This is how the song came about:
It started as a joke, was written in a few minutes, and received a lukewarm reception when deLillos tried it live. Today, "Neste sommer" is one of Norway's most popular summer songs.
/ 10/07/2026 / Kristian DugstadWhat would summer be without summer songs? Every year, music sets the soundtrack for holidays, festivals, and bright evenings. Some songs last a single season, while others have a life that just goes on and on.
One of them is the deLillos classic Next summerOver 30 years after its release, it shared first place with Postgirobygget's Idyll when Norwegians voted on their favorite summer songs in a nationally representative survey conducted by Opinion on behalf of TONO in 2025.
We asked Lars Lillo-Stenberg to tell the story of how the song came to be, why the lyrics were originally intended as a joke, and how a collaboration with producer Kyrre Fritzner helped shape one of Norway's most enduring summer classics.
Where did the idea for "Next Summer" come from?
– Kyrre Fritzner was the producer, and he thought we should make a song that had the messy guitar expression that the Scottish group Teenage Fanclub was pioneering. A bit of that pretty grunge. So then I made a song that had that potential in it.
Fritzner would also prove to play a crucial role in the development of the song.
– When I found out that the chorus could modulate to B major, I was a little euphoric because I imagined something nice, but it didn't quite hit the mark melodically. When I played the idea to Kyrre the next morning, he was the one who hit the mark by humming the melody on the fly. It was simply a very lucky collaboration.
You've said before that the text started as a kind of nonsense text. How did it develop?
– We recorded the song quite quickly, and with that chorus, despite the grunge expression, I got associations with Melodi Grand Prix. My thoughts quickly fell on the old "En sommer er over" with Kirsti Sparboe, which I thought at the time was a Grand Prix song, and I basically stole the theme from there.
Lillo-Stenberg says that the text was initially only intended to function as a temporary solution.
– I sat down on the couch and wrote the lyrics in five minutes. This was really just to have some words to sing the melody to. We were eager to hear the potential of the song.
What started as a joke, however, was quickly taken seriously in the studio.
– Yes, it started as a joke, but Kyrre, and I think the others too, approved of the text and thought it was the right way to go.
But not everyone was equally convinced.
– When my brother heard the raw mix, he was pretty sure that song couldn't be included. He thought it could damage our good name and reputation because it was too banal.
One of the distinctive features of "Next Summer" is the change in key between verse and chorus.
– The fact that the verse went from D to F# was just something that happened, and when I realized that this meant modulation to B, there was no going back.
However, it wasn't the transition to the chorus that worried him the most.
– I was more worried about how the song would naturally get back to D in the second verse. We were maybe trying a clever chord progression, but we just ended up rudely going straight to D. Surprisingly, it was pretty damn good.
In fact, he believes that this is precisely the greatest stroke of genius in the song.
– That's the most brilliant thing about the whole song, when it starts again.
When did you realize that "Next Summer" had taken on a life far beyond the album it was originally written for?
– I actually think it happened already during the recording.
But the first meetings with the public were far less encouraging.
– The first few times we played it live before it came out, it got pretty bad reviews. “Kokken Tor” got a great response, but we couldn’t recreate the sound of “Neste sommer”. It was a real bummer. The audience had no idea what we were doing.
After the album was released, things changed quickly.
– Then it came out as a single, and the radios played it nonstop.
In 2025, "Next Summer" tied with "Idyll" as Norwegians' favorite summer song. What's it like to see the song still live on so strongly after more than 30 years?
– It seems like it's here to stay, but everything has an end. Children have been eating brown cheese on their bread since the 1800th century, but now that spread isn't as popular anymore. But it's probably still in many refrigerators.
And even though the story behind the song has been told many times, there are still details that are rarely included:
Is there something about the story behind "Next Summer" that rarely comes up when you're interviewed about it?
– Most of it has been said, but the original text was: "On the radio there was a program about blind violence, but we sat on the porch and had complete control."
Nothing ever came of it.
– Kyrre said: “No Lars, just sing about nice things.” So it became “summer food” instead.
"Next Summer" is one of approximately 1 million songs registered in TONO by our members. Businesses that want to play our repertoire of Norwegian and foreign music can do so with a license from TONO, for example broadcasters, concert organizers and streaming services. Businesses that use background music also receive the Gramo license in the same agreement. Get a TONO license at www.tono.no/kunder
If you write musical works and songs, as a member you will be paid TONO remuneration when your music is played publicly.
Read more and become a member here: www.tono.no/skapere