Stargate team Tor Erik Hermansen and Mikkel S. Eriksen. Photo: Dusan Reljin
Best R&B song
At the 2009 Grammy Awards presentation ceremony in Los Angeles, the Norwegian songwriter and producer duo Stargate received the award for best R&B song for “Miss Independent”, written for the artist Ne-Yo. The prestigious Grammy Award is the recording industry’s own award for outstanding achievements in American music.
“Winning the Grammy for best R&B song was our greatest experience ever,” said an elated Tor Erik Hermansen to the NTB news agency. “And winning in a category where the award goes to the songwriters made it even more special.”
The American dream
It wasn’t until 2005 that the Norwegian duo decided to go for it and move to the US, the home of R&B. Their breakthrough came the following year with the song “So Sick”, performed by Ne-Yo, a track that quickly topped the charts both in the US and the UK.
The two Norwegians are now highly sought after as songwriters and producers. As if winning the Grammy Award for “Miss Independent” wasn’t enough, an impressive 11 of this year’s other nominations had a Stargate connection.