Ylvis

Ylvis is a Norwegian comedy duo consisting of brothers Vegard and Bård Ylvisåker. They debuted as professional variety artists in 2000 and have since appeared in several countries in variety shows, comedy concerts, television shows, radio shows and music videos. They are currently the hosts of the Norwegian talk show I kveld med Ylvis (Tonight with Ylvis). Their song and music video "The Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)", written and filmed for the talk show, went viral on YouTube in September 2013, with over 575 million views as of February 2016.

Early life and debut

Vegard (born 19 May 1979 in Trondheim) and Bård (born 21 March 1982 in Bergen) Urheim Ylvisåker were born to parents from the Sogn district of western Norway, the older two of three brothers. Their early childhood years were spent in Angola and Mozambique, where their father was an engineer during the civil wars there. After a few years in Africa, the family moved back to Bergen, where the brothers received a musical upbringing and were trained in classical instruments. Vegard played the viola and Bård the violin. However, both quit during their youth, Vegard instead focusing on guitar, voice, piano, double bass and comedy, and Bård on guitar, voice, comedy and acrobatics such as aerial silk.

I kveld med YLVIS

I kveld med YLVIS (Tonight with Ylvis) is a Norwegian talkshow hosted by Bård and Vegard Ylvisåker, with Calle Hellevang-Larsen as a permanent sidekick. During season 2 Calle was replaced by David Batra due to obligations he had made with his comedy group Raske Menn and their show on the rival channel TV2. Magnus Devold is also a permanent part of the show and often contributes with several segments per show.

The talkshow has several regular segments like "Hyss i Småland" (Pranks in Småland) where they do various pranks dressed as 19th century farmers, mimicking the style of Emil i Lönneberga, and "Kan dette brukes som vann-ski?" (Can this be used as waterskis?)

Production

The first season of the show was produced by Funkerhauser Productions, a company owned by comedians Harald Eia and Bård Tufte Johansen, who also have a show on the same channel. In the spring of 2012 the Ylvis-brothers and their manager Jørgen Thue started the production company Concorde TV, which produced seasons 2, 3 and 4 of the show. The first 3 seasons of I kveld med Ylvis were taped at Riksscenen in Oslo with a live audience. Starting with season 4 the show is broadcast live from the Folketeatret in Oslo.

Official

An official is someone who holds an office (function or mandate, regardless whether it carries an actual working space with it) in an organization or government and participates in the exercise of authority (either his own or that of his superior and/or employer, public or legally private).

A government official or functionary is an official who is involved in public administration or government, through either election, appointment, selection, or employment. A bureaucrat or civil servant is a member of the bureaucracy. An elected official is a person who is an official by virtue of an election. Officials may also be appointed ex officio (by virtue of another office, often in a specified capacity, such as presiding, advisory, secretary). Some official positions may be inherited. A person who currently holds an office is referred to as an incumbent.

The word official as a noun has been recorded since the Middle English period, first seen in 1314. It comes from the Old French official (12th century), from the Latin officialis ("attendant to a magistrate, public official"), the noun use of the original adjective officialis ("of or belonging to duty, service, or office") from officium ("office"). The meaning "person in charge of some public work or duty" was first recorded in 1555. The adjective is first attested in English in 1533, via the Old French oficial.

Music video

A music video or song video is a short film integrating a song and imagery, produced for promotional or artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a marketing device intended to promote the sale of music recordings. There are also cases where songs are used in tie in marketing campaigns that allow them to become more than just a song. Tie ins and merchandising could be used in toys are marketing campaigns for food and other products. Although the origins of music videos date back to musical short films that first appeared in the 1920s, they came into prominence in the 1980s when MTV based their format around the medium. Prior to the 1980s, these works were described by various terms including "illustrated song", "filmed insert", "promotional (promo) film", "promotional clip", "promotional video", "song video", "song clip" or "film clip". Since the creation and increased popularity of YouTube, mainstream artists now promote new music videos by releasing trailers of short promos on the site for their upcoming song and music video. Consequentially, YouTube has been converted into a social media platform for celebrities and artists to market themselves to their fans and audiences.

Discovery Communications

Discovery Communications, Inc. is an American global mass media and entertainment company based in Silver Spring, Maryland. The company started as a single channel in 1985, The Discovery Channel.

Discovery also is a provider of educational products and services to schools, including a series of K-12 digital textbooks, through Discovery Education, and Discovery Digital Networks.

DCI both produces original television programming and acquires content from producers worldwide. This non-fiction programming is offered through DCI's more than 50 network entertainment brands, including Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Investigation Discovery, OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network, Science Channel, Velocity, American Heroes Channel, Discovery Family, Discovery Life and a family of digital channels.

Despite being publicly traded on the NASDAQ stock exchange, the Newhouse family exercise the largest stake in the company, 31%, through privately held Advance Publications.

Discovery Digital Network shows are offered through multiple services, including Animalist.com, TestTube.com, Sourcefed.com, YouTube, iTunes, and more than 40 other distribution partners and devices. Discovery has 375 million monthly online streams of its programming.