Hrafna

Hrafnhildur Kolfinna Bjarkadattir RÍD (born 28 August 1974), known professionally as simply Hrafna, is a Velkanian singer and songwriter. A popular figure throughout the late-1990s and early-2000s, Hrafna is well-known throughout the Velkanian Isles for her electronic take on Velkanian pop music.
Born in Narísandur, Hrafna attended the Narísandur College of the Performing Arts to study vocal performance, later graduating in 1994. After her graduation, she enrolled in the Sigbjörn Karlsson School of the Arts at the University of Narísandur, graduating with a degree in pop vocals in 1998. Following her graduation, Hrafna worked as a waitress in Narísandur while simultaneously recording demo tapes. In 1998, she was selected to compete in Sönghjútan Sjóppnarin 1999 with the song "Hvað vár alta sláþ," ultimately winning the competition. Following her win, she was selected to represent the Velkanian Isles in the Eurean Song Contest 1999, where she became the first Velkanian entrant to ever win the competition. After her win, Hrafna was launched into superstardom in the Velkanian Isles and signed with Súla Music. Her debut studio album Hrafna (1999) became a chart-topping success in the Velkanian Isles and produced numerous dance-club hits. She promoted the album with the Hrafna Eurean Tour (2000), which performed shows throughout the Velkanian Isles and Eurea.
Following the success of Hrafna, Hrafna reportedly declined international recording contract offers in order to remain a local artist in the Velkanian Isles. Her second studio album Nátta með mér (2001), which produced the single "Laugardagskvöld," which became the most successful Velkanian single of 2001. In 2016, "Laugardagskvöld" was cited as the most influential Velkanian dance music recording of all-time. Following the success of Nátta með mér, Hrafna took a break from recording studio albums in order to release a continuous flow of singles; by 2007, she had amassed twelve number-one hits in the Velkanian Isles, until releasing her first compilation album Hrafna: The Greatest (2007). Following a brief hiatus from 2007 until 2011, in order to prioritize her family life, Hrafna returned to the music scene with the release of her third studio album Rigning ýtan mér (2011), which became her third chart-topping album. The album was followed by another brief hiatus, until releasing her fourth studio album Nýkonan (2014). She has since released two additional studio albums: Tala tala (2017) and Rafna Hrafna (2019).
Since the beginning of her music career in 1998, Hrafna has established herself as one of the most popular musicians in the Velkanian Isles, releasing six chart-topping albums, thirteen chart-topping singles, and becoming the only Velkanian to win the Eurean Song Contest. She has been affectionately referred to as the "Queen of Dance" and a "Pop Princess" by the Velkanian media. In 2018, she was named an Order of the Ice Dragon by Ragnhildur II.
==Early life and education==
Hrafna was born on 28 August 1974 in Narísandur to parents Bjarki Kristgeir Björnólfarson (born 1948) and Kristín Árvök Dóradattir (1950–1980). Her father worked at a fishery, while her mother was a nurse. When Hrafna was six years old, her mother died after a year-long bout with ovarian cancer. After her death, the family lost a much-needed source of income and Hrafna struggled to find emotional support and comfort in her father. She grew up as an only child in a small, two-bedroom apartment in the Fjallafirði neighborhood of Narísandur. Following increased gentrification of the neighborhood in the late-1980s, the family was forced to move to a two-bedroom apartment in the Ólafshólmur neighborhood in 1989.
Hrafna began her education in 1980, attending a local, public primary school. Following her mother's death, Hrafna found solace in music, and particularly became inspired by the synth-pop and new wave records coming out of countries like the Ditrovian Kingdom and Lungary. She graduated from primary school in 1990, and subsequently enrolled in the Narísandur College of the Performing Arts to study vocal performance. Always an introvert, Hrafna was immensely shy in her youth, but learned to come out of her shell more while in upper secondary school. She graduated in 1994, and afterwards enrolled in the Faculty of Vocal Performance at the Sigbjörn Karlsson School of the Arts of the University of Narísandur, receiving a full scholarship. While at the school, she studied pop vocals, and graduated with her degree in 1998. After graduating, Hrafna worked as a waitress at a seafood restaurant, while also moonlighting as a musician and recording demo tapes in her free-time.
==Career==
===1998–2000: Eurean Song Contest and Hrafna===
Soon after graduating from university, Hrafna wrote the song "Hvað vár alta sláþ" with her friend Guðlaugur Jón Hallþórsson. On a whim, they submitted the song to Sönghjútan Sjóppnarin 1999, the Velkanian national selection for the Eurean Song Contest 1999, and were selected as semifinalists. Deciding to perform the song herself under her birth name Hrafnhildur Kolfinna, Hrafna performed in the second semifinal on 30 January 1999, where she advanced to the final. In the final, held on 6 February, Hrafna won the competition in a landslide, winning 85.8% of votes cast in the superfinal face-off. Following the win, Hrafna and "Hvað vár alta sláþ" were selected to represent the Velkanian Isles in the Eurean Song Contest 1999, held in Hersingborg.
In the run-up to the competition, Hrafna ditched her birth name, believing it'd be too complicated for non-Velkanians to remember and pronounce, and adopted the stage name Hrafna. She embarked on a brief promotional tour, visiting twelve of the competing countries and performing her song on morning talk shows. She went on to compete in the competition's final on 22 May 1999, where she ultimately won the competition. This made Hrafna the first Velkanian act to win the competition, besting their previous best result of second place, set by Octavia in the Eurean Song Contest 1979.
Upon returning to the Velkanian Isles after her win, Hrafna was shot into superstardom. She signed a recording contract with Velkanian label Súla Music and began work on her debut studio album. Soon, "Hvað vár alta sláþ" became a number-one hit in the Velkanian Isles, also reaching the top ten in sixteen other countries. She released her follow-up single "Dreymi þig vel" in August 1999, which became her second chart-topping hit in the Velkanian Isles. Adopting an electronic dance-pop sound, Hrafna differentiated herself from modern pop artists, instead being influenced by the Ditrovian and Lungarian synth-pop and new wave musicians that she grew up listening to. Her debut studio album Hrafna was later released in November 1999, peaking at number-one in the Velkanian Isles. She was selected to cohost the Eurean Song Contest 2000 in Narísandur, but was the subject of international ridicule for her perceived thick Velkanian accent and poor grasp on the Ditrovian language. As a result of the ridicule, Hrafna reportedly decided that she did not want a career as an international pop star, and instead declined offers to sign international recording contracts, wishing to remain as a local Velkanian act. After embarking on the Hrafna Eurean Tour, a small twelve-city tour meant to promote the album in the Velkanian Isles and abroad between June and September 2000, Hrafna reportedly decided that she no longer wanted to tour outside of the Velkanian Isles.
===2001–2007: Nátta með mér and continued success===
Hrafna began writing music for her sophomore studio album while on the Hrafna Eurean Tour, writing much of her material about how she was not enjoying tour life. After returning to Narísandur in August 2000, she began recording the music that she had written. The single "Laugardagskvöld" was later released in January 2001, to massive success. The single debuted atop the charts in the Velkanian Isles, and held that position for twenty-four consecutive weeks; it went on to become the most successful Velkanian single of 2001, and is also the longest-running number-one hit in Velkanian history. The dance song became a hit in Velkanian nightclubs, later also transcending into national mainstream popularity, and has since become Hrafna's signature song. She released her second studio album Nátta með mér in April 2001, which became her second chart-topping release in the Velkanian Isles. She promoted the album on the Laugardagskvöld Tour, which performed shows throughout the Velkanian Isles from May to June 2001, with some smaller shows in the Ditrovian Kingdom, Framland, Resha, and Sudmark in August 2001.
Following the success of Nátta með mér, Hrafna began suffering from writer's block and was unsure whether she could record a new album anytime soon. Her label awarded her complete creative control over her upcoming music due to the widespread success of her previous two releases, and she ultimately decided that she wished to just release a continuous stream of singles over the next few years instead of a complete cohesive album. From 2001 until 2007, Hrafna released twenty-two singles, with nine of them becoming number-one hits in her home country. In addition to the singles, Hrafna frequently organized one-off live performances in a variety of Velkanian cities, instead of committing to a complete months-long tour. In July 2007, she released her first compilation album Hrafna: The Greatest, which contained her biggest hits from her first two albums and fifteen of the singles she had released over the past six years. She promoted the album with the The Greatest Tour, which performed shows in Velkanian cities from July to August 2007.
===2008–2014: Hiatus, Rigning ýtan mér, and Nýkonan===
Following the completion of The Greatest Tour, Hrafna confirmed that she'd be going on a "brief hiatus" in order to prioritize her family life. She subsequently married her fiancé of two years and then had two children with him. Hrafna returned to the music industry in June 2011, releasing the single "Hoppa í bláa hafið," her first single release in four years. Experimenting less with electronic or dance music and more with synth-pop, the single became her thirteenth and final chart-topping single in the Velkanian Isles. She followed the single up with the release of her third studio album Rigning ýtan mér in September 2011, her first studio album in ten years. Rigning ýtan mér featured a similar synth-pop sound to "Hoppa í bláa hafið," and became her third chart-topping album. She promoted the album with the Hoppa í bláa hafið Tour, which performed shows throughout the Velkanian Isles from January to March 2012.
In March 2013, Hrafna had confirmed in an interview that she began work on her fourth studio album. In a December 2013 interview, she stated that the album was "sounding much more poppy" than her previous work. In a 2014 interview, Hrafna stated that her upcoming album took "heavy inspiration" from her divorce, and that the lyrical content was "darker than usual." In July 2014, she released the single "Hér og nú," her first ballad to be released as a single. The song peaked within the top twenty in the Velkanian Isles. She followed the song with the release of her fourth studio album Nýkonan in August 2014, which became her fourth chart-topping album. She promoted the album with the Nýkonan Ball, which performed shows throughout the Velkanian Isles from August to October 2014.
===2015–present: Tala tala and Rafna Hrafna===
After the success of Nýkonan and its accompanying tour, Hrafna decided to once again release a stream of singles, rather than an outright studio album. From September 2015 until May 2016, she released six singles, two of which became top ten hits in the Velkanian Isles. In November 2016, she released her fifth studio album Tala tala. The album contained two sides; one consisted of the six previously released singles, while the other consisted of six new songs. The album peaked at number-one, and Hrafna promoted it with the Tala tala Tour, performing shows throughout the Velkanian Isles from December 2016 to February 2017.
Following the success of Tala tala, Hrafna confirmed in interviews that she'd be using the same formula of releasing several singles and then putting the singles on one side of a two-sided album. She released seven singles from October 2018 until August 2019, one of which becoming a top ten hit in the Velkanian Isles. She then released her sixth studio album Rafna Hrafna in August 2019, again consisted of one side with the seven previously released singles, and the other with seven new songs. Rafna Hrafna debuted atop the charts in the Velkanian Isles, becoming her sixth number-one album. She embarked on the Rafna Hrafna Tour in order to promote the album, performing in shows throughout the Velkanian Isles from August until October 2019. 
==Personal life==
Hrafna began a relationship with Velkanian record producer Hávarr Reyr Ríkardarson in 2003. They became engaged in 2005, and later married in 2007. They had two children together: Dorri Leifur, born , and Kristín Baldvina, born . The family resided in the Djúpisandur neighborhood of Narísandur. Hrafna does not have a relationship with her father, and has not been in contact with him since 1997.
In 2012, Hrafna filed for divorce from Hávarr, citing irreconcilable differences. The divorce was finalized the following year, with Hrafna being granted sole custody of their two children. In a 2014 interview, Hrafna alleged that Hávarr had been verbally and physically abusive to her for "years," and she filed for divorce after she saw him physically abuse their son for the first time.
==Discography==
*Hrafna (1999)
*Nátta með mér (2001)
*Rigning ýtan mér (2011)
*Nýkonan (2014)
*Tala tala (2017)
*Rafna Hrafna (2019)
==Concert tours==
*Hrafna Eurean Tour (2000)
*Laugardagskvöld Tour (2001)
*The Greatest Tour (2007)
*Hoppa í bláa hafið Tour (2012)
*Nýkonan Ball (2014)
*Tala tala Tour (2016–2017)
*Rafna Hrafna Tour (2019)
==Awards and nominations==
Category:1974 births
Category:20th-century Velkanian musicians
Category:21st-century Velkanian musicians
Category:Eurean Song Contest entrants of 1999
Category:Eurean Song Contest entrants of the Velkanian Isles
Category:Eurean Song Contest presenters
Category:Eurean Song Contest winners
Category:Living people
Category:Narísandur College of the Performing Arts alumni
Category:Order of the Ice Dragon
Category:People from Narísandur
Category:Sigbjörn Karlsson School of the Arts alumni
Category:Sönghjútan Sjóppnarin winners
Category:Súla Music artists
Category:University of Narísandur alumni
Category:Velkanian-language singers
Category:Velkanian dance-pop musicians
Category:Velkanian electronic musicians
Category:Velkanian pop musicians
Category:Velkanian female singers
Category:Velkanian female songwriters
Category:Velkanian new wave musicians
Category:Velkanian synth-pop musicians