Kadir Halversson Demirbash (born 5 November 1987) is an Ostlandic singer, songwriter, and voice actor of Turkish descent, born in Ackerman, Ostland. Regarded the King of Ostlandic Pop, Halversson has broke countless records and become one of the most influential artists in the globe.
Since his debut in 2005, Kadir Halversson has experimented with various music genres such as rock, pop, metal, hip-hop, EDM, folk, among others, it has forged him a reputation as a chameleon artist, as he can adapt perfectly to each of them. With sales of over 50 million records worldwide, his studio albums have experienced an outstanding commercial success within the industry. Kadir's fifth album Dominus was the first album by an Ostlandic act to reach the top 10 of US Billboard 200, and his seventh, Desolation Season, the second to reach the top spot.
Early Life[]
Kadir Halversson was born Kadir Halversson Demirbash on 8 September 1978 in Ackerman, in the Ysvroen island, located northwest Ostland, to a Catholic Ostlandic father Wilhem Gustavsson, and an immigrant Turkish Muslim non-practitioner mother, Feride Demirbash. While growing up, he experienced the both cultures.
He grew up between Ackerman and Nordostat, to a fairly wealthy family. He attended to Jakobssen Primary School and Stavklings Science High School in Ackerman, before permanently moving to Nordostat, where he attended the prestigious Amalie Heisk Institute of Fine Arts, where he trained his singing and dancing skills. In fact he already knew vocal techniques as he had been performing as a dubbing actor since age of 8; This helped him become one of the most acclaimed students of the institution.
Career[]
2005: Debut, record deal and breakthrough[]
In 2004, Kadir Halversson was a student of the Amalie Heisk Institute of Fine Arts, one of the most prestigious institutions in the country. He was widely recognized due to his talent and artistic views, he was described as brilliant and innovative, and teachers acclaimed his first musical pieces.
Halversson started giving concerts, performing covers from artists and bands such as Aerosmith, Eminem, Nirvana, David Bowie, and Queen among others, in bars and restaurants as a way to be discovered; Wilhem, his father, owns two restaurants and knew other owners around the Nordostat city. Marcus Lunn, A&R representative from Saturn Records, saw Halversson in one of these concerts. Lunn was casually sharing with his family and was not interested on seeing Halversson; However, he immediately saw his potential.
Lunn offered Halversson to audition at his company to show the other executives his talent, so he could sign with them. Halversson did it, but decided to audition to other labels at the same time. He auditioned for Skyrocket, Jukebox, Virgin, Maximedia and Norrestjern Records. He was immediately accepted by all of them; However, according to him, Saturn's offer was the best for him.
In 12 August 2004, he signed a contract with Saturn to be under the label for at least 10 years, with the condition that Halversson would be able to release at least 5 albums, with total creative freedom for them. Lunn and Halversson talked a lot about his artistic views and ideas. Lunn saw that he was very talented and visionary, so he dealt with the label to allow permit him the total creative freedom for his material.
He immediately started producing his debut album, with some of the songs he had written time before. Lyrics explored the feelings on Halversson moving from his hometown Ackerman to the European megalopolis that Nordostat is, as well as the feelings of being a teenager and facing difficulties, being haunted by fears and finding each one's identity. All of these topics were comprised in his debut album, Unge frä Borg og landsbygd, which was released on 5 November 2005, after some singles were released.
The album was received with positive reviews and universal acclaim from critics, who highlighted Halversson's ability to deliver meaningul meassages to a youth audience, making visible and loud the problematic situations faced at young stages of life.
2007-08: Universal acclaim, media scandals and 'Astronomisk'[]
Kadir Halversson in 2008, shot for Ostlandic fashion magazine, Kjussning.
As of 2007, Kadir had establish himself as one of the most popular artists in his country. He had released two very successful records which included various hit singles. Although he had taken a nearly 8-months rest, he was not willing to stop promoting his career, and in August 2007 he announced his comeback single. "Ombytligk stjern" (lit. Shooting star) was announced to be released on 21 September 2007.
The song had a huge success, selling more than 50 thousand physical copies on its first month, and peaking atop of the Ostlandic Top 100. It received universal acclaim from the critics who praised its production and lyrics. Described as a 'unique, breath-taking indie pop ballad', the song features romantic, emotionful lyrics.
This was perceived by the public. On his almost four years of career at the time, Halversson had not been seen publicly dating anyone, and he had not revealed any partner. He refused to talk about his romantic life as he wanted people to 'focus on his music'. However, after releasing these singles, with notable romantic significance, speculations started spreading.
Halversson continued to promote his new musical era, for the album which was later revealed to be titled "Astronomisk", with the release of a second supporting single, "Hur kan jeg levan ulsen deg?" (lit. How can I live without you?), following the line of meaningful, emotional lyrics of the previous single. Everything seemed to be in order in his life, until on 28 April 2008, the tabloid magazine OK Magazine exposed, on the front page, his relationship with fellow singer and long-time friend Danyl Hoffland.
The both of them were concerned about this affecting on their artistic reputations. Halversson decided to ignore the situation to not aggravate the scandal. Still, Hoffland did not think the same, and held a press conference to deny the rumors of the relationship. Days later, Kadir broke up with Danyl due to feeling betrayed. Kadir, then, decided to take a rest from his activities due to all of the turmoil in his personal life.
Unexpectedly, this was well received by a majority of the public. Comments across his social media, and in fan pages, showed a generalized support to their relationship. Nevertheless, he also was criticized for different reasons.
Halversson, who is half-Turkish due to his mother, was supported by many groups of Turkish-Ostlandic people and Turkish immigrants since his debut. However, some these groups called on a boycott to his music and concerts due to him 'acting shamelessly' and 'commiting inmoral acts'. He was accused of 'haram' and of 'promoting homosexuality'. Halversson recorded a video statement in Turkish in apologize to his Turkish-origin fans, declaring never wanting to disrespect their culture. He also revealed not being Muslim.
On June 1, Halversson team revealed that the couple had broke-up after Hoffland's press conference, and that Kadir had been going through a difficult moment personally. They called on the public to respect his image and to not spread the gossip concerning to him.
His label did not stop to promote his upcoming album with another two singles, "Aurora Borealis" and "Kompass", which Halversson could not promote with live performances or concerts due to still feeling unwell. The two singles received moderate success, but could not manage to reach the success of his previous singles. Differently, the album "Astronomisk" was released on 16 September, and opened with 250 thousand units sold, a new high peak of his career.
2009-10: Rest from public life and comeback with Restless album[]
Halversson started writing new songs about how he was feeling at the moment, but was not sure when will he be able to comeback to the industry. Some of these songs reflected his point of view on the relationship, but most importantly, on its break-up.
In 2009, Saturn Records asked Kadir to release songs which could serve as a response to Danyl's. Danyl had released a series of singles with very emotive, soulful lyrics, which were believed to be dedicated to Kadir. Saturn saw an opportunity to profit with the media scandal. They claimed about 35 songs that had had recorded from May 2008, claiming that they had the right to release them because they had recorded them with money from the company. Then, they created a project album called "Odyssey" with songs that he "didn't like after all" as, according to him, he wrote them during a rage episode. Kadir scrapped most of the songs and brought some others from his past album, translating them into English. The re-released songs were "(You Don't Even Imagine) How Great You Are to Me", "Fugacious", and "Restless".
Among the songs that Kadir did not approve on releasing were "Coward" and "Cry For Me". He considered them as 'absurd' and 'shameful'. Anyways, the label released them and forced Kadir to promote and record a music video for "Cry For Me", which would serve as the lead single from the album. He released a second single as a way to distract from the first release, "Stary Heart", which he actually felt comfortable promoting. The both were outstanding chart successes. This helped him taking control of his music's strategy again, hence releasing less lyrically-intense and more emotional singles from that moment.
2011: Reinvention and come back[]
After the release of his fourth album Restless, Kadir embarked into its supporting tour, The Romantic Odyssey World Tour, through some cities across Europe and North America. However, he spent the rest of the time partying and drinking. He also had some romantic affairs that were later exposed. He temporarily moved to the United States to stay away from tabloids and newspapers who had meddle in his personal life before.
He has also mentioned not being interested on promoting the album after the release of "Stray Heart". Halversson revealed that it was his label's idea to release an album as a response to Danyl Hoffland's Regrets, to, what in his words was, "monetize with his hearts, mind and feelings". He explained that it was not Hoffland's fault either, who was also pressured by his own label to do release music about the break-up.
However, in 2011, he decided to come back to the studio to record a completely new, disrupting material to reinvent his image in the industry. While producing the album, he shown Elisabeth Paulsen, record producer and friend, the demos he had recorded for the songs "Robber" and "Heartbreaker" (later known as "Cassanova") , and her response was "You are the master at it" (Ostlandic: Du er mester pä det), referring to his ability to produce songs that sound good and might amaze people. There is where he got the idea for the next record's name: Dominus, which is the Latin for 'master'.
Halversson described his fifth album as a "fun, extravagant, and unprejudiced project". He also revealed that it would be a "complete reinvention" of his musical style and sound, and that his "good-boy era" was gone. The announcement was very discussed in socia media and the hype started to blow. Kadir did not reveal any more details for a while, until September.
2012: Musikk Fest, Eurovision and 'Dominus'[]
Kadir Halversson at Musikk Fest 2012 after the performance of his worldwide smash-hit "Cassanova"
In September 2011, Kadir announced through his social media that he had sent his submission to ONL to participate in the Ostlands Musikk Fest next year. This is one of the most prestigious recognitions for an artist's career in the Ostlandic music industry. However, his main intention was to represent his country in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012. Later, in December, he was confirmed as one of the contestants.
His entry for the contest, "Hjertsprikkere", along its English version "Cassanova" was released on 13 January 2012, and it immediately caught attention of the public and media due to its quirky lyrics and music video. The songs lyrics describe a typical womanizer, a man of passions, who has a lot of quick romantic affairs without establishing strong and deep sentimental links, just to 'spend the night'. Halversson explained that the song is not a celebration of these kind of demeanors, a criticism instead, and that he had been like it in the past. "I want people to understand that these conducts come from insecurities, and help them recognize them in their partners so they save valious time of their lives" he said.
Halversson performed as part of the Group B on 4 February 2012, he was 7th in the running order, and he broke the record for the most televotes in a contest's groups phase.
He was scheduled to perform last in the Grand Final due to being the most hyped. That night he won the contest with 438 points, the most points from both televote and jury ever, 224 and 214 respectively, and set the record for the highest points in the contest overall, which remains unbroken.
He was offered to represent the country in the Eurovision Song Contest, as all winners from Musikk Fest, which he accepted. He confirmed that the he will be performing the song in its English version, "Cassanova", than the Ostlandic version which he performed in the Musikk Fest.
Now in Baku, he was scheduled to perform in the First Semi Final. He placed first with 182 points. Viewers described his performance as energetic, amusing and witty. The performance consisted on Halversson wearing a formal suit with loafers and a top hat which he eventually removes. Ambienced as a 50s dance ball, Halversson flirtatiously interacts with each one the dancers, three of them being women and two men, untill he gets caught and gets thrown cakes and food at.
At the Grand Final, he was one of the three fan favourites to win, along with Sweden and Russia. He was 23rd on the running order of the night. After the votes countdown, he placed second with 328 points, 50 points away from edition's winner Loreen, who represented Sweden with the song "Euphoria".
Although he did not win the contest, he was grateful to his fans for voting for him and declared that his dream came true: "Tons of people talking and dancing to my song, me, an Ostlandic lad, that's my dream come true! I cannot be more happy and thankful for all, it's been a great time!" he said during an interview with ONL 1.
After Eurovision's Grand Final, Halversson released the singe "Dominus", teasing the namesake album. The both songs received commercial success in different countries around the globe. "Cassanova" became the first song from the Eurovision Song Contest to hit the United States' Billboard Hot 100, peaking at number seven on the issued week of 11 August 2012.
The album featuring the two smash-hits, Dominus, was released on 17 August, debuting at number four of the Billboard 200 albums, on the issued week of 25 August. At the same time, he embarked in his second world tour in support of the album, the World Dominus Tour, visiting more than 30 countries. The album was produced mainly by himself, with the participation of important record producers of the pop music industry, such as Circut, David Guetta, Fernando Garibay and the Swedish electronic music group, Swedish House Mafia. The album combines retrospective sounds which throw back to the 80s and 90s pop music, with new and modern electronic beats of the early 2010s.
Legacy[]
Regarded one of the greatest Ostlandic singers of the century, Halversson charmed the public with his charisma and simpleness, showing himself as a very humble human than an excentric elitist superstar. Yet he is known as a "monster on stage", showing an exceptional stage presence in every performance, and for having a three-octave vocal range.
His musical pieces have been listed among the best in the history of his country and have been cited by many artists as inspiration for their own works.
In 2013, he broke the record for the most victories in one edition of the Grammys, with 8: "Album of the Year" and "Best Pop Electronic Album" (Dominus), "Song of the Year" and "Music Video of the Year" (Cassanova / Hjertsprikkere), "Songwriter of the Year", "Producer of the Year", "Artist of the Year", and "Best Pop Electronic Song" (Robber / Rävar). In 2021, he was inducted into the Ostlandic Music Hall of Fame.
Personal life[]
Kadir Halversson is known for having a flawless reputation, with no major scandals. He married television presenter Marion Aaberg in 2019. She has gave birth to their first child, Irene, in March 2020, and second, Bekir, in October 2021.
Relationships[]
Danyl Hoffland[]
- Main articles: Danyl Hoffland and Kadanyl
At age of 21, Halversson starred headlines for weeks as OK Magazine exposed his relationship with Danyl Hoffland in 28 April 2008. The newspaper revealed that the couple had been togheter for at least 24 months. This was one of the first gay couple scandals in the country. The both artists' management crews had already knew, and even Halversson's team prevented the new to be posted 6 months before. The reaction of the people was unexpectedly possitive, as both were popular rising artists.
However, on 2 May, Hoffland scheduled a press conference to deny the rumors and his homosexuality. Most people did not believe in Hoffland declarations as the magazine released photographs of the two holding hands and being more than amicable to each other. This led the couple to break-up two months after, which was confirmed by Halversson's team in June.
Years later, in 2013, Hoffland and Halversson met again and made ammends. They have confirmed being friends on recent interviews. The failed relationship stayed relevant for years in the colective memory. Consquently, fans of the both artists in internet blogs coined the term Kadanyl to name the couple and continue the speculation about it.
Marion Aaberg and marriage[]
Halversson met Marion Aaberg while she was working in TV7; Kadir went recurrently to the channel's studios to perform or participate in the variety shows and Marion used to present the Good Morning Ostland, among other shows. In 2012, Aaberg was interviewed by wiwiblogs after Halversson's performance in the First Semi Final of Eurovision 2012; She mentioned that Halversson was a very nice person but shy at first.
However, their relationship was announced by Helversson himself in January 2019 in an Instagram post, revealing that they had been togheter for over a year. 6 months later he revelead that they married in Ackerman, where Helversson was born. Both agreed to mantain their relationship private as magazines and newspaper had exposed the singer's past relationships and reported millions in profits by doing it. This led Halversson to not usually share much information about his private life. However in recent years he opened a TikTok account and started posting regularly, showing his family sometimes, but specially to interact with his fans. Aaberg has declared that she shares his way of thinking about their privacy and that it has given her peace of mind.
Advocacy[]
Kadir Halversson has been annonimously donating regularly to LGBTQ and refugees foundations and NGOs for years. As one of his conditions to donate, he ordered his name not to be revealed by the organizations. Nevertheless, in 2019 OK Magazine revealed the large history of donations issued by Halversson, reaching the figure of 1 million euros in the span of 2010 to 2018.
LGBT activism[]
Kadir Halversson is openly part of the LGBT community; He identifies as bisexual. Known for starring one of the first gay "scandals" in the country, he has been actively supporting and raising awareness about LGBTQ topics since his early days in the industry. Halversson declared that he always felt ready to come out and that he found out about his sexuality while growing up.
In 2014, he gave an interview to nOST Magazine.
I'm known for not being a hateful person, yet I still purged myself from all kind of hatred when I realized that I was different. I've always been with women and felt right doing it, but one day I found out that I liked men too. What can I do? I won't fight myself. Everyone deserves to be comfortable with themselves and I will not rest spreading this message, because everyone has to know that we exist and that it is fine.—Kadir Halversson
Halversson has endorsed and donated to many LGBTQ fundations in Ostland and accross the World to guarantee the support and social integration for LGBTQ people in need.
Discography[]
- Main article: Kadir Halversson discography
English[]
- Restless (2010)
- Dominus (2012)
- Prodigus (2014)
- Desolation Season (2018)
- Meteor on Fire (2022)
- Calamity (2025, announced)
Ostlandic[]
All of his English-language studio albums have been released in Ostland as two-disc editions with a second disc containing the songs sung in Ostlandic.
- Unge frä Borg og landsbygd (2005)
- Tretteärskrigen (2007)
- Astronomisk (2008)
- Där jeg hör hemme (2021)
Concert tours[]
- World Dominus Tour (2012)
- The Great Trickster World Tour (2013-2014)
- The Ultimate Evil World Tour (2017-2019)
- Meteor Stars World Tour (2022-2023)