If it had only been up to the 200 million TV-viewers, KEiiNO would have won the Eurovision Song Contest in May. Despite being overlooked by the juries, “Spirit in the Sky” ended in 6th place.

There is no doubt that the Norwegian band’s mix of dancepop, nordic folk and Sámi joik, has reached a broad audience. “Spirit in the Sky” was awarded 12 points from the public in 8 countries including the UK, Germany, Switzerland, Sweden, Denmark and the Netherlands. It performed well on single-charts in many European countries, reached #10 on the global iTunes-charts and was even the world’s second most viral song on Spotify. Until now, the single has been streamed over 30 million times (Spotify, YouTube & Apple Music combined).

KEiiNO is as far from a "made" project, and their whole team is made up of friends and family. They wrote Spirit in the Sky together with their Finnish and German producer-friends Henrik Tala and Rüdiger Schramm, and their families are involved in the release. Alexandras kid-brother is in charge of selling merchandise and the band works in the studio of Fred's father. And last but not least, Toms husband is the bands lyricist.

KEiiNO is as far from a "made" project, and their whole team is made up of friends and family. They wrote Spirit in the Sky together with their Finnish and German producer-friends Henrik Tala and Rüdiger Schramm, and their families are involved in the release. Alexandras kid-brother is in charge of selling merchandise and the band works in the studio of Fred's father. And last but not least, Toms husband is the bands lyricist.

When Fred, Tom and Alexandra began writing their follow-up single, their intention was to write a feel-good song. Perhaps it was the cold combined with a lack of daylight in Alta during February that steered the lyrics in a direction darker than planned: “Praying” is about the fear of dying. When thinking about death and one’s own mortality, it’s easy to start thinking about religion. KEiiNO has a clear message to conservative voices who judge how people live their lives, “won’t let anybody hold me down”. Naturally, KEiiNO will celebrate the 50-year jubilee of the Stonewall riots and perform at a number of Pride events this season. They will also be seen at festivals and TV-shows in Norway, Sweden and Germany.