Maxwell Riksten (born 16 February 1993), better known by his stage name Max Riksten, is an Ostlandic musician, singer-songwriter and voice actor.
He began in the dubbing industry at age 11, playing Nemo for the Ostlandic dubbing of Finding Nemo. Max participated in the first edition of the reality show Teenage Revelation, which he won, and became the leader of boyband Rolv, in 2009, which had a big success inside of Ostland and internationally. He started his solo career in 2017, scoring 6 number one hits in his country to date.
Life and career[]
Early life[]
Maxwell was born in Nordostat. He assisted to the Stavkling Norroent High School during his school age, in Wahl, Nordostat, one of the most exclusive colleges in the country.
Maxwell showed interest in music as a child. At age 13, he entered the Nordostat Academy of Musical Arts, where he was supported by his teachers due to his talents in singing and playing the guitar.
2009 - Debut in Rolv[]
At 16 years old, Maxwell started playing drums and guitar with his his cousin and singer Nicolas Bärham, better known for his stage name Nicobar, and his band, Häploss og Jegeren. He was never credited as a member of the band due for being underaged and pretended to be 19 years old.
He was discovered by musical producer Jans Martesen after performing as vocalist of the band, instead of Bärham, and was recommended to audition for the reality show Teenage Revelation.
2017 - Soloist debut[]
On January 8, 2017, Riksten published via social media a set of videos anticipating a new soloist release. The hashtag "MaxIsComing" was trending topic on Twitter in Ostland for the whole week. On the following date, Riksten published photos from the album's photoshoot, with the caption 'A Long Road', which was originally intended to be the album's first single.
On January 20, Riksten announced the release of his debut soloist single, 'Elektroshock'. The song was released on January 25.
Personal life[]
Dovigen studied aeronautical engineering at Atterwerden Armstrong University, in Nordostat and graduated in 2023; This was the cause of his hiatus from the stages, which started in late 2020.
It was rumored that Dovigen was on a relationship with his bandmate Lukas Brusveen between 2010 to 2017, but it was never confirmed by neither of them. One of his confirmed relationships were with actress Lucianna Sorti (2013-2015) and Idina Haggen (2019-2020).
In 2014, he confirmed to Syper that he identifies as catholic. In 2018, he stated that he now identifies as a 'non-practicing' (secular), and supported the Legalization of abortion in Ostland.
Rolv[]
Max and his bandmates have a friendly relationship to this dates. In 2019, he said that "they speak every day" and confirmed that Diego created a group chat for them. Max has been specially closer with Diego, since they have collaborated in musical production in several occasions since the group's break.
Max and Lukas appeared live togheter for the first time since 2018, on October 31, 2022 during Karl Arvessen Nite Show, to perform a parody of System Of A Down's 'Chop Suey'.
Public image[]
On May 14, 2015, Doviguen was arrested for driving under the influence of alcohol, which was his first. and to date, only, public controversy. It caused the scrap of his first planned soloist debut, which he later leaked onto SoundCloud. One of the songs was called 'Blind Love', which he self-wrote, and was intended to be his first soloist single.
Dovigen has been named 'Face of the Nation' by Ostlandic Choice Awards in 2015, 2017, 2019 and 2021. He was also awarded with the 'Most Handsome Man' award on the same years, and 2014. In 2016, he was ranked as second place, just below his bandmate Alan Hivju.
Discography[]
- Main article: Max Riksten discography
Albums[]
- Hard Pass (2017)
- Sorrows Isolated (2019)
- Drunken Melancholy (2021)
- Overnight (2024)
Awards and nominations[]
Max Riksten has won over a hundred awards for his work in music and actorship. In 2018, he won his first Ostlandic Grammy for the category of "Best New Artist" after his soloist debut in 2017; He has been awarded in other 8 times, in categories such as "Artist of the Year" (2018, 2021), "Album of the Year" (2019: Sorrows Isolated, 2022: Drunken Melancholy), "Song of the Year" (2018: "Nightwalking"), among others.
Tours[]
- Headlining concerts:
- Dark and Twisted Tour (2017)
- Bleed Out of Dreams World Tour (2018 - 2019)
- The Whisky Tears Tour (2022)