Born in 1978, the third of four children in a small eastern Iceland town, Magni lived life on a farm in the little community of Borgarfjordur—a place that by now, is surely awed by the large talent and musical impact of their former farm boy native. Infatuated with music and performing, the powerful pop singer started a band with his friends and cousins at the young age of 11 and by 15 he had already performed numerous times on stage. This proved a fruitful training ground for the talented teenager, but it was at the aforementioned boarding school (Eidar) where he wholly embraced music. Taking advantage of available musical facilities and spending as much time as he could playing music, this especially enlightening time would help dictate his future. From there he sang in the band Shape, playing various spots in East Iceland and releasing an EP in 1998. But in 1999, Magni made a significant move to frontman for the up and coming pop band A Moti Sol after the impressed group approached him to become their new lead singer. Magni accepted and moved to Reykjavik—a wise, life-changing decision. Charismatic Magni and A Moti Sol would subsequently become one of the biggest pop acts in Iceland, garnering praise, loads of fans and a great deal of credibility. With his immensely successful band, Magni has five albums (two of which went gold) with A Moti Sol, hit songs and hundreds of gigs behind him, including performances in Denmark, Germany, Norway, Luxemburg and at the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool where The Beatles so memorably rocked the house decades ago. He has also performed duets with other Icelandic pop and rock stars and contributed to various other notable projects, stacking up even more musical credits, thrilling even more fans. Magni was virtually unknown outside of Iceland until he competed on the internationally televised music series, Rock Star: Supernova, in the summer of 2006. He was just settling into being a stay-at-home dad to his young son when the call for auditions went out in Iceland. Magni distinguished himself on the show with outstanding vocal performances, his musicianship and his rapport with the show’s House Band. His fellow contestants dubbed him “the Human Jukebox,” for instantly knowing how to play and sing just about every song thrown at him. Out of the show’s initial fifteen contestants, Magni was one of four finalists who made it to the show’s finale. Although he didn’t win on the show, his performances and personality won over viewers around the world and has given him a devoted global fanbase. Fans have traveled across the U.S. and overseas to Iceland for his performances, and when Magni premiered songs from his new album at performances in his hometown in July, fans from as far away as New York and Victoria, British Columbia tuned in on the internet to the Icelandic national radio broadcast. Since becoming known to a wider audience, Magni has returned to North America to perform several times in the past year, primarily in a duo with fellow Rock Star contestant, Dilana, performing several acoustic shows that showcased his skills as a guitarist as well as a singer. In addition, he sang and played guitar for Dilana as an opening act on the January/February 2007 Rock Star Supernova North American tour and opening for Aerosmith at a benefit concert at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. Magni continues to perform with Á Móti Sól at shows throughout Iceland. Á Móti Sól was recently a headliner at one of Iceland’s most popular music festivals in Vestmannaeyjar, and performed before a crowd of nearly 50,000 during the annual Reykjavik Culture Night festival. In November 2006, the band released Á Móti Sól Í 10 Ár, a look back at their greatest hits of the past ten years. The album featured two new songs, most notably the Icelandic hit “Hvar sem ég fer,” as well as new versions of some of their older songs. On November 30 and December 1, 2006, coinciding with his 28th birthday, Magni presented and performed with the Rock Star House Band and several of his fellow Rock Star show performers at two sold-out concerts in Reykjavik’s Laugardalshöll arena. The shows were attended by over 10,000 people. The concerts were named Best Concert of 2006 at the FM957 Listener’s Awards in Iceland (the “Icelandic Grammys”); Magni himself also won the Best Male Singer 2006 award. You can hear samples of Magni’s English-language music on his official MySpace, www.myspace.com/magnirocks. |
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