Margaret Berger

In 2004 Margaret Berger placed second during season two of the Norwegian Idol series. Her first album, Chameleon, also appeared that year, offering pop songs shaped equally by rock and electronic textures and landing at number four on the Norwegian chart. No official singles supported the project, yet the clip for “Lifetime Guarantee” received a Spellemannsprisen, Norway’s equivalent of a Grammy. The 2006 follow-up Pretty Scary Silver Fairy emerged as a tighter, more autobiographical statement cut in London, Helsinki, and Berger’s native Trondheim, Norway; among its producers were Pete Martin (previously credited with Sugababes, Dannii Minogue, and the Brand New Heavies), Finnish team Jukka Immonen and Patric Sarin, and Locomotives member Hans Jørgen Støp. Retreating from guitars while expanding the electronic palette of the debut, Fairy unfolded as a complete dance-and-synth-pop statement that reached number eight—its luminous disco single “Samantha” peaking at number six—yet resonated strongly with the international online poptimist audience. The album surfaced in Sweden and Finland in April 2007.