Photo: Isak Jenssen
Music meant everything to Hilde Skaar during her dark youth. But then things turned around and at 26 years old she can already look back on an impressive career.
/ 13/03/2025 / Audun Fegran KopperudThe story is taken from our campaign page for background music in customer premises. musicamplifier.no
– The music industry paints a picture of artists being so confident all the time. That all heads turn when they walk into a meeting, and that they have a vision for everything. I don't even know what I'm going to have for dinner, says Hilde Skaar (26).
The artist and songwriter is better known as SKAAR and has become a household name for most people who follow Norwegian music. Her biggest hit, "Higher Ground", has over 15 million streams. In 2023, she was named "Songwriter of the Year" at the Spellemannprisen for her latest album, "Mad Woman".
We meet her at the café "Tranen" in Oslo, in the middle of an intensive writing period that will result in her fourth album.
Hilde's career started suddenly when, at the age of 16, she was picked up by Warner after posting some singing videos on YouTube. In the beginning, she was part of the wave that was ravaging the industry at the time, with DJ duos that included young girls on vocals. The TRXD single "Wherever You Go" from 2016 was the song where many first met Hilde from Stord.
– I was young and hungry to make music. It was right for Hilde (17), but I have grown both as an artist and hopefully as a person since then. Now I would rather be involved in deciding how the song will end up, says Hilde, who has turned 26 years old.
Even though she has always written her own songs, it felt safer to lend her voice at the time, while she was finishing high school. She needed a soft start on the scary career path, explains Hilde.
"Wherever You Go" paved the way for the monster hit "Higher Ground", which came two years later. This was followed by a debut album, a second album and a third. In the meantime, she has given concerts at festivals and concert stages both in Norway and abroad.
Hilde feels more confident about who she is in this industry now. She recently thought about this when she watched the Netflix documentary “The Greatest Night in Pop,” which shows how the big American stars met to record “We Are the World” in 1985.
– Bob Dylan is one of the world's greatest lyricists, but was very insecure and got help from Stevie Wonder. I thought that was so nice to see, and I thought, "yes, I can actually be anxious and indecisive and still be a great artist," says Hilde.
And it is this vulnerable personality that she has gradually become more confident in. In recent years, Hilde has worked hard to be in touch with her own emotions, without being ashamed of it. Now, her emotions are a positive addition both to her work and to her life in general.
– I feel like my strength is that I write very honestly about something that comes from within. With “Mad Woman” I’ve dug even deeper than before, and I feel like I continue to get closer to myself with every song I write.
Right now she's in a good place, emotionally. Her career has taken off, and she's doing great in her personal life. It hasn't always been like this.
Let's go back to when Hilde was in seventh grade. She was diagnosed with ME and had to stay home a lot. While her friends were developing, making up fun things, and hanging out with boys, Hilde was in her room.
– When I was at my worst, I thought, “What if I don’t get well again?” It was hard to dream about the future. I found great comfort in the fact that I could still play guitar and sing, and feel like I was doing something I could master, she says.
In dark times, it was important for Hilde to do something that gave her positive energy. Because she was going through a tough time, she also had a lot to write about.
– At that time, I wasn't thinking about becoming a professional musician, but I think that period was a big reason why I became one, she says.
Slowly but surely, Hilde got better, and the illness completely disappeared when she started high school. Her artistic aspirations began to blossom. First at UKM with an alternative pop rock band, where they played the song "The Room", which was about Hilde's years of illness.
– It shares a name with a film that is known as the worst in history, haha. In a way, it's a bit embarrassing, as if someone were to look in my diaries. But I'm very proud that I stood on a stage and conveyed what was very heavy, Hilde reminisces.
Then it wasn't long before the YouTube videos took place, and Warner got in touch. You know the rest of the story.
Today, she has released everything from electronic to more organic music, which people all over the world listen to. Although her music reaches the top charts, this is not a motivation in itself for Hilde.
– What matters is getting to travel around and see the faces of those who listen to the music. I meet people who have linked memories in their lives to the music. I manage to absorb that. Heavy metal is impersonal and not very tangible, she points out.
Hilde is currently deep in the "writing bubble", after being out of it for a while. She is either making music in the studio, or recording ideas with audio recordings on her mobile phone. This can happen anytime, anywhere.
– What do you do when you take “time off”?
– I feel like my job is my hobby. My best friends are in my band, so both my job and my hobby are hanging out with friends. But this year has probably been the year I've had the most "free time" to hang out with my other friends.
In a hectic everyday life, it is not easy to find time for anything else. It also doesn't help that Hilde is very impatient when she starts new hobbies. She has tried reading, embroidery and crocheting, but then it all stops.
– I promised my band to make a travel pillow for everyone, with an embroidered initial on it. I only made one pillow. It was for my manager in two different shades of green. He is color blind and didn't see the initial at all, Hilde says, laughing.
Since her beginnings as a songwriter, TONO has been there for Hilde. She experiences the industry as "Texas" at times, and believes TONO is like a safe haven.
– As a songwriter, you are vulnerable and alone and get paid little. Being a songwriter alone is something few people can make a living from. There is a lot of income that is lost because songs are used here and there without people knowing who owns the rights. Then it is good that TONO knows, she says.
Songwriters need the income from TONO to continue making music, Hilde believes. She puts it bluntly, saying that if no one pays for the music, there won't be any new music.
– Some people have the impression that all artists live in mansions. That's not the case. Most people put in an incredible amount of work without earning much. It's important that businesses pay for music made by real people and don't choose generic and royalty-free music, she encourages.
Hilde looks at the clock. She has to run. A new studio session is coming up. In a while we'll know what the next step in SKAAR's discography sounds like. Because today we won't know anything.
– It will probably be a mix of… No, it's a secret. You'll just have to wait and see, she concludes.
