Sondre Lerche

Since his emergence at the dawn of the millennium, the wide-ranging work of Norwegian singer-songwriter Sondre Lerche has blended folk, indie pop, ’60s influences, jazz, bossa nova, and more. Born in 1982 in Bergen, Norway, Lerche studied classical guitar as a child before becoming fascinated by ’80s pop. He began writing songs and performing acoustic shows as a teen, and producer H.P. Gundersen took the young Lerche under his wing and widened his musical palette. Lerche was still a teenager when his 2001 debut album, Faces Down, was released, but the wunderkind had a musical maturity beyond his years, and his first single, “You Know So Well,” went to No. 2 in Norway. Lerche did his growing up in public—his sound evolved steadily over his next several albums as his international profile grew, and he moved to the U.S. in 2005. At various points, he has made forays into jazz, standards, guitar-heavy alt-rock, and whatever else suits his fancy, all while maintaining his signature hooky, melody-forward songwriting sensibilities.