“Two weeks before the album deadline this fall I took a chance and sent Last Resort to a great drummer and producer, Bendik HK (Bendik Hovik Kjeldsberg). I’ve been admiring him from a distance for a long time. His fresh ears and amazing beats gave the song a whole new dimension and I fell in love with it all over again. It was the last song to be finished, and now I want to release it just before the album, as a little treat for the most eager fans who've been asking for it for so long. The track was inspired by my love for dramatic choruses and imagined as this epic, cinematic love story, written in a rainy apartment in Bergen. I can’t wait to play it live again on my Look To A Star Tour this spring and summer. Showing it off now feels like my favourite pokemon in its final evolution. Preferably to a sweaty, dancing crowd perhaps outside in the pouring rain, splashing in the mud at a festival?! That’s the dream scenario.” - Metteson
“It has been the thorn in my side for years,” is how Norway’s breakout pop star Metteson describes his latest single “Last Resort”. They are not the words you’d expect to begin a sales pitch, but Metteson breaks open his heart and shows how songs shapeshift over time. When supporting Aurora on her headline UK tour, “Last Resort” became a crowd favourite, and fans have been asking for it ever since, so he never gave up on it. Lifted from his highly anticipated debut album Look To A Star, to be released on 16 February 2024, “Last Resort” sets the tone for the record, with melodies that sky rocket into space and search for the star of his making. With nods to heroes of his from Lady Gaga to ABBA and Caroline Polachek, “Last Resort” is “without a doubt the most flamboyant, sexy and dramatic song off the album”, says Metteson. Performing in Trafalgar Square in London last month for the historial 77th Norwegian Christmas tree lighting ceremony, Metteson donned the infamous star hat that has become his recognisable silhouette and the subject of the album artwork. Metteson’s exuberant performances have won him fans internationally, and this spring, the pop star will play his biggest tour to date with debut shows in Europe and UK, including Oslo, Stockholm, Amsterdam, Berlin, Cologne, Manchester and London’s renowned Moth Club on 14 May. Tickets available below.
Metteson's theatrical background has given him innumerable tools to draw from with his growing confidence as a songwriter. Born and raised in Moss, a small coastal town 30 miles south of Oslo, Metteson studied acting at Oslo National Academy of the Arts. Some inspiring stage roles followed, but he found that acting gave him less space as an artist than he craved. "I got tired of speaking other people's words and singing other people's songs," he says. Starting songwriting whilst acting, Metteson's shimmering, emotionally literate music, described as kaleidoscopic pop (Guardian) and a gorgeous synth-pop symphony of devotion (i-D), caught the attention of Christine & The Queens last summer, when he was invited to play at her Meltdown festival at the Southbank Centre. Known for his electrifying live shows, a blend of pop star dynamism and theatrical grandeur, Metteson packed 2,000 fans into his Oslo hometown show in 2022, and has already sold out Sentrum Scene on 16 March 2024. Curating live experiences, Metteson worked with the Edvard Munch gallery on an installation during Oya festival in Oslo in the summer, inviting fans to engage with his music and fashion designer Freidrich Floen’s garments, who designed the star hat: "Being queer informs my fashion choices, my imagery and the way I express myself. I hope I have a sensibility that is open to otherness. I want my concerts to be spaces where people can feel whatever it is that they need to feel," says Metteson.
Selling out his first London headline show at The Lexington, which was co-promoted by queer arts collective The Chateau, Metteson released electro-pop masterpiece “Waves” in November last year, written with new collaborator Bastian Langebæk (Jessie Ware, Zara Larsson, MNEK, Emeli Sande). Metteson's fierce belief in the power of imagination informs everything he does, from his transcendent live shows to avant-garde visuals. The strikingly choreographed video for "Put It to Sleep", a euphoric electro-pop anthem from the album, invites us into an evocative fantasy world where tears are made of sand. Choreographed by Metteson’s partner Ole, who stars in the video as a one-man microphone stand - described as “my little Gaga-moment” - the choreography moves between theatrical and vulnerable, with lucid silhouettes that bend to the repetitive electronic synths.
At this point, he created his artist name in homage to his mother, Mette – it means, quite literally, "Mette's son". Over the last four years, Metteson's fan-base has grown exponentially as he has shared sparkling pop gems including “Second Heart”, a love letter to the iconic female singers he grew up with, and the stirring ‘Under Your Shirt’. Last year, he performed his sublime power ballad “Never Let Me Go” at a special show marking 50 years of decriminalisation of homosexuality in Norway.
“You look to a star for hope. You look to a star and feel insignificant. You look to a star to remember your loved ones and past loves. You look to a star and you are blinded” says Metteson before his highly anticipated debut album reaches fans.
Tour dates:
08 Feb USF Verftet, Bergen Norway
16 Feb Tromsø Driv Norway
24 Feb Havet, Trondheim Norway
05 March Kantine am Berghain Berlin
06 March Paradiso Amsterdam
07 March Yuca Cologne
09 March Lille Veca Denmark
14 March Tou Scene Norway
15 March Bare Studenthus Norway
16 March Sentrum Scene, Oslo Norway SOLD OUT
21 March Nalenclub, Stockholm Sweden
22 March Verket Scene, Moss Norway
13 May Yes Basement Manchester
14 May Moth Club London
