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| 04 April 2003 |
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| - Thank you very much |
| Source : Nordlys |
"Wow" what a nice drawing! Who drew it?!"
This year (1999) "North-Norwegian of the year" for a moment falls silent, when admiring Arnulf Eilertsens portrait of her. And then lights up; "you have to greet the artist from me, and then please write a big thank you to all the people that has voted for me", Lene says.
The day before Christmas is stressing for everybody, even for Lene Marlin. Not even pop-stars are done buing all Christmas presents until the very last minute. Now, in between her shoppings, just before closing-time, the cheerful and always polite Kroken-girl take time off to chat with Nordlys.
- Means a lot
After a celebratory year like never before, receiving four Hitawards, the MTV-price for "Best Nordic Artist" and selling more than 800.000 CD-records, she still keep her feets solidly on the ground.
- Really nice. It means a lot to me to be named "North-Norwegian of the year", especially when I know people have voted for me, people doing an effort for me to win. I always think that "now people must be getting bored of me", and then I get surprised and grateful when people are still voting for me anyway" smiles Lene Marlin.
Candy & TV
After a year with activity that most people don't even realise the scope of, she finally gets a few days at home with her parents now. And her friends.
- At Christmas I usually wake up early, eats a lot of candy and watch TV before dinner and unwrapping of gifts.
- What have you wished for yourself for Christmas?
- Everybody complains that I am lousy in wishing anything for myself, and it has not really improved this year. Honestly I haven't wished for anything this year.
- You probably have anything you want now?
- It's more that I am so grateful for being able to be at home for Christmas with family and friends and just be myself, so that overshadows anything else.
Tired
Ufortunately her days of peace are few. Even before the christmas holidays are over she are headed south again. Just after new years eve she travels to Asia for almost a month of record-promotions.
- I admit I'm tired now. It almost have become too much lately, so I use these days to gather new energy for what will happen early next year.
But also others will get to know that Lene Marlin has released a record that 154.000 Norwegians bought this year. That she is big in Germany, Spain, Italy, South-Africa and Japan. To mention some.
- Everything has become so much bigger than I imagined, and still this is something new for people around me, my family and my friends must also start relating to this, Lene says.
No concert yet
Last time we talked, she told she wanted to play live, do concerts. And that she wanted to start in her hometown.
- There is no plans yet for any concert, but I still want to. And I maintain that I want to have the first real concert in Tromsų.
But not yet. Large concerts need planning and not the least time. And time is not a resource that Lene Marlin is flush with.
- Perhaps I might do some small things on stage, something spontaneous. We'll see, I still don't know anything yet, she says. Most of all I look forward to enter the studio again. If it was up to me, I could have started right now.
But still she is to promote her record "Playing my game" for a few more months.
- I recon we are done by March or April, and then I want a month free. Atleast.
- That means a release in the USA is put on ice?
- Yes, in my eyes it is. Releasing in the USA demands that I would have to be over there from six to nine months, and I am not ready for that now. Perhaps I am wasting a golden opportunity, but I have to take care of myself a little just now.
In studio this summer?
After the vacation she hopefully gets by March or April, her dream is to enter the studio again.
- I have songmaterial enough, and hope I can begin by the middle of summer. That does not necessarily mean there will be a new Lene-Marlin CD in the recordshop-shelves by 2000.
- No, a full recording takes its time. But I really look forward to a slightly calmer year, where I don't have to travel around promoting my record. I am starting to get mightily tired of it now.
Boyfriend?
- It has appeared in the newspapers that you have gotten yourself a boyfriend?
- Right from the start, I have kept as a principle that I will not confirm or otherwise about having a boyfriend. And this I will continue. I want to keep things like that for myself, smiles Lene Marlin.
During this year she has also been getting to know how it is to se her face on the frontpage of the big newspapers. Just this week Lene Marlin was pictured over most of the frontpage of Dagbladet with the headline: "Has made 20 Million Kroner".
- Talk about cucumber-news!
The 19 year old laughs.
- It's nice of them that hey want to calculate what I have earned, but it becomes a litte strange when somebody writes that I have made 5 million, somebody else writes 7, and then some that think I made 20 million. Honestly I have no idea how much I have earned, but I think 20 million is pretty far away from reality.
Autographs
Lene Marlin sometimes react to what is written about her in the newspapers. She knows that friends and the family also reads what is said in the same papers. These are people she appreciate a lot, people she will use her time on during this Christmas.
She still has a few Christmas gifts to go. We let her go now, this year's "North-Norwegian" deserves all the free time she can get. We are just about to say "Merry Christmas" to her when somebody else dicovers who is back in town. In a few seconds, he manages to pull out both a pen and paper to get a unusal christmas gift for the children, on Christmas eve.
Lene Marlin smiles, writes autographs, wishing everybody a Merry Christmas. We both stand up, I thank her for the chat.
- Only one more thing..
- Yes?
- Steak or sheep-ribs? (for Christmas-dinner)
- Sheep-ribs!
Translation by staalorm
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