Ylvis (Norwegian pronunciation:[ˈʏ̀lvɪs]) are a Norwegiancomedy duo consisting of brothers Vegard and Bård Ylvisåker. They debuted as professional variety artists in 2000 and have since appeared in several countries in variety shows, comedy concerts, television shows, radio shows and music videos. They hosted the Norwegian talk showI kveld med Ylvis (Tonight with Ylvis) (2011–2016). Their song and music video "The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)", written and filmed for the talk show, went viral on YouTube in September 2013. The video has over 1.1 billion views as of February 2023[update].[1] They released an album called Ylvis: Volume I, a compilation of ten older singles. In 2018, the brothers released a series titled Stories from Norway, in which they collected headlining stories from Norway and presented them as short musical documentaries to address satire, fun and comedy.
Early life and debut
Vegard Urheim (b. 19 May 1979 in Trondheim) and Bård Urheim Ylvisåker (b. 21 March 1982 in Bergen) were born to parents (Hans Terje Ylvisåker and Helga Urheim) from the Sogn district of Western Norway, the older two of three brothers. The youngest brother is Bjarte Urheim. Their early childhood years were spent in Angola and Mozambique, where their father was an engineer during the civil wars there. After a few years in Africa, the family moved back to Bergen, where the brothers received a musical upbringing and were trained in classical instruments. Vegard played the viola and Bård the violin.[2] However, both quit during their youth, Vegard instead focusing on guitar, voice, piano, double bass and comedy, and Bård on guitar, voice, comedy and acrobatics such as aerial silk.
While attending high school at Fana gymnas, they were heavily involved in school and variety shows as well as the school choir. During a performance, they were spotted by impresario Peter Brandt, who orchestrated their debut as professional variety artists at Ole Bull Teater in Bergen in 2000. Their debut show was called "Ylvis en kabaret" ("Ylvis: A Cabaret")[3] and was followed in 2003 by "Ylvis en konsert" ("Ylvis: A Concert").
2006–2009
In 2006, the brothers debuted as hosts on national broadcasting with the radio show O-fag (orienteringsfag, theoretical subject, named after a subject previously taught in Norwegian primary schools, a combination of science and social studies) on NRK Radio.
In January 2007, they appeared onstage at Ole Bull Theater with a new variety show, Ylvis III. They toured with the show for almost three years, the last show being played in Odda in western Norway in December 2009. The show was also recorded and published on DVD. Also in 2007, they debuted as hosts on national television with the show Norges herligste (Norway's Most Wonderful), a version of the Swedish show 100 höjdare (100 Highs). This was released on DVD as well as broadcast on Swedish TV.[citation needed]
In 2008 they released a second series of the radio show O-fag and also a new TV show based on their Ylvis møter veggen stage show on TVNorge, a game show concept inspired by the "Brain Wall", a feature in the Japanese game show Tonneruzu no Minasan no Okage deshita on Fuji TV.
This was followed up by another game show, Hvem kan slå Ylvis (Who can beat Ylvis?) in 2009, based on the German show Schlag den Raab (Beat Raab). Members of the public were invited to try to beat the brothers at various tasks, with a reward of up to one million Norwegian kroner.[citation needed]
2009–present
In 2010, they hosted Nordens herligste (The Nordic’s Most Wonderful), a pan-Nordic version of the show. In 2011 they reprised their variety stage show with "Ylvis 4", premiering at the Ole Bull Theater with the entire run sold out before opening night.[citation needed] That year, the brothers also launched a comedy talkshowI kveld med Ylvis (Tonight with Ylvis) on TVNorge, with Calle Hellevang-Larsen from comedy trio Raske Menn as a sidekick.
Upon being renewed for a second season, the brothers created a production company, Concorde TV,[4] in order to retain rights and creative control of their work. The second series was broadcast in 2012, with David Batra replacing Hellevang-Larsen in the role of sidekick. In the Fall of 2013, Hellevang-Larsen returned for the third series of I kveld med Ylvis. Despite technical difficulties during the broadcast, the first episode took the top ratings spot.[5]
A number of comedy and parody music videos, either originally featured on I kveld med Ylvis or used to promote the show, have been released onto YouTube and other streaming media. "The Fox" and "Stonehenge" have also been released as singles. "The Fox", produced by StarGate and M4SONIC, which was released on 3 September 2013 to promote the upcoming third series of I kveld med Ylvis, went viral on YouTube and received 31 million views in its first two weeks.[6] It was the most watched video on YouTube worldwide in 2013,[7] and as of March 2023[update], the video has over 1.1billion views.[1]
Ylvis received offers for interviews, concerts, and major label record contracts from several countries following the release of "The Fox".[citation needed] Their first performance abroad was on The Ellen DeGeneres Show in the United States, where they appeared on 20 September 2013.[8] They also made an appearance at the iHeartRadio Music Festival in Las Vegas the next day. On 9 October 2013, Jimmy Fallon brought them to his late night show to perform live.[9] On 11 October 2013, they performed on The Today Show outside the studios. On 15 November 2013 they performed on BBC Children in Need where they were joined on stage by Jedward, The Cheeky Girls and Bucks Fizz. On 22 November 2013 Ylvis attended Mnet Asian Music Awards for the first time, and received the International Favorite Artist award.[citation needed]
On 15 October 2014 Ylvis released on iTunes a single titled "I Will Never Be A Star", which was recorded by their younger brother, Bjarte Ylvisåker. On 19 November 2015 Ylvis released their first album Ylvis: Volume I on iTunes, which is a collection of some of their popular YouTube hits. On 5 January 2016, Ylvis revealed the music video and song "a capella" on I kveld med YLVIS on TVNorge.[11] "a capella" parodies a cappella groups like Pentatonix.[12][13][14]
In 2015, Ylvis received a nomination at the Berlin Music Video Awards for Best Animation with their music video ''Ytterst på tissen” (On the Tip of the Willy)''. The video was made by Julian Nazario Vargas from Animaskin.[15]
On 1 November 2017, it was revealed that the brothers would start a new television show entitled Stories from Norway.[16] The show, which blends the documentary and mockumentary genres with musical numbers,[16] premiered on 19 February 2018 on TVNorge.[17]
In 2019, both brothers appeared on the first season of Kongen Befaler (Norway's version of Taskmaster), and the series overall winner was Vegard.[18]
On 6 October 2022 the brothers announced a new show entitled Ylvis i Sogn. In the 10 episode series Bård has challenged himself, Vegard, and younger brother Bjarte to write 8 songs in 2 weeks, with the 8th song being a modern remake of Stao no Pao.
