Camilla North could, quite accurately, be described as being a needle within a haystack. Out of over 1050 song submissions from countries as diverse as Zimbabwe, China and South Africa plus well-known Eurovision hard core nations such as Malta, UK, Sweden, The Netherlands and Germany, it was Camilla’s soaring rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” which got her noticed.

Thanks for chatting with us, and congratulations on being selected. For our readers who may not be familiar with you, could you give a short introduction about yourself?

I was born in Bergen. The second biggest city in Norway. In the house my parents moved into when I was only one year old there was a piano. I very quickly started getting interested in the piano and started with lessons when I was 6 years old. When I was a teenager I started writing my own songs and decided already then that I wanted to move to England to study music. After my studies in England I moved back to Norway and studied more at the Grieg Academy of Music. I was then told about songwriting camps and started attending different ones around the world. In that way, I’ve met a lot of people, and I’m now working with some amazing producers and songwriters.

How did you feel when you found out you were on of the finalists?

I felt very grateful. I’ve worked really hard to get where I am so this feels like an honor and achievement. To have been noticed.

What led to you deciding to enter the 1 in 360 competition?

I was encouraged by my publisher to attend.

Have you attempted to enter the Norwegian Melodi Grand Prix selection before? If not, why not?

Yes I think it would be fun to attend the Norwegian Eurovision as well. I’ve been so much around the world lately so it just felt natural when my publisher asked me about this in San Marino. And I’ve also always had a big dream about performing on the big Eurovision stage.

How are you getting ready for the contest? How are the preparations going?

I’m practicing, thinking, and dreaming a lot. Then I’m taking breaks to do something completely different so I then can come back to it all with fresh energy. I think that is what works the best for me when I have something big coming up.

You submitted a cover of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” to the 1in360 contest which blew everyone away! Also on YouTube we can find a few electronica/dance tracks with your vocals as well. Without giving too much away is there a style you prefer to perform, and what can we expect to see from your 1in360 live performances?

I’m a pop artist, but like I said earlier I have a very diverse taste in music so I do different things that fit the occasions. But within the pop genre. I can sit down by the piano and play a ballad, but I also love to be on stage and perform up-beat songs. So what I will do you’ll have to see when the show will be presented. It will be a surprise 😀

What do you do when you’re not performing?

I go to the gym a lot. I hang out with friends or my family. I love to go for walks in the woods and up the mountains. I really like to dance, go out and being social.

What musicians influence you? And what would be your dream collaboration?

Gabrielle Aplin is a really good singer/songwriter. That would absolutely be a dream collaboration.

Are you a fan of the contest? Have there been any acts or performances that really stood out to you at ESC?

Yes I think Eurovision is a really good songwriting competition. Also a good place for artists to show themselves. And I love the performances. There are so many that I like so it’s really hard to just pick some of them. But one that I really love is “Million Voices” that Polina Gagarina did. The song is so hopeful. The same with Euphoria with Loreen. I think Zoe from Austria did a really nice performance with Loin d’Ici, nd Emmelie De Forest with Teardrops from Denmark was interesting. The Norwegian winner Nocturne is also a favorite of mine.

According to your biography one of your songs, “Deja vu” was part of an album that ended up #1 on the World Billboard Charts for Korean group f(x). How did that come about?

This I wrote with 3 other songwriters at a camp, and it was my first time writing K-pop so it’s really fun that it’s been doing so well.

Have you done songwriting for other K-pop acts?

I have written more K-pop songs since that indeed.

Is there any difference in songwriting for K-pop artists compared to European artists? They tend to be very high energy!

Yes, K-pop is different because first of all they most often have 9, up to 11 singers in the group. You basically have to write parts for all these singers. And often with a rap. That is what recognizes K-pop – all the different parts.

A lot has been made of the international nature of the 1in360 selections. How do you think you’d handle representing a different country than your nationality at the contest?

I think that would be a lot of fun and a big honor. I know that there are other countries as well that have open auditions for singers from all around the world so I don’t think it’s the first time this has been done. I would really like to make them proud of course.

And finally, is there anything you’d like to say to our viewers at ESCBubble?

I hope you will love my song and that you will support me. And that you will tell others about my music if you like it. I just released my single “Still Alive” before Christmas and there is more music to come. So please subscribe to my music pages to follow all my news. I’m on Spotify, SoundCloud, YouTube, Facebook, and Instagram (camilla_north).

Thanks Camilla and all the best for the 1in360 competition!