About | Coverstory

Welcome!

My name is Michael Hartmann.

I’m the founder and face of coverstory.no, an independent blog about pop culture. I write about music, movies, TV, theatre, and more.

The blog is updated every Friday.

I am based in Oslo, Norway.

My writing career began in 2007 when I became a staff writer at Medium, a health and lifestyle magazine. Shortly thereafter, I worked as the editor-in-chief of Pink Planet, a print magazine serving as a cultural guide for the gay community in Oslo.

Later, I was a contributor to Gaysir.no, Norway’s biggest gay website.

I have been fortunate to interview some of the top artists in Norway and Sweden, including Christian Ingebrigtsen, Tone Damli, Bertine Zetlitz, Chris Holsten, Kaja Rode, Claudia Scott, Lars Vaular, Peter Jöback, and Eric Saade.

I have also interviewed international celebrities, including

Pop band a1 (Ben Adams, Mark Read, Christian Ingebrigtsen, and Paul Marazzi)

UK fashion advisers Trinny and Susannah

American dancer Danny Tidwell (So You Think You Can Dance, US), and

Swedish reality star Fredrik Eklund (Million Dollar Listing New York and Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles).

With the members of the boy band a1:

I have a bachelor’s degree in nursing from Oslo Metropolitan University. In the four years following graduation, I continued my training at Oslo Accident and Emergency Outpatient Clinic. Since then, I have worked at two drug rehabilitation clinics run by The Salvation Army and Oslo University Hospital.

Having an obsession with politics is part of my daily routine. As a result, I blog about healthcare politics, workplace issues, and LGBTQ rights on my own blog, helsehartmann.no. I have also contributed to the Norwegian Journal of Nursing.

Here are some of the celebrities I have interviewed:

Ben Adams, lead singer of pop band a1:

Christian, Mark, and Paul of the pop band a1:

With the legend himself, Ben Adams:

With Christian Ingebrigtsen from a1:

With Mark Read from a1:

With pop singer Kaja Rode:

With the members of We Are Thunders:

With Gert Aanje, lead singer in Everbloom Valley:

With electro-pop singer Hanne Leland in her studio:

With Claudia Scott, two-time Norwegian Grammy Award Winner and “The Queen of Norwegian Americana”:

Claudia Scott was born in England. She moved to Norway at age 6. My mother was her elementary school teacher.

Whenever Claudia appeared on TV, my mother was visibly touched and filled with love for her former student. She enthusiastically stated that “I taught Claudia to read and write.”

Getting to know Claudia has been a wonderful experience for me. Her music brings back memories of my mother.

Thank you, Claudia, for sharing your beautiful songs with us!