New Music From Norwegian Dance-Pop Artist Julie Bergan On This Week’s Playlist
- Words by Alyssa Morlacci; Playlist by Isaac Ezenwa
Discover new sounds from Norwegian dance-pop artist Julie Bergan on Loop Magazine's fourth weekly Spotify playlist “On Repeat.”
On Friday, Sept. 11, Norwegian dance-pop artist Julie Bergan launched her latest EP “Hard Feelings: Ventricle 2,” featuring her brand new single “One Touch,” which mixes alt-pop and EDM to craft a 1980s flair.
The 26-year-old singer-songwriter says a friend who recently got married inspired the lyrics for “One Touch,” a song that at its core is about commitment.
“You choose that one thing, or that one person you want to dedicate your life to, like what I’m doing with music for example. How amazing and exciting that can feel when you find that one thing that you love more than anything,” she says of the song.
Music has always been an integral part of Bergan’s life. With two music teachers for parents, she recalls always singing at home, and by the time she was 10 or 11 years old, she had decided she wanted to be a pop star. She took singing and dancing lessons, and she remembers looking at the backs of her CDs in order to research labels.
“I knew I was going to be a singer; I just had to figure out what way or what path or how I’m going to make it happen,” she says.
Finally, a friend nudged her to post a song cover she recorded on Facebook, and when she received positive feedback from friends and family, she created a YouTube channel.
“I just started connecting with different people, and I got to go to the studio and write more songs, and then I actually got a record deal the old-fashioned way because I was sending demos and writing about myself,” she recalls.
Seven years after signing a record deal with Warner Music Norway, Bergan has performed across the globe at events like Coachella to EDC Japan, and she’s already played shows as a guest to both Dua Lipa and Justin Bieber. With nearly five million monthly listeners on Spotify and an audience of close to 300,000 on her social media platforms, Bergan has positioned herself as a rising artist who’s ready to take her career to new levels once it’s safe to tour again.
“I was supposed to have a big tour this year, and everything is just canceled. Also, [I’m] trying to break different territories, for example, this year I had a song get really big on the radio in Spain, so that created some possibilities, but of course those went away because everything was canceled,” she says. “So sometimes it’s hard because you don’t know if it will happen again. But I’ve been just trying to get better at singing, get better at dancing, and I’ve been writing a lot. I think it’s been good for my writing because I’ve always been touring a lot but now I actually have the time to be in the studio and not have that stress and so many things to do. My favorite thing about music is having shows, so I miss that a lot.”
In an effort to connect with her fans from a distance, Bergan asked her community to take part in the creation of her music video for the song “Commando” by submitting dance videos.
“I love to dance, so that’s a natural part of everything, whether it’s my live stage shows or my music videos, but then everyone knows we’ve been going through a weird time where we haven’t been able to travel or meet people or have shows, and I really missed meeting the people who listen to my music and just being close to people,” she says. “So I wanted to create a music video where we could just do something together and kind of be in the same thing, even though we did it in our living room. It was just people from all over the world doing it together and not feeling so lonely maybe.”
Dancing is also the biggest part of what Bergan enjoys about experiencing nightlife.
“My favorite thing when I’m going out is always dancing, just being on the dance floor and being crowded and close to people, and when your favorite song is playing, that feeling, that energy that you get,” she says. “That’s what going out is all about for me.”
To find songs like “One Touch,” “Commando” and more from Bergan, check out this week’s installment of “On Repeat” on Spotify, where we’ve also curated new music from Steve Lacy, Calvin Harris, Big Sean and Post Malone.
“On Repeat” keeps a finger on the pulse of the most prime nightlife sounds from today and tomorrow. Follow Loop Magazine on Spotify, and check in weekly as we curate more all-star track lists.
