Ane.Fin:”I really needed to go out of my comfort zone to evolve. So scary, but so worth it!”
Ane Caroline Finstad (29) with the stage name Ane.Fin grew up in Horten but has lived in Oslo for more than ten years. After several years in a choir and as an event singer and songwriter, she found a new strength in communicating through her own music in her 20s. She began her career writing and publishing music in Norwegian, before resigning from a manager position, selling her apartment to finance her music and investing everything in attending the music school Limpi at Lillehammer. By coming together with fellow students, mentors from all over the world and students mostly based in the USA, she gained self-confidence to express herself in English. Although Ane may be unknown to many, she has several releases behind her, most recently in the fall of 2020 with the song “Hurts”. For the past year, her focus has only been on songwriting and releases, such as the podcast “Ane.Fin & Folk“. Ane is passionate about mental health, and mental health in the music industry is the theme of the podcast.
Ane.Fin is one of many Norwegian artists who also have a past as a participant in MGPjr. In 2006, she participated with the song “Trodde det var deg“. Ane wrote her MGP song together with a team that met each other at MGP’s songwriting camp last year. One of them is KIIM (Kim Rune Hagen) who himself participates as an artist in this year’s MGP.
Hello Ane, this won’t be your first time competing at MGP if we consider your participation at MGP junior which was back in 2006 with the song “Trodde det var deg” but it will be the first time that you are competing for a Eurovision ticket given the fact that Norway withdrew from Junior Eurovision in 2006. What memories do you have of that whole experience and do you think that Norway should be back at Junior Eurovision?
My best memory from the MGP junior experience was all the love and support I got from my friends & family. And of course the the possibility to perform for such a big audience at such a young age! That was really fun, and I understood at that time, that music was the love of my life!
And absolutely should Norway be back with the Junior competition, it’s such a great way for young people to connect with other young artist all over the world!
What made you decide to take part at Melodi Grand Prix?
It’s always been a big dream, so I was so so happy when I got the opportunity to participate with a song I love and with a message that is close to my heart!
You wrote “Walking in My Sleep” on a songwriting camp where you also met last week’s qualifier KIIM can you tell us how was the experience you had at the camp?
Actually I never participated at the writing-camp, the boys wrote a version of the song on this camp, and we connected forces and finished the song in October 2020.
In order to pursue your career as a musician you gave up on your previous job as a manager and you invested everything to attend Limpi at Lillehammer Institute of Music Production and we could say that it paid off. How was that experience for you at that age and what would you say to the people who read this and have doubts if they should follow their dream to pursue the career as a musician or in any other field. What should they know and how should they react?
I LOVE THIS QUESTION! First of all it was very scary, but a very important experience for me so I could grow as a human, songwriter and an artist. I really needed to go out of my comfort zone to evolve. I would encourage everyone to pursue their dreams, and you need to go out of your own comfort zone to do so!! So scary, but so worth it! I would rather try and then fail a hundred times, then to end up bitter for all the stuff I did not dear to try out in life. Even tho I’m soon to be 30 years old, I still have 40 years left to work, and I would rather love what I’m doing, in stead of being miserable every day. Age does not matter! Go for it!
Can you tell us what was the idea behind “Walking in My Sleep” and what does the song mean for you?
The song is an encouragement to wake up and be present in your own life!!
Could you reveal us more about the performance which is going to take place this Saturday?
I will be alone on stage at Saturday, and deliver the message of the song the best way I can.
This year’s Melodi Grand Prix will be held without the audience how will that affect your performance?
The audience is the best part of performing live, so of course that sucks big time!! BUT we are all in this pandemic together and the team in NRK/MGP has done an amazing job to make the live-perfomence as good and fun as possible! And most of all I feel privileged to have this experience in the middle of a pandemic!
Last year Melodi Grand Prix marked 60 years from its first edition what is your favourite song which competed at the stage of MGP and tell us why did you choose it?
« LA DET SWINGE» 1985 such vibe! Bettan & Hanne are such legends!!!
Do you watch Eurovision regularly, if so would you like to share a memory which you have of it or a favourite song from the contest?
YES!! I’ve watched Eurovision since a was I litte kid, and a show I remember really well is when LENA (Germany) won – I really loved that!! She became my idol after that!
You started a podcast called “Ane.Fin & Folk” where you talk about mental health with the focus of it in the music industry. Can you tell us more about the idea for that project, how did it start and why did you decide to dedicate it to mental health?
Thank you for asking! I wanted to remove the stigma of having a mental health (which we all have), but especially in the music industry. There is no one making sure that you are taking care of your mental health in the music industry. I wanted to highlight this topic and hopefully get more people to talk about it, and taking better care of them selfs, in such a hard business.
It’s also a great way to get to know the artists and the person «behind» the artists, more honest than social media will show you. The idea came from the release of my single «HURTS», which is reflecting the topics above. Even tho HURTS is kind of a sad song, I wanted to use the opportunity to create something bigger and do something good out of it.
Speaking of “Hurts” you released it last November you released “Hurts” and with it you are changing the style performing more songs in English instead of Norwegian in which you have previously released music, do you plan to release more songs in Norwegian or you fully transitioned to English language in your work?
First and foremost I will do English releases! But I have some really good Norwegian songs that I want to share as well. I also don’t want to make any rules for the art – I will just keep on doing what I feel like, and go with where my state of mind is at the time. As humans we are all evolving all the time, every second – so time will show.
What are your plans after Melodi Grand Prix?
WOHO, so much exciting stuff coming up – and of course more music! My debut EP coming up this spring!
Thank you so much for your time Ane. We wish you the best of luck at Melodi Grand Prix. Do you want to share something else or you maybe have a message for followers of escbubble?
Thank you so much for talking with me! Be present, make sure you spread love & positivity around you! MANIFEST LOVE – THE WORLD NEEDS IT!
Give a listen to her entry “Walking in My Sleep” on Spotify or at Youtube below
If Ane.Fin is your favorite in the fifth semifinal which will take place this Saturday, make sure you cast your vote for her in our poll right here:
[democracy id=”21″]
Let us know your impressions of “Walking in My Sleep” by Ane.Fin in the comments below and at our social media links!
