The Norwegian record production and songwriting team StarGate have received the Norwegian‐American Chamber of Commerce Achievement Award. (Go to Photo Gallery for pictures from the event).
The Board of Directors of the Norwegian‐American Chamber of Commerce selected the Grammy Award winning music production company StarGate, consisting of Mikkel Eriksen and Tor Erik Hermansen, to receive its distinguished Achievement Award for 2012. This Award was presented to individuals whose outstanding personal accomplishments exemplify the spirit of commitment, perseverance and endeavor that sustains the strong relations between Norway and the U.S. In nominating StarGate, the Award Committee cites the extraordinary accomplishments of this remarkable Norwegian duo in an industry where few Norwegians have succeeded previously: the American music industry. Eriksen/Hermansen have had sensational international success with artists like Rihanna, Beyoncé, Katy Perry and Ne‐Yo. In fact, they have had a total of nine number one hits on Billboard Hot 100.
Their career as producers and studio owners was launched in Trondheim, Norway in 1997. They were quickly successful , particularly on the British market with more than 40 Top 10 hits in the UK. In 2005 the duo relocated to New York and soon established themselves as associates of the hottest Hip‐ Hop/R&B stars on the US market.
Musical Awards
Among StarGate’s most significant accomplishments are winning two Grammy Awards and two Spellemann Awards (in Norway). They won their first Grammy for best R&B song together with Ne‐Yo for “Miss Independent”. The second award was for their Rihanna recording “Only Girl (In the World)”. The duo has twice been named “Songwriter of the year” at the Annual ASCAP Pop Music Awards. Master Class In 2011, StarGate together with Music Export Norway presented a unique master class in New York for around 35 Norwegian artists, songwriters, producers and record label professionals at the Tish School of the Arts at NY University. It was an impressive program giving young Norwegians an opportunity to learn from leading music industry professionals and to receive direct feedback on their own music through a session in the studio StarGate shares with music mogul Jay‐Z.
The Achievement Award was presented to StarGate at a dinner on November 1. 2012 in New York City.
