– So embarrassing – VG

Marie Ulven (22) from Horten, better known as Girl In Red, currently has international success with its acclaimed debut album, having already received much attention for its work in recent years.

But she should have refused to let her former campus score PR points on her achievements.

In a recent interview with the American music website Stereogum Ulven says that it was a dream for her to enter the creatively and artistically oriented Westerdals University College.

There she worked on a bachelor’s degree in songwriting and production, in parallel with her career as a Girl In Red.

– Called me for months

Stereogum writes that she occasionally had to turn down offers in the music industry in favor of her studies, and that she constantly had to ask for a postponed deadline for assignments.

When she asked for a year off to be able to tour, however, it was refused, allegedly because touring was not a valid reason for being able to take leave. The wolf then left school.

In 2019, his career took off in earnest. In her home country, she was named “Star Shot of the Year” at Bylarm, where she also received half a million in scholarships. She was named “Untouched of the Year” by NRK, and received nominations from both the Spellemann Prize and P3 Gold.

– They drove and called me for months after I won some Norwegian awards. They tried to get me back. It’s so embarrassing. Imagine being that school, says the Wolf to Stereogum, allegedly accompanied by a good laugh and an assurance that she is happy she left.

VG has talked to Ulven about the case – see the interview here:

– After I won the Bylarm scholarship, they posted about me on their social media, that I was still their student. Something I was not, I had quit like that three months ago, Ulven says to VG.

– I do not think it was a big deal because it is wrong, it is not correct. So then I commented on their post on Facebook, that I was not their student anymore, that I had quit.

Westerdals is then said to have replied that she would always be “their Marie Ulven”.

– And then I said nothing. But that comment was quickly deleted from their site, and everything they posted as well.

Not a “vibe”

In the Stereogum interview, Ulven says that she received many thumbs up and messages from fans who thought it was “savage” – brutal – of her to respond as she did.

– It is quite «savage», yes! But you have to be a bit “savage” if you want to be a rock star, says Ulven to VG, and reports this about the attempt to take credit for her career:

– I do not think it is a “vibe” ass!

Head of Communications Anette Johnsrud Larsåsen at Kristiania University College, who took over Westerdals in 2017, takes self-criticism for how the relationship between Girl In Red and Westerdals ended.

– We were very happy that Marie chose to further develop her bachelor’s program, and we are sorry that our guidelines did not allow us to grant her leave from her studies, she says.

– We see that we should have formulated ourselves differently in the congratulations after she won.

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