards 2015 - Set 4 Official Selection". Retrieved 23 February 2015.
- "Ylvis kan vinne to Gullruter". Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- "Stem frem din TV-favoritt til "Publikumsprisen"". Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- "Nominerte". Retrieved 24 March 2015.
- "Hva er årets tv-øyeblikk?". Retrieved 20 April 2015.
- "Nordic Music Video Awards er tilbake". Retrieved 26 March 2015.
- "NMVA2015 - Vinnerne". Retrieved 23 May 2015.
External links
| Awards | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Live Nelvik |
Se og Hør's TV Personality of the Year 2013 2014 |
Succeeded by Truls Svendsen |
Authority control  |
|
|---|