Fred Buljo

Fred-René Øvergård Buljo (born 6 February 1988), better known as simply Fred Buljo, is a Norwegian Sámi rapper and joiker. Buljo is a member of the Sámi rap duo Duolva Duottar, consisting of Buljo and Ole Mahtte Gaup, established in 2007. In 2008, the group made a breakthrough when they participated in Norske Talenter and reached the final.^[1] He also is one of members of the supergroup KEiiNO, alongside Alexandra Rotan and Tom Hugo. The group was created in late 2018 in preparation for the participation in Melodi Grand Prix 2019,^[2] which they won and so were selected to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2019, finishing in sixth place.

Fred-René Buljo
Buljo at Cologne Pride in 2019
Born	Fred-René Øvergård Buljo (1988-02-06) 6 February 1988 (age 36) Kautokeino, Norway
Nationality	Norwegian
Other names	Fred Buljo
Occupations	Musician politician producer songwriter rapper joiker
Years active	2007–present
Member of the Sami Parliament of Norway
In office 2016–2017
Deputy of the Sami Parliament of Norway
In office 2013–2016
Personal details
Political party	Árja
Musical career
Genres	Hip hop Sámi joik
Website	duottar.com keiino.com

As well as being a musician, Buljo also has served in the Sami Parliament for the party Árja, first as a deputy from 2013 to 2016, and as an MP and parliamentary leader in the period 2016–2017.

Musical career

Buljo (right) performing "Spirit in the Sky" with Alexandra Rotan (centre) and Tom Hugo (left) as the group Keiino during the Semi-final dress rehearsal for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 in Tel Aviv, Israel

Since then, he has toured in the Nordic countries and Russia,^[3] and has worked both as a songwriter and as a performer. In 2019, he participated in the Melodi Grand Prix as part of the group KEiiNO and won with the song "Spirit in the Sky".^[3][4][5]

Political career

Buljo has also served as representative on the Sámi Parliament of Norway for the party Árja, first as a deputy from 2013 to 2016, and as an MP and parliamentary leader in the period 2016–2017.^[6]

Awards

In December 2019, Buljo beat Ella Marie Hætta Isaksen with 46.3% of the votes over her 32.87% to win Ávvir's Saami of the Year Award.^[7][8]

Discography

Fred Buljo in left, as part of Duolva Duottar

As part of Duolva Duottar

Albums

• Da lea Duolva Duottar [no] (2011)

Singles

• "Álggu Loahppa (The End of the Beginning)" (2016)
• "Samestaten (State of Sapmi)" (2017)
• "Offroad" (2017)
• "Samegutt" (2017)
• "Joavnna" (2017)
• "Markanstallu" (2018)

As part of Keiino

Albums

• Okta (2020)

Singles

• "Spirit in the Sky" (2019)
• “Shallow” (2019)
• "Praying" (2019)
• "Monument" (2021)
• "Damdiggida" (2024)

References

1. "Riddu Riđđu". riddu.no. Archived from the original on 30 May 2023. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
2. Ertesvåg, Oda Ruggesæter (2 March 2019). "Dette er årets MGP-artister". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 10 April 2019. Retrieved 25 January 2019.
3. Hyttebakk, Jon Marius (25 January 2019). "Her er artistene i MGP 2019". NRK (in Norwegian Bokmål). Archived from the original on 1 February 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
4. kulturjournalist, Robert Hoftun Gjestad (25 January 2019). ""Å prøve for hardt, er ikke en suksessformel"". Aftenposten. Archived from the original on 16 June 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
5. "Keiino er årets MGP-vinner!". www.vg.no (in Norwegian). 2 March 2019. Archived from the original on 16 June 2020. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
6. "Fred-Rene Øvergård Buljo". www.sametinget.no. Archived from the original on 26 January 2019. Retrieved 6 March 2019.
7. "Fred René Buljo dán jagáš sápmelaš" [Fred René Buljo [wins] Saami of the Year]. NRK Sápmi (in Northern Sami). 27 December 2019. Retrieved 28 December 2019.
8. Skum, Iselin (27 December 2019). "Dán jagáš sápmelaš: – Stuora gudni munnje" [Saami of the Year: a great honor for me]. Ávvir (in Northern Sami). Retrieved 28 December 2019.