Spellemannprisen is a Norwegian music award ceremony presented by IFPI Norge and FONO. It was first awarded in 1973 for the recording year 1972, and has been awarded every year since. It is the most significant award that a group or artist can receive in Norwegian music. The award ceremony is organized by the Spellemann Committee, which is appointed by IFPI Norge and FONO.
The annual ceremony features performances by prominent artists. The awards are presented in a widely viewed broadcast ceremony. The awards are the Norwegian equivalent to the Grammy Awards for music, and it is one of the major awards in Norway along with the Gullruten for television, Amandaprisen for motion pictures, and Heddaprisen for stage performances.
Juries and scoring The number of awards given varies somewhat from year to year. According to the regulations for the 2022 awards, awards are given in a total of 28 categories. Of these, there are 17 genre-specific categories, three awards for the author (Composer, Lyricist and Songwriter), seven additional categories (Spellemann of the Year, Newcomer of the Year, Song of the Year, Music Video of the Year, Producer of the Year, International Success of the Year, and Release of the Year) and the Honorary Prize.
For each of the genre-specific classes as well as the author classes and additional classes, with the exception of Spellemann of the Year, the Honorary Prize and the Release of the Year, a professional jury is appointed. The professional juries decide by means of two rounds of scoring which of the registered artists and albums will be nominated in the various classes. Between three and five artists are nominated in each class. The professional jury then votes for a winner who receives a bronze statuette and diploma. For the Children's Music class, a children's jury is also used to select the winner. In the song of the year class, the winner is selected by the professional jury in combination with an audience vote. An audience vote has also been used in the past to select the winner of the Music Video class. For the Release of the Year class, a grand jury composed of all members of the professional jury is used. For the classes Spellemann of the Year and the Honorary Prize, a special jury nominates artists and selects the winner on an open basis. No nominations for Spellemann of the Year and the honorary prize are announced in advance.
Spellemann of the Year
Established in 1986, the annual Spellemann of the Year () is the most important award in the ceremony. It honors a Norwegian artist or group that has distinguished itself in the past year, taking into account performance, commercial success and record releases. The award is usually presented by the previous year's winner.
Breakthrough award Since 2007, the winner of the Breakthrough of the Year award (), previously called Newcomer of the Year (), takes home a prize of 200,000 kroner. The scholarship is awarded by Gramo, a Norwegian music industry funding agency.
Past winners includes Kvelertak, Aurora, Sondre Lerche, Boy Pablo, Lene Marlin, Sigrid, Astrid S, Emilie Nicolas, Donkeyboy and Undergrunn.
Leading winners
+Artist/groupNumber of awards Oslo Philharmonic 13 Karpe Leif Ove Andsnes 11 A-ha 9 Ole Ivars Cezinando 8 Odd Børretzen 7 Det Norske Kammerorkester Röyksopp 6 Madcon Lars Vaular Girl in Red Lene Marlin 5 Truls Mørk Geirr Lystrup Madrugada Vamp DumDum Boys Espen Lind Sidsel Endresen Odd Nordstoga Susanne Sundfør Arve Tellefsen Enslaved Frida Ånnevik
Broadcast channels In 2012, the live award show returned to NRK for the first time since 2002, and remained on the same channel until 2023. From 2003 to 2011, the show was broadcast on TV 2. Since 2024, the ceremony has been broadcast by online newspaper Nettavisen.
List of ceremonies EditionDateNetwork(s)Spellemann of the Year winnerHonorary Award winnerRelease of the Year winnerHost(s)Venue 1st 3 March 1973NRK1NRK P1 rowspan="13" Egil Monn-Iversen Birgitte Grimstad: Shown by Geirr Tveitt Rolf Kirkvaag Chateau Neuf 2nd 2 March 1974 Sigbjørn Bernhoft Osa Lillebjørn Nilsen: Portrett 3rd 15 March 1975 Nora Brockstedt Alf Cranner: Trykt i år Jon Anders Helseth 4th 28 February 1976 Otto Nielsen Stein Ove Berg: Visa di Rolv Wesenlund 5th 26 February 1977 Robert Levin Ole Paus: I anstendighetens navn 6th 25 February 1978 Toralf Tollefsen Alf Cranner: Vindkast Oslo Konserthus 7th 24 February 1979 Erik Bye Vårsøg: Sola e komma Arve Tellefsen Chateau Neuf 8th 9 February 1980 Reidar Thommessen Jan Eggum: En sang fra vest 9th 7 February 1981 Kari Diesen Ballade!: Ballade! Ekstranummer Robert Levin 10th 6 February 1982 Henning Sommerro Halvdan Sivertsen: Liv laga Sven Nyhus 11th 15 January 1983 Åge Aleksandersen Lillebjørn Nilsen: Original Nilsen Åse Kleveland 12th 7 January 1984NRK1NRK P2 Jahn Teigen Lars Klevstrand, Hege Tunaal and Ålesund Kammerensemble: Kirans viser 13th 5 January 1985 Totto Johannessen Tove Karoline Knutsen: Veintetid Marianne Krogness Oslo Konserthus 14th 16 January 1986 A-ha Bobbysocks, Rolf Løvland and Forente Artister Halvdan Sivertsen: Amerika Brødrene Dal Nova Spektrum 15th 24 January 1987 Sissel Kyrkjebø A-ha Henning Sommerro: Neonlys på Ivar Aasen Arve Tellefsen Oslo Konserthus 16th 17 January 1988 Jørn Hoel Dissimilis Kari Bremnes: Mitt ville hjerte Rita Westvik Chateau Neuf 17th 25 February 1989 Det Norske Kammerorkester Harald Sæverud Geirr Lystrup: Egg og champagne Torhild Sivertsen and Tomboy Oslo Konserthus 18th 20 January 1990 Øystein Sunde rowspan="3" Jørn Simen Øverli: Levende bandasjer Anne Krigsvoll Olavshallen 19th 2 February 1991 Gitarkameratene Gitarkameratene:Typisk norsk Marie Foss and Torstein Grythe Chateau Neuf 20th 8 February 1992 Dance with a Stranger Kari Bremnes: Spor Knut Borge 21st 20 February 1993 DumDum Boys Vidar Sandbeck Vidar Sandbeck: Legende Maihaugsalen 22nd 12 March 1994 NRK1 The September When rowspan="2" Vamp: Godmorgen, søster 23rd 4 March 1995NRK1NRK P1 Øystein Sunde Anne Grete Preus: Millimeter Håkons Hall 24th 17 February 1996 Morten Harket Arne Bendiksen Morten Harket: Wild Seed Chateau Neuf 25th 8 March 1997 D.D.E. Odd Børretzen Unni Wilhelmsen: To Whom It May Concern Oslo Spektrum 26th 3 April 1998 Bjørn Eidsvåg Lene Nystrøm rowspan="18" Claus Wiese and Herborg Kråkevik Chateau Neuf 27th 19 February 1999 Leif Ove Andsnes Ole Paus Claus Wiese and Bjørn Eidsvåg Oslo Spektrum 28th 25 February 2000 Ole Ivars Sven Nyhus Bård Tufte Johansen and Annbjørg Lien 29th 2 March 2001 NRK1 Herborg Kråkevik A-ha Bård Tufte Johansen and Jon Almaas 30th 1 March 2002 Morten Abel rowspan="4" Bård Tufte Johansen 31st 22 February 2003 TV2 Röyksopp Bård Tufte Johansen and Jon Almaas Oseberg Kulturhus 32nd 28 February 2004 Silje Nergaard Harald Rønneberg and Thomas Numme Chateau Neuf 33rd 26 February 2005 Odd Nordstoga Oslo Spektrum 34th 28 January 2006 Madrugada Terje Rypdal Chateau Neuf 35th 27 January 2007 Vamp Åge Aleksandersen, Bjørn Eidsvåg and Sissel Kyrkjebø 36th 2 February 2008 Hellbillies DumDum Boys Oslo Spektrum 37th 24 January 2009 Espen Lind 38th 2 February 2010 Alexander Rybak Jahn Teigen Solveig Kloppen and Ivar "Ravi" Johansen 39th 5 March 2011 Karpe A-ha 40th 14 January 2012 NRK1NRK P3 Jarle Bernhoft Jan Eggum Anne Lindmo Folketeateret 41st 23 March 2013 NRK1 Kaizers Orchestra Karin Krog Stavanger Konserthus 42nd 13 January 2014 Ole Paus Anne Grete Preus 43rd 17 January 2015 Nico & Vinz Morten Abel Jenny Skavlan and Mona B. Riise 44th 17 January 2016 Kygo Tommy Tee Susanne Sundfør: Ten Love Songs Jarle Bernhoft and Ingebjørg Bratland Oslo Spektrum 45th 28 January 2017 Marcus & Martinus Arve Tellefsen Karpe: Heisann Montebello Mona B. Riise Sentrum Scene 46th 28 February 2018 NRK1NRK2 Astrid S Mari Boine Cezinando: Noen ganger og andre Thomas Felberg and Jenny Skavlan Oslo Konserthus 47th 30 March 2019 NRK1 Alan Walker D.D.E. Emilie Nicolas: Tranquille Emile Tarjei Strøm and Julie Bergan Chateau Neuf 48th 30 April–2 May 2020 NRK1NRK2 Sigrid Oslo Philharmonic Karpe: Sas Plus/Sas Pussy Tarjei Strøm and Christine Dancke 49th 16 April 2021 NRK1 Tix Mayhem Tarjei Strøm, Silje Nordnes and Sandeep Singh National Museum of Norway 50th 22 April 2022 Girl in Red Hellbillies Girl in Red: If I Could Make It Go Quiet Tarjei Strøm, Mona B. Riise and Sandeep Singh Sentralen 51st 15 April 2023 Karpe Lillebjørn Nilsen Karpe: Omar Sheriff Selma Ibrahim and Yosef Wolde-Mariam H3 Arena 52nd 4 April 2024 NettavisenAmedia Undergrunn Ole Ivars Delara: Shahrazad Tuva Syvertsen and a member from Ballinciaga Clarion Hotel The Hub 53rd 24 April 2025 Marstein Maj Britt Andersen Gabrielle: Og Eg Lyger Så Det Renner Som en Foss Gjennom Rommet Thomas Numme and Harald Rønneberg
Categories and winners
Spellemann of the Year (Grand Prize)
Honorary Award (Grand Prize) 1973: Egil Monn-Iversen 1974: Sigbjørn Bernhoft Osa 1975: Nora Brockstedt 1976: Otto Nielsen 1977: Robert Levin 1978: Toralf Tollefsen 1979: Erik Bye 1980: Reidar Thommessen 1981: Kari Diesen 1982: Henning Sommerro 1983: Åge Aleksandersen 1984: Jahn Teigen 1985: Totto Johannessen 1986: Bobbysocks, Rolf Løvland and Forente Artister 1987: A-ha 1988: Dissimilis 1989: Harald Sæverud No Honorary Award given (1990–1992) 1993: Vidar Sandbeck No Honorary Award given (1994–1995) 1996: Arne Bendiksen 1997: Odd Børretzen 1998: Lene Nystrøm 1999: Ole Paus 2000: Sven Nyhus 2001: A-ha No Honorary Award given (2002–2005) 2006: Terje Rypdal 2007: Åge Aleksandersen, Bjørn Eidsvåg and Sissel Kyrkjebø 2008: DumDum Boys No Honorary Award given (2009) 2010: Jahn Teigen 2011: A-ha 2012: Jan Eggum 2013: Karin Krog 2014: Anne Grete Preus 2015: Morten Abel 2016: Tommy Tee 2017: Arve Tellefsen 2018: Mari Boine 2019: D.D.E. 2020: Oslo Philharmonic 2021: Mayhem 2022: Hellbillies 2023: Lillebjørn Nilsen 2024: Ole Ivars 2025: Maj Britt Andersen
Release of the Year (Grand Prize) 1973: Birgitte Grimstad – Shown by Geirr Tveitt 1974: Lillebjørn Nilsen – Portrett 1975: Alf Cranner – Trykt i år 1976: Stein Ove Berg – Visa di 1977: Ole Paus – I anstendighetens navn 1978: Alf Cranner – Vindkast 1979: Vårsøg – Sola e komma 1980: Jan Eggum – En sang fra vest 1981: Ballade! – Ballade! Ekstranummer 1982: Halvdan Sivertsen – Liv laga 1983: Lillebjørn Nilsen – Original Nilsen 1984: Lars Klevstrand, Hege Tunaal and Ålesund Kammerensemble – Kirans viser 1985: Tove Karoline Knutsen – Veintetid 1986: Halvdan Sivertsen – Amerika 1987: Henning Sommerro – Neonlys på Ivar Aasen 1988: Kari Bremnes – Mitt ville hjerte 1989: Geirr Lystrup – Egg og champagne 1990: Jørn Simen Øverli – Levende bandasjer 1991: Gitarkameratene – Typisk norsk 1992: Kari Bremnes – Spor 1993: Vidar Sandbeck – Legende 1994: Vamp – Godmorgen, søster 1995: Anne Grete Preus – Millimeter 1996: Morten Harket – Wild Seed 1997: Unni Wilhelmsen – To Whom It May Concern No Release of the Year award given (1998–2015) 2016: Susanne Sundfør – Ten Love Songs 2017: Karpe – Heisann Montebello 2018: Cezinando – Noen ganger og andre 2019: Emilie Nicolas – Tranquille Emile 2020: Karpe – Sas Plus/Sas Pussy No Release of the Year award given (2021) 2022: Girl in Red – If I Could Make It Go Quiet 2023: Karpe – Omar Sheriff 2024: Delara – Shahrazad 2025: Gabrielle – Og Eg Lyger Så Det Renner Som en Foss Gjennom Rommet
Songwriter of the Year 2019: Ina Wroldsen 2020: Larsiveli 2021: Cezinando 2022: Girl in Red 2023: Karpe 2024: Skaar 2025: Girl in Red and Matías Téllez
Producer of the Year 2010: Yngve Sætre 2011: Stargate 2016: Susanne Sundfør 2017: Cashmere Cat – "Trust Nobody", "Wild Love", "Frank's Track" and "All I Know" 2018: Ole Torjus Hofvind – Cezinando: Noen ganger og andre 2019: Aksel Carlson 2020: Martin Sjølie 2021: Matias Téllez – songs produced in 2020 2022: Cashmere Cat – songs produced in 2022 2023: Aksel Axxe Carlson and Thomas Meyer – Kongshavn 2024: Fay Wildhagen – Anne Grete Preus: Møtested - en hyllest til Anne Grete Preus