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EXCITED: Agnete Saba and Emelie Nilsen are excited and looking forward to releasing new music. Photo: Odin Jæger
In 2008, Agnete Saba (26) and Emelie Nilsen (27) won the Melodi Grand Prix Jr. with The BlackSheeps. With a new band, they finally release new music, inspired by the most difficult and dark period of Saba’s life.
After the Eurovision final in Stockholm 2016, Agnete Saba (26) disappeared from the public eye and locked herself in Nesseby’s room in Finnmark.
– It feels very strange, but also very good to start over, he tells VG.
She had previously been open about being on and off drugs, in and out of hospitals, to and from psychologists, and that she went so far that she wanted to kill herself.
– Those years were pure hell. I can close that chapter now, she says.
And it marks the new chapter with the song “The beginning of the end”, which is about the settlement that had to be carried away.
NERVOUS: Saba says it’s scary to release music that deals with the most difficult period of her life. Photo: Odin Jæger
– It is hard and brutal, but for me it has been very important that it is something real, he says.
What is it like to release something so personal, from such a dark time?
– It’s very scary, but I don’t imagine that I could have sung about something other than what affects me in life, he says.
With her on the team is, among others, her childhood friend Emelie Nilsen (27).
– Safety has been important to me in this project, says Saba.
Close friendship
When Saba in recent years isolated herself and was at her lowest point, it meant a lot to her to have a friend like Nilsen.
– She doesn’t make it more dangerous than it is, because it’s just anxiety. You should take it seriously, but even if you feel like you’re going to die right there, you don’t.
FRIENDS: Agnete Saba says it has meant a lot to her to have a friend like Emelie Nilsen. Photo: Odin Jæger
Nilsen himself thought it hard to tell how bad his girlfriend really was:
– But I knew there was something that could not be done. While everyone was saying “poor Agnete”, I said “yes, she is suffering, but we have to let her have a little pain and then she will get better,” says Nilsen.
Saba says it’s good to have a friend who isn’t so stupid.
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– He can stand a little to the side and yell at me, and it’s very comfortable, he laughs.
– You have to have a little different friends. I’m the one who’s a bit realistic and tough, says Nilsen.
Because even though Saba is much healthier today, she doesn’t hide that she still has hers.
– But I have learned to handle it better, he says.
CLOSING: Saba and Nilsen feel more like family than friends, and they say they always know they have each other. Photo: Odin Jæger
Playing together in a band again
It’s been about two years since Saba and Nilsen started making music again, and Saba was clear that the difficult period should be the foundation. Nilsen thinks something good has come out of this:
– Your anxiety has led us to write exciting songs. There’s something about putting the right emotions into music, says Nilsen.
Saba says they have fun writing songs and that they complement each other.
– When I get sensitive and everything is in chaos, you manage to clarify my words, he says.
Together with Simon Stenvoll Pedersen and Øyvind Lunde, they now form the band “Agnete”.
Saba says it is important for her to emphasize that they are a team.
BAND: Simon Stenvoll Pedersen, Agnete KJ Saba, Øyvind Lunde and Emelie TF Nilsen form “Agnete” and are largely inspired by the nature of Finnmark. Photo: Kjersti Binh Hegna
– Very uncomfortable
This is not the first time that Saba and Nilsen have worked together musically.
As teenagers, they won the Melodi Grand Prix Jr. final with The BlackSheeps in 2008.
– It was a lot of fun, but it’s strange to look back, says Saba.
– Yes, it was really fun. But if I had children, I don’t know if I would have allowed them to do the same, says Nilsen.
Because even though the two teens had fun gaining the pop and the attention that followed, it wasn’t all just a dance of roses.
FUN: Emelie Nilsen and Agnete Saba say they have a lot of fun writing songs and that they complement each other. Photo: Odin Jæger
A conflict within the gang ended with the two girls being sued and having to appear in court.
– Disagreeing with a band happens all the time, but it was very uncomfortable to get so much attention when we were so young, says Saba.
The case also received a lot of public attention.
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– This was like a normal youth conflict only it was in public. It was uncomfortable for everyone involved, says Nilsen.
– I work very hard
Saba and Nilsen, who won the case at the time, say that although it was a difficult period, it has brought good experiences.
– Things can be unpredictable and, in a way, you have to have a plan for everything. Hopefully Emelie and I will be together for quite some time, says Saba.
Now they really want to release music with the rest of the band.
– We have worked very hard. It will be very exciting, says Saba.
They also reveal that they have several songs lurking.
– We also use this time to plan live shows, so that we are ready the day it opens again.
