Anja Nissen

Anja Nissen (born 6 November 1995), sometimes known as simply Anja, is a Danish-Australian singer, songwriter, dancer and actress. She was the winner of the third series of The Voice Australia.[1] Following her win, Nissen was signed to Universal Music Group and lists her influences as Patti LaBelle, Aretha Franklin, Celine Dion, Mariah Carey, Whitney Houston, Anita Baker, Chaka Khan, Toni Braxton and Stevie Wonder. In 2015, Nissen was the support act for Olly Murs on his Australian Never Been Better tour.[2]

Anja Nissen
Nissen on the red carpet of the Eurovision Song Contest 2017
Background information
Born (1995-11-06) 6 November 1995
Winmalee, New South Wales, Australia
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • dancer
  • actress
Years active2002–present
LabelsUniversal Music Group
Websiteanjanissenmusic.com

In 2016, Nissen competed in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2016, Denmark's national final for the Eurovision Song Contest, performing the song "Never Alone". She came in second place with 36% of the vote.[3] In 2017, Nissen competed in Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2017 with the song "Where I Am", which she co-wrote. Anja went on to win and represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017,[4] where she finished the final in the top 20.

Nissen has been an Australia Day ambassador, and performed at the Australia Day Event in Northern Territory.[5] Nissen performed at the 2014 Carols by Candlelight in Melbourne, Australia. Nissen was also the face of Lyla & Co.[6]

Life and career

Early life

Nissen was raised in Winmalee, The Blue Mountains, New South Wales, Australia to Danish-born parents.[7] Her mother and father emigrated from Denmark to Australia when they were 11 and 22 years old, respectively. Nissen grew up on her parents' country property in the Lower Blue Mountains with her older sister. She attended Winmalee High School, where she obtained her HSC in 2013.[8][9] Throughout high school Anja was part of the exclusive Talent Development Program (TDP) and competed in a number of singing competitions.

In 2008, Nissen made it to the semi-finals of Season 2 of popular talent-search TV show, Australia's Got Talent, aged 12.[10] Since then she has appeared on a number of TV shows, including Young Talent Time, Mornings with Kerri-Anne and the annual Schools Spectacular. She also performed the Danish National Anthem in the company of Crown Princess Mary of Denmark.[11]

2014–2016: The Voice Australia

In 2014, Nissen was a contestant on the third series of The Voice Australia. She was a member of Team will.i.am, and went on to win the competition. Nissen's debut self-titled album consisted of songs from The Voice. It was not promoted by a radio single at the time, which impacted sales. Nissen later recorded a collaboration with will.i.am and Cody Wise titled "I'm So Excited", which received a mixed response. Soon after its release, Nissen began writing material in Los Angeles and Denmark for her eventual follow up EP.

  denotes winner.

On 19 May 2015, Nissen released her follow-up single of Bacharach and David's "Anyone Who Had a Heart" as a part of Nine Network's hit television program Love Child.[12] The song achieved over 70,000 views on YouTube. On 4 August 2015, Nissen released her third single "Triumph".[13] She performed her single on The Voice Australia 2015 to over 1.6 million viewers nationwide.[14] The song has over 15,000+ views online.

Anja was also featured on We Love Disney (2014) album singing "A Dream is a Wish Your Heart Makes" from Cinderella.[15] Her rendition of "Joy to the World" was released on The Salvation Army's Spirit of Christmas 2014 album.[16]

2017–2019: Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest

On 10 January 2016, Nissen was confirmed to be taking part in the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix 2016, Denmark's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016, with the song "Never Alone".[17][18] The song was written by Danish Eurovision winner Emmelie de Forest, producer Rune Westberg, and American singer and songwriter MoZella. She ended up placing second in the final with 36% of the final vote, behind winners Lighthouse X.[19] The following year, she returned to the Dansk Melodi Grand Prix with the song "Where I Am", which was written by Nissen herself, along with Angel Tupai and Michael D'Arcy. Nissen went on to win, getting 64% of the final vote, and represented Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017.[20] In May, Nissen released a 6-track EP titled Where I Am. As of 2017, Nissen is living in Los Angeles, where she is studying Keyboard Technology and Music Theory.[21]

2020: New music

In June 2020, Nissen released a new single; her first in three years, titled "If We Only Had Tonight"[22] This was followed by "Can't Do This" in October 2020.[23]

Discography
Main article: Anja Nissen discography

References
  1. "Anja Nissen wins The Voice Australia". Woman's Day. Retrieved 21 July 2014.
  2. "Olly Murs, Anja Nissen". theMusic. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  3. Jordan, Paul (4 January 2017). "Lighthouse X to represent Denmark in Stockholm!". Eurovision Song Contest. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  4. Nilsson, Helena (25 February 2017). "Anja Nissen fulfills her childhood dream". European Broadcasting Union. Retrieved 2 March 2017.
  5. "Australia Day". australiaday.org.au. Archived from the original on 25 March 2015. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  6. https://sslcam.news.com.au/cam/authorise?channel=pc&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.dailytelegraph.com.au%2fnewslocal%2fwest%2fvoice-winner-anja-nissen-makes-her-modelling-debut-as-face-of-big-w-clothing-line%2fstory-fngr8i5s-1227099383591
  7. Tesolin, Lauren (18 July 2014). "Can Anja, the little girl from Winmalee win The Voice?". Herald Sun. Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  8. Hjort, Martin (4 July 2014). "Se op Mary: Danske Anja et hit i Australien". BT (in Danish). Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  9. Hansen, Helle Kastholm (21 July 2014). "Danske Anja vandt The Voice i Australien". BT (in Danish). Retrieved 31 January 2015.
  10. "Anja Nissen – Australia's Got Talent". Retrieved 27 July 2014 – via YouTube.
  11. "Anja Nissen profile". The Voice Australia. Archived from the original on 29 July 2014. Retrieved 22 July 2014.
  12. "I'm outside of Australia. Why can't I watch 9Now?". 9Now Help. Archived from the original on 7 April 2016. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  13. "Triumph - Single by Anja Nissen on Apple Music". iTunes Store. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  14. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  15. "We Love Disney". jbhifi.com.au. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
  16. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 28 September 2015. Retrieved 28 September 2015.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  17. Ellegaard, Christian (7 January 2016). "Sangene fundet til Grand Prix: Hør dem 28. januar" (in Danish). DR. Retrieved 7 January 2016.
  18. Lynch, David (10 January 2016). "The 10 Danish Melodi Grand Prix songs revealed – accidentally!". ESCBubble. Retrieved 10 January 2016.
  19. "Lighthouse X vinder Melodi Grand Prix". Politiken (in Danish). 13 February 2016. Retrieved 13 February 2016.
  20. Granger, Anthony (25 February 2017). "DENMARK: SELECTS ANJA NISSEN FOR THE EUROVISION SONG CONTEST 2017". eurovoix.com. Eurovoix.
  21. "Anja Nissen Confirms 'Where I Am' EP". auspOp. 4 May 2017. Retrieved 5 May 2017.
  22. "If We Only Had Tonight - single". Apple Music. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
  23. "Can't Do This - single". Apple Music. Retrieved 29 October 2020.
Awards and achievements
Preceded by
Harrison Craig		 The Voice (Australia) winner
2014		 Succeeded by
Ellie Drennan
Preceded by
Lighthouse X
with "Soldiers of Love"		 Denmark in the Eurovision Song Contest
2017		 Succeeded by
Rasmussen
with "Higher Ground"
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