Norwegian Artist Peder Elias Growing Asian Fan Base

Norwegian artist and songwriter Peder Elias delighted his Filipino fans with heartfelt performances of his tracks, Row Your Boat, Who I Am, Hey Hello, and his latest single Call My Name at his recent first Manila concert.

- CHARMIE JOY PAGULONG

Filipino singer-songwriter dwta and Singaporean artist LAYYI served as his front acts during his gig at the Teatrino Promenade in San Juan City.

Peder came from Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and then the Philippines as part of his Southeast Asia tour.

His visit in Manila was his second time in the country as he previously came here in October to promote his music and did busking.

Aside from dwta, Peder also met other Filipino artists, such as Maki and the rock band Dilaw, during his stay.

He praised his Filipino fans as "very loving, very supportive and also quite energetic."

The 28-year-old artist's Call My Name, launched via Sony Music, is a song "about wanting to be there for someone, especially if they're going through hard times."

He penned the ditty in London with Alex Charles, Ryan Bickley and producer Freedo (Zara Larsson, The Chainsmokers).

"The creative process was kind of I had the first, just the chorus (and) melody," he told The STAR. "And then it was basically as simple as, 'What three words sound good to sing?' And then we tried some different stuff and then someone was saying, 'Call my name' and then everyone was like, 'Oh, that felt like something.'"

"And then, I also had for a while wanting to write a little bit like inspired by Bruno Mars' Count on Me song. Just like letting someone know that you're there for them. So, yeah, I'm very happy with how it turned out. And yeah, it feels very good. The song is finally out."

Peder debuted in 2018 with Bonfire as his international breakthrough in 2020.

According to the media release, he gained millions of streams in Asian countries, including South Korea, Taiwan and China. He became the most streamed international artist in 2023 and 2024 in Taiwan.