Ahead of Eurovision 2016 she pulled out of several promotional events so that she could focus on her mental health and her performance of “Icebreaker”. And shortly after her elimination in the Eurovision semi-final, Norway’s Agnete disappeared from the public eye.
Now the beloved 26-year-old is ready to return to the spotlight on the Norwegian reality show Hver gang vi møtes (Every Time We Meet). Similar to Sweden’s Så mycket bättre, the show sees artists perform their own version of other artists’ well-known songs.
Speaking to Norway’s VG, Agnete said her participation on the upcoming show was part of her ongoing evolution. But it wasn’t an easy decision.
“I have had a few [battles] with myself, yes,” she says. “Mostly because it is a lot of work, and a rather demanding program to participate in. But I think I just have to throw myself into it.”
“I think the most important thing is that you do not allow yourself to be limited by challenges, and that you do what you feel you want to do — despite anxiety, despite things that can be scary and challenging. Because that’s how you grow, and that’s how you learn.”
Agnete rose to fame as the lead singer of Norwegian teen punk band The BlackSheeps. But not even that prepared her for the stress and anxiety that would come with Eurovision.
“I did not feel so good personally, in addition to being in a pressing situation — an urgent job there and then. It was a bad combo…I’ve spent a few years getting to know myself better and finding out who I really am and what I want. So I feel that I have grown a lot from the experience I gained in Stockholm.”
“I wanted to get to the final and please the Norwegian people, but I was simply not present. I did not have fun either — everything just got so tough. But at least I managed to be on stage. I’m proud of that.”
She’s also proud of her new surname, which was her grandmother’s maiden name and which can be traced to the Sami people.
As part of the show, Agnete will share her personal story and the ups and downs she has experienced. Is she nervous about that? “No,” she tells VG. “It’s not exactly fun stuff to talk about, but it’s an important thing to do .”
Are you excited to watch Agnete on TV again? Do you still listen to “Icebreaker”? Shout it out down below!
She was robbed in 2016. Shoud’ve been Top 10 in the final, to not make Top 10 in her Semi Final was a scandal
Thank you for this article. I’m happy that Agnete is still singing and doing television. Good news.
word “underrated” is way to weak to describe icebreaker
It was r o b b e d back in 2016
Icebreaker was criminally underrated
Icebreaker is with me everyday in my own struggles. I’m thankful, that song helps a lot during bad times… Agnete, thank you. :’)
I feel bad for Agnete, she’s had one of the most iconic MGPjr songs with “Ora jaska, beana”. We were just lost in the mix, as simple as that. I’d hoped for more points from the juries, but it’s how it is. Not surprised that we didn’t qualify. I had a lot of great ideas for the staging for this one. The staging we saw wasn’t dynamic enough, and it literally left you cold. I think everything should’ve just gone red and a little bit “crazy” during the last chorus, it would’ve spiced things up and give more meaning to… Read more »
It’s a pity to know that her ESC 2016 experience was really tough
The problem for her was both the song and the visual performance:
– Eventhough the song was nice, it wasn’t really spectactular. And its arrangements were quite a mess (I couldn’t really tell if the songwriters really wanted to go for a dance song or a mid-tempo. It just didn’t come across really well)
– The visual performance in ESC 2016 was too pale in comparsion with her NF performance
The song got a lot of criticism for being two-paced but I think it is a matter of taste. Some people don’t like the change but for me it adds another edge to help a song not plod along – Eliot from 2018 was another song which people criticized for being two paced but again it was one of my favourites. I look at it the other way around and say one-paced songs are not stirring enough (Hooverphonic is an example for me). I think the rise and fall and change of pace is one of the best elements of… Read more »
I heard icebreaker in the bathroom in a shopping centre here in australia 🙂
Agnete is such a sweet and talented girl. “Icebreaker” is still one of my favorite songs from MGP, and it should have qualified. It’s great to see her back in the spotlight. Maybe we will see her back in Eurovision one day. I sure hope so 🙂
4 years later and I’m still mad about her not qualifying. Icebreaker is one of my all time favourite ESC songs 🙁
‘Afterglow’ should have represented Norway in 2016. ‘Icebreaker’ even got the most beautiful LED background on stage by far in Stockholm, but the song still left me cold as ice. Finland and Denmark also chose incredibly wrong that year. With poor Iceland not going through, Sweden was the only Nordic country in the final.
Gabriela has better LEDs. ????
Norway should have gone with Freddy and Feel da rush in 2016. Would have stand out in Esc 2016 that was lacking fun, feel-good and light.
I liked Afterglow tho. Denmark or Finland didn’t have anything really competive if I can remember. Odd year for Nordics
Well… I dunno about competitive, but Denmark had Anja who at least would have qualified, I think. Finland had Mikael Saari. I don’t know how he would have done, but definitely better than the rubbish their voting system produced as the winner.
Not sure with Anja. In 2017 she showed weakness and that semifinal was easier than 2016.
And would have got same problem as Agnete, I think most potential votes would have gone to Australia and Dami. They kinda appeal to same target. DMGP was just very weak in 2016 or 2017 and Danes know it I think.
With Mikael Saari maybe, I prefer his song from 2013.
DMGP continues to be weak, in my opinion. But Anja has much more charisma than Agnete.
I like both of Mikael’s songs, but yeah, 2013 was his best by far.
Still am in complete and utter shock that Georgia managed to qualify and THIS AMAZING SONG did not. Wishing all the best to Agnete, she is so incredibly talented.
I’m from Norway, and even though I thought Agnete had a great song and should have qualified, Georgia had an amazing, different song with a cool performance and definitely deserved its qualification 😀
I respectfully disagree. The performance was really cool but the song was so structure-less it was painful. It just sounded like painful white noise to me, and was my last of that semi.
Just an opinion guys. No need to downvote. But ok
Icebreaker was my favourite of 2016. I was struggling with mental health problems at the time and the song massively helped me through those times. So I find it ironic and immensely sad that Agnete’s was struggling as well. I’m glad that she seems to have found her own icebreaker now and I wish her every success for the future – she certainly has a great deal of talent.
I really liked “Icebreaker” as a song and she performed it exceptionally well. There were a lot of rumours at the time that she was struggling behind the scenes and up to the contest so the fact that she delivered such a professional performance is a huge credit to her.
Here: https://wiwibloggs.com/2016/05/03/agnete-cuts-eurovision-activities-mental-health/140213/
I feel for her, mental healt issues are not a joke, it takes a lot of courage to get on a stage and deliver a performance in front of 200 million people while struggling with stress and anxiety, so kudos to her!