Stella Mwangi

Biography

Stella Nyambura Mwangi (born 1 September 1986) is a Kenyan-Norwegian singer, rapper, and songwriter. Her work has been used in films such as American Pie Presents: The Naked Mile and Save the Last Dance 2, and also in TV-series such as CSI: NY, Scrubs and Survival of The Thickest. She represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf with the song "Haba Haba".

Early and personal life

Stella was born in Murang'a in the Central Province of Kenya in 1986 and spent her first 5 years there before her family moved to Eidsvoll in Norway in 1991. She started to practice playing music when she was eight years old. She also plays the piano. Her father made sure she and her siblings learned the Gikuyu language and Swahili even far away from home. He used cultural music and poetry to teach them the languages and this inspired Stella's music and her connection to the Kenyan culture.
In 2011, Stella got engaged to her long-time boyfriend Tom Roger Rogstad. Mwangi's father was killed in a hit-and-run accident in February 2012.

Eurovision Song Contest 2011

In 2011, Mwangi participated in the Norwegian national selection Melodi Grand Prix 2011 to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011, which was held in Düsseldorf, Germany. On 12 February 2011, Mwangi emerged as the winner.
On 10 May, she represented Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Haba Haba" but failed to qualify for the Eurovision final, despite being one of the big favourites of the contest.
Mwangi first topped the official singles chart in Norway in week 6, 2011 with her winning song "Haba Haba".

Melodi Grand Prix 2018

Stella competed in the Melodi Grand Prix for the chance to represent Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2018 along with Alexandra Rotan with the song You Got Me. They placed third overall. Rotan would subsequently go onto represent Norway a year later at the Eurovision Song Contest 2019 as part of the group Keiino.