– This is incredible, says Geir Luedy at Bergen-based Made Management.

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Sigrid Solbekk Raabe, better known as artist Sigrid, has kicked off 2018 with the Bergen-based magic eel. After he won the BBC’s annual “sound of” award, things went from strength to strength.

On Friday, she reached a new milestone in her career: Sigrid took tenth place in the British charts with the song “Strangers”.

– It’s really raw, says Kim Paulsen at Norwegian Petroleum Records. It was he who signed Sigrid to his company when she was only 16 years old.

Sigrid herself was in London when she received the message.

– One of the hardest places to be successful

It’s not even been a year since Sigrid released her first single, “Don’t Kill My Vibe”. Just a few months earlier, she played her first concert as a Sigrid artist. In other words, things happen at high speed.

– I started crying when I saw the reaction, Sigrid told BT, after she released “Don’t Kill My Vibe”, and saw how people reacted to the song.

Sigrid’s manager, Geir Luedy, said taking the top ten spots on England’s hit list was definitely a milestone.

– England is one of the most difficult countries to succeed in, he said.

Norwegian Music Manager Kathrine Synnes Finnskog, who works with Norwegian music exports, agreed when BT spoke to her earlier this week.

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– Great Britain is a proud old pop country, and it wants to “push” its own artists. The fact that the UK charts are still so prestigious means competition is fierce, Finnskog told BT.

The list of Norwegian artists in the top ten is relatively short, including artists such as A-ha, Lene Marlin and Madcon. The last two Norwegians to make it were Kygo and Alan Walker from Bergen.