RADAR: Hildegunn Gjedrem

Norwegian-raised Brooklynite Hildegunn Gjedrem is used to living a dual life, a dichotomy that's also at work in her music and in her professional image and persona. As a singer and songwriter performing at the usual Lower East Side and Williamsburg haunts, Gjedrem's lovely jazz vocals are in sharp contrast with the bevy of guitar-strumming and piano-playing folk/pop tunesmiths who typically dominate the stage. The video for her "Warrior Song" (watch below) accentuates the varied looks Gjedrum shifts to and from, the high-heeled and sultry "it" girl, the dramatic art performer made up with theatrical flair, the stark and simple "everywoman". Last year's slick and opulent Share Your Secret was a shift from her more overtly jazz-inflected approach to a more straight adult pop sound as well as a collection of songs rich and sweet enough to make our teeth hurt. Still, with Gjedrum's powerful, alluring singing, one alsoholding great promise -- we only wish we had the original demos. Whether she'll move into a more direct, less luxuriant direction next time around is unknown, but a song like "Just A Shiver" can give us just that. See what we mean by checkimg out the "live in the studio" piano-and-voice video below.

Hildegunn Gjedrem - "Just A Shiver" (from Share Your Secret)

Hildegunn Gjedrem - "Love Comes Around" (from Share Your Secret)