I remember World Idol so clearly. Of course Kelly was going to win, she's astonishingly talented. And then this sweet, magical little man from Norway gets up to sing. I couldn't believe what I was hearing. I remember voting for him and hoping people wouldn't be shallow - that their votes would be based on talent, not looks or geography. I was BEYOND THRILLED when Kurt won. Still my favourite male vocalist of all time.

I love how he goes from a huge accent when speaking, to perfect english when singing.

hahahahaha i just can't get over how excited the norwegian commentators are XD

Kurt Nilsen has been and still is one of the best loved artists in Norway , he never got an international career so no wonder you peeps outside Norway haven't heard anything from him...

This guy is a legend. Never heard of him before. He sings it better than Bono!

A voice like no other. As much as I think Kelly Clarkson is remarkable, I remember being blown away by his vocals.

i think this was such a GREAT moment for idol, not only because Kurt won, but also because he proved that it doesn't matter what you look like or where your from, the people vote on voice! And Kurt deserved it hands down

Wow, so happy he won. I absolutely love his voice, one of my favourite singers ever.

Usa dosent win world idol, and world idol is never again

sad to say, but if Kurt had the looks of a Justin Bieber he would've been world's most famous star and it kills me people are so shallow

He deserves to win he has an awesome range with his voice.Kurt your English is fantastic.

I remember this so well. Kurt was amazing and I am very certain that because he won there hasn't been another World Idol. Kelly Clarkson was marketed like crazy back then and coming in second to a Norwegian plumber must've pissed off her management (i.e. Cowell) big time! But that's what you get for letting an audience vote... ;-)

Couldn't be more proud of being a norwegian. Watching that direct live on my television, was destroying me completely. I don't have a single more word to tell!!

without a doubt by far the most powerful vocalist in all idols series, world idol!

So happy he won.definately the best singer by far.go Kurt.

I remember when I was a kid watching a few clips on TV of this and I see this guy who was told by one of the judge's that he looked like a Hobbit but had a such a powerful voice. If only I can find that clip somewhere in KZfaq. And later, I see this part that he won and his singing was literally out of this world!!! Made me appreciate that it's all about talent and how you work, whether your attractivr or not.

definitely one of the best voice I've ever heard. Still remember putting my ear on TV speaker just to hear his voice clearly that day.

This dude is hands down THE BEST all around on any of these shows past and present.

I'm on a Kurt Nilsen youtube marathon. It makes me remember how i felt when he won. I had the biggest crush on him! ♥

As soon as I heard him sing I said he will win. Kurt is amazing

My number one vocal recording to lift my spirits. Love Kurt's timbre.

He has the best voice, love him to bits!

still the best Voice of them all. dont care how he looks.. he is the Voice..

I remember watching this and I fell in love with Kurt 🥰 and I'm still loving his voice 😍

Tenk hvis vi måtte sendt Gaute..

Finally got to see him again. Loved him. He was my favorite. Luv from India ♥

you NEVER get enough of Kurt......he´s soo gorgeous:)

So I have this recorded on VHS somewhere. Am from USA and never for a minute did I hate on this guy. He's fantastic and I was happy to see him win.

Jeg får fortsatt frysninger av denne!(i still get chills!)

I am from America and wanted Kelly to win AMERICA IDOL when she was on there. BUT, I wanted Kurt to win World Idol. His voice is sooooooooo awesome. I love him. He had the best voice of all of them. Love him.

Most sexy voice I know. There are only a few, a FEW voices like his. This is a seldom phenomenon. Angel voice and devil voice at the same time. I love it so much.

This brought me to tears 😭 So happy for him

When I first heard him sing on that program, I thought he had the most beautiful voice I’ve ever heard

I remember watching this on tv when I was quite young. I was introduced to Kurt Nilsen and kept following him ever since.

Proud moment for our little country! Btw, look at Kelly's face! So mad lol

You deserve this title!!! Awesome!!!

Greatest singer of all time - my answer is always Kurt Nilsen

Five minutes of glory. For eternity. Send this man into space. Hes a part of human heritage.

Can't speak for all of America, but this guy is brilliant. I'm a major fan. Texas, USA

Wow amazing voice

The greatest moment in Norwegian TV history! hehe

Sings it better than Bono

So somehow I am here and thinking "I don't remember this at all, and I love the NYD TV of an evening". I have just remembered why I don't remember watching it --- I was busy giving birth at the time of broadcast! 🤣

He earned it. He has a voice from beyond this world.

@ThisIsNuckinFuts did you see her expression when she realised she didn't win? PRICELESS xD go kurt

Kurt nielsen has a fenomenal voice !

Just look at him on stage, you can easily tell he having a great time :)

angel voice.....love u Kurt...from Indonesia

It's great that he won, it shows that the contest wasn't corrupt...

the first and only. Love Kurt From Norway

I remember seeing this whole competition back then. when I was back in high school and I was like wow this is a close call between Norway and the United States but I have to say Nelson killed it!! Still luv Kurt Nelson and Kelly Clarkson and Guy Sebastian and William Young!!!!!

He has an amazing voice !! and he's a cutie

I'm American bu I'm so glad Kurt won. He's easily the most talented.

Despite being an American and Kelly being from my country...Kurt won me over...his voice is unexpectedly awesome!

Beautiful voice NOSTALGIA

@mina2402 I am American, but I so agree that Kurt is world class. When I saw the judges comments, my heart broke for him. They were so mean!!! He will be the one people remember long after Simon Cowell is out of the public eye. Go Kurt!!!

That was an awesome evening here in Norway! 😁😁😁

Sick voice, totally unique!

Kelly should have him on her show! It would be great promotion for him and to show there is no hard feelings (Kelly really encouraged him to forge ahead despite all the negative comments about his looks).

And I'd never heard of him until now. Shame on me. Nowadays they are more focused on looks and stage appereance than a good singing voice.

One of the best voices I ever heard

Bono heard this and said "Damn. So that's how this song is supposed to sound."

He is so freaking good. You go Kurt ❤️

his voice is so lovely

BEST SINGER OF THE WORLD...!!!!!!!!

Hear him perform with Astrid S

i love you kurt, you are the best! from Colombia to Norway, hoooorayy!

He's not ugly at all. And is voice is amazing.

just pure .... talent

I love this guy so much ❤️

what a beautiful voice

makes me realize how good and passionate BONO is.

en fåkkjngs rørlegger ifra Arna ! Dont stop beliving !!!

I'm so glad this amazing dude won.

He's so cute with that gap between his teeth! And what a voice!!

Imagine what it would've felt like to be singing right after you won the most popular singing competition in the world being showered by confetti.

Wow all the angry people in the comments. This guy has a fabulous voice and I am glad he won. I was never a fan of Kelly anyway.

A face made for radio perhaps, but the voice of an angel. Congratulations Kurt.

Wow Goosbumps everywhere!!!

I am glad Kurt won and I am from USA!

What a voice!

Idol isn't even an American show, it started in Britain as "pop idol", that's why Ant and Dec are presenting this, not Ryan Secres (or whatever his second name is)

He's still very active in Norway, just google a bit and you'll find him ^^

Love this guys voice

Haters gonna hate! Kurt has an angelic voice! 3

BEST EVER!!! Just Love it

20 years ago today :)

JUST CHECKED OUT THIS CLIP.NO WONDER KURT WON, AMAZING VOICE!!!!!! SO GLAD YOU JOINED ESPEN LIND,ALEJANDRO FUENTES AND ASKIL HOLM, TO ALL SING SUCH BEAUTIFUL SONGS TOGETHER!!!! THANKS TO THE LEGENDS WHO WROTE AND PLAYED AND SANG THE SONGS THAT THESE GORGEOUS MEN SING!!!! PLEASE IF YOU CAN SING "ALL I NEED IS THE AIR THAT I BREATHE" by THE HOLLIES AND POST IT ON KZfaq I WILL BE ETERNALLY GRATEFUL:-) from your devoted fan of HALLELUJAH and WITH OR WITHOUT YOU:-)

I would love if they did a world idol reunion show. Some of them have done amazing, and some I don't really know what they are now doing. Would be great to see them now

the beautiful thing about kurt nilsen is that he was just a plumber from the country side of norway. and one of his colleges told him that he had a good voice, so kurt disided that he wanted to just try out idol. and now he won world idol and beated kelly clarkson. he is strill norways topp artists but aint that famous all around the world.

World Idol was a bad Idea because it turned all of these winners into loosers, I would prefer a world idol where they just sang without the voting. Its not fair to put them through that again

i'm happy that norway won this (i'm proud of little norway) and kurt nilsen is a really great singer, and i would really hope that the world would experienced his music more than they did, and of course this is my opinion but i think it is quite funny that a country with 5 million inhabitants beats a large country like USA (300 millions or something around that number).

Love this guy beautiful voice

I love his version.... :)

OMG he beat out Kelly Clarkson?? ahhahahhahahahaa He's Awesome!!

I rate his version of "It's a beautiful day" better than U2's, n thats something!

Proud of being Norwegian!!

Kelly has already all the fame she could ever dreamed, and she is a great singer!

best performance ever

amazing artist ,