Tooji
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Tooji | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Touraj Keshtkar social worker |
| Years active | 2008–present |
| Japanese stage name | |
| Kanji | 冬至 |
| Romanization | tōji |
| Literal meaning | winter solstice |
Touraj Keshtkar[1] (Persian: تورج کشتکار; born 26 May 1987), known professionally as Tooji, is a Norwegian singer, painter, model and television host. He represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan and finished 26th (last) in the final.[2] Beginning with his single "Cocktail", he also started using the kanji characters 冬至 (tōji) in his artistic identity.
Career
Tooji Keshtkar was born in
He won
On 10 March 2012, he presented the international jury votes on behalf of Norway at the finals of Melodifestivalen 2012, the Swedish preselection. On 18 May 2013 he presented the Norwegian votes for the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 held in Malmö, Sweden.
Since 2012, Tooji presents, with Margrethe Røed, the Melodi Grand Prix Junior in Norway. In 2013, he released a single entitled "Rebels". Tooji himself describes ‘Rebels’ as “dramatic pop-dance, with new organic elements blended in with hard electronica“.[8]
He moved to Stockholm prior to the release of the song "Packin' Guns".[9] His songs often express a political and social message. Tooji's single "Cocktail" deals with the gender roles in today's society.[10] The music video starts with a quotation from Gloria Steinem: "We've begun to raise daughters more like sons... but few have the courage to raise our sons more like our daughters". After coming out, he released his The Father project. Tooji's single and EP Father emanating from the project is about sexual relationships in the church and the hypocrisy in the public positions of the church. The music video for his following single "Say Yeah" tackles homophobic hate crimes.[11]
The Father Project and single
His EP and single "Father" was part of his coming out process by tackling the subject of sex and the church. The music video, filmed inside an Oslo church, received criticism. Ole Christian Kvarme, the Bishop of Oslo of the Lutheran Church of Norway, condemned the video as "totally unacceptable" and "a gross misuse of the church", accusing the video's producers of misinforming the church's administration prior to filming about the video's actual contents.[12]
Tooji said he lost his job as a host to Melodi Grand Prix Junior, a version of Eurovision for younger performers as a result of the "Father" video and the Father Project.[12] Tooji called this project as "the most important thing I've done in my life."[13]
Personal life
Tooji is a supporter of Green Wave, Iran's democratic reform movement. Tooji wore a Free Iran green bracelet[14] during his performance in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 held in Baku, Azerbaijan.
In June 2015, Tooji
Discography
Extended plays
| Title | Details |
|---|---|
| Stay |
|
| Father |
|
Singles
| Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| NOR | |||||||||||||||||||
| "Swan Song" | 2008 | — | Non-album singles | ||||||||||||||||
| " Stay "
|
2012 | 2 | Stay | ||||||||||||||||
| "If It Wasn't For You" | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| "Rebels" | 2013 | — | Non-album singles | ||||||||||||||||
| "Packin' Guns" | 2014 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "Cocktail" | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| "Money" | 2015 | — | |||||||||||||||||
| "L.Y.S" | — | ||||||||||||||||||
| "Father" | — | Father | |||||||||||||||||
| "Say Yeah" | — | Non-album singles | |||||||||||||||||
| "—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. | |||||||||||||||||||
References
- ^ a b "Touraj Keshtkar - Skatten 2010 - Skattelister.no - VG Nett". Skattelister.no. Archived from the original on May 12, 2014. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
- ^ "Tooji vant MGP: - Jeg vant! - VG Nett om Melodi Grand Prix". Vg.no. 11 February 2012. Archived from the original on 2012-06-30. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
- ^ "Tooji – Artist og menneskevenn". Ambisjoner.no. Archived from the original on September 17, 2011. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
- ^ "Lily Bandehy om sønnen Tooji: Jeg takker Gud for at han er homofil". Aftenposten. 16 June 2015.
- ^ "TV-kjendiser raser etter at sjef lurte muslimsk ansatt - VG Nett om Tro og livssyn". Vg.no. 2008-01-24. Archived from the original on 2008-03-31. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
- ^ AV: arve henriksen. "Tooji knuste forhåndsfavorittene - Aftenposten". Aftenposten.no. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
- ^ "– Han er fryktløs og skamløs" (in Norwegian Bokmål). siste.no. 2012-02-13. Archived from the original on 2012-08-04. Retrieved 2012-08-09.
- ^ "Scandipop.co.uk – Tooji: 'Rebels'". Scandipop.co.uk. 30 September 2013. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ "Nykomlingen Tooji: "Jag blev olycklig av Eurovision"". WiMP Musik. 24 March 2014. Archived from the original on 27 March 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ NRK (23 September 2014). "Guttete og jentete". NRK. Archived from the original on 29 November 2014. Retrieved 23 November 2014.
- ^ "Wiwibloggs: Tooji tackles homophobic hate crimes in brutal "Say Yeah" video". 24 October 2015. Archived from the original on 2021-02-26. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ a b "TheLocal.no: Tooji coming out video 'gross misuse of church'". Archived from the original on 2020-01-23. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "Wiwibloggs: Norway: Tooji comes out, releases new song "The Father Project"". 8 June 2015. Archived from the original on 2020-10-25. Retrieved 2020-04-05.
- ^ "Azerbaijan and Iran locked in a spat over rumours of a gay parade". Pinknews.co.uk. June 2012. Archived from the original on 2016-08-29. Retrieved 2015-06-12.
- ^ Marthinussen, Linn-Christin (8 June 2015). "Tooji står fram som homofil: - Har fått nok av at unge jenter og gutter føler skam". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Archived from the original on 9 June 2015. Retrieved 10 June 2015.
External links
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| National | |
| Artists | |
