Paul Oscar

This article is about the Icelandic pop singer, songwriter and disc jockey. For the 19th-century French pathologist, see Paul Oscar Blocq.
The "last name" Oscar is not a family name. His Icelandic last name, Hjálmtýsson, is a patronymic. According to Icelandic name customs, he is properly referred to by the given name Páll Óskar.

Paul Oscar
Paul Oscar in London on 25 April 2008
Paul Oscar in London on 25 April 2008
Background information
Birth namePáll Óskar Hjálmtýsson
Also known asPaul Oscar
Born (1970-03-16) 16 March 1970 (age 54)
Reykjavík, Iceland
GenresPop
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • disc jockey
Years active1993–present
LabelsPaul Oscar Productions (P.O.P.)

Páll Óskar Hjálmtýsson[1] (born 16 March 1970), known internationally as Páll Óskar and Paul Oscar, is an Icelandic pop singer, songwriter and disc jockey. He had a musical childhood, singing at private functions, with choirs and for media advertisements, but was affected by bullying in school and tension between his parents at home.

Paul Oscar's musical range spans traditional Icelandic songs, ballads, love songs, disco, house and techno. He released his first album, Stuð (Groove), in 1993 while in New York City, and also sang with Icelandic groups Milljónamæringarnir (The Millionaires) and Casino while establishing a career as a solo artiste. His album of ballads, Palli, was the best-selling Icelandic album of 1995. Paul Oscar came to international attention when he performed "Minn hinsti dans" ("My Final Dance"), Iceland's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 1997. His most recent album is Silfursafnið (The Silver Collection, 2008). In Reykjavík, Paul Oscar performs regularly as a disc jockey in clubs and appears on radio and TV shows.

  1. ^ This is an Icelandic name. Páll Óskar's last name, "Hjálmtýsson", is a patronymic (it means "son of Hjálmtýr") and is not his family name; he should be addressed by his first names, "Páll Óskar".