title: James Earl Jones

text: Jones has had an extensive career in film, television, and theater. He started out in film by appearing in the 1964 political satire film "Dr. Strangelove" as Lt. Lothar Zogg. He then went on to star in the 1970 film "The Great White Hope" as Jack Jefferson, a role he first played in the Broadway production of the same name.


title: James Earl Jones

text: Jones' television work includes playing Woodrow Paris in the series "Paris" between 1979 and 1980. He voiced various characters on the animated series "The Simpsons" in three separate seasons (1990, 1994, 1998).


title: James Earl Jones

text: Jones' theater work includes numerous Broadway plays, including "Sunrise at Campobello" (1958–1959), "Danton's Death" (1965), "The Iceman Cometh" (1973–1974), "Of Mice and Men" (1974–1975), "Othello" (1982), "On Golden Pond" (2005), "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof" (2008) and "You Can't Take It with You" (2014–2015).


title: James Earl Jones

text: While Jones is technically a recipient of the EGOT (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar, Tony), Jones has yet to win a competitive Oscar. In 2011, however, Jones received the Honorary Academy Award presented to him by Ben Kingsley. He has received two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Tony Awards, and a Grammy Award. He also is the recipient of a Golden Globe Award and the Screen Actors Guild Life Achievement Award.


title: James Earl Jones

text: In 1985, Jones was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame He was also the 1987 First recipient of the National Association for Hearing and Speech Action's Annie Glenn Award. In 1991, he received the Common Wealth Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Dramatic Arts. In 1992, he was awarded the National Medal of Arts by George H. W. Bush. He received the 1996 Golden Palm Star on the Palm Springs, California, Walk of Stars. Also in 1996, he was given the Golden Plate Award of the American Academy of Achievement presented by Awards Council member George Lucas.


title: James Earl Jones

text: In 2002, he was the featured Martin Luther King Day speaker for Lauderhill, Florida. In 2011, he received the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Monte Cristo Award Recipient. He was the 2012 Marian Anderson Award Recipient. Jones won the 2014 Voice Icon Award sponsored by Society of Voice Arts and Sciences at the Museum of the Moving Image. In 2017, he received an Honorary Doctor of Arts from Harvard University. In 2019, he was honored as a Disney Legend. In March 2022, Broadway's Cort Theatre was renamed the James Earl Jones Theatre.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Kelly Brianne Clarkson (born April 24, 1982) is an American singer, songwriter, author, and television personality. She rose to fame after winning the first season of "American Idol" in 2002, which earned her a record deal with RCA. Her debut single, "A Moment Like This", topped the US "Billboard" Hot 100, and became the country's best selling single of 2002. It was included on her debut studio album, "Thankful" (2003), which debuted atop the "Billboard" 200. Trying to reinvent her image, Clarkson parted ways with "Idol" management and shifted to pop rock for her second studio album, "Breakaway" (2004). Supported by four US top-ten singles – the title track, "Since U Been Gone", "Behind These Hazel Eyes", and "Because of You" – "Breakaway" sold over 12 million copies worldwide and won two Grammy Awards.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Clarkson took further creative control for her third studio album, "My December" (2007), co-writing all of its tracks and becoming its executive producer. However, her label was dissatisfied with the album's darker rock music and promoted it reluctantly. Clarkson's fourth and fifth studio albums, "All I Ever Wanted" (2009) and "Stronger" (2011), returned to a lighter tone and pop rock sound, with the former becoming her second US number-one album and the latter making her the first artist to win the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album twice. Both albums spawned a Hot 100 number-one single: "My Life Would Suck Without You", which holds the record for the biggest jump to number one in the chart's history, and "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)", which became her best-selling single worldwide. Clarkson then had the best-selling Christmas album of the year with "Wrapped in Red" (2013). Its single, "Underneath the Tree", was named the ASCAP's most popular Christmas song released in the 21st century. Her seventh studio album, "Piece by Piece" (2015), debuted at number-one in the US, while its title track reached the top ten. After leaving RCA and signing with Atlantic in 2016, Clarkson released her soul-influenced eighth album, "Meaning of Life" (2017), and her second Christmas album, "When Christmas Comes Around..." (2021).


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Clarkson has sold over 25 million albums and 45 million singles worldwide. She has 11 top-ten singles in the US, and nine top-ten singles in the UK, Canada, and Australia. She became the first artist in history to top each of "Billboard"'s pop, adult contemporary, adult pop, country, and dance charts. Clarkson also served as a coach on "The Voice" from its fourteenth season to the twenty-first season, and since 2019, has hosted her own talk show, "The Kelly Clarkson Show". Among her numerous accolades, Clarkson has received three MTV Video Music Awards, four American Music Awards, two Academy of Country Music Awards, five Daytime Emmy Awards, and a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. "Billboard" has hailed Clarkson as "one of pop music's greatest singers", and honored her with the Powerhouse Award, while VH1 ranked her nineteenth on their list of the 100 Greatest Women in Music.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Kelly Brianne Clarkson was born in Fort Worth, Texas, to Jeanne Ann (née Rose), a first grade English teacher, and Stephen Michael Clarkson, a former engineer. She is the youngest of three children, with a brother named Jason and a sister named Alyssa. Clarkson also has two younger half brothers from her father's second marriage. Her parents divorced when she was six years old, whereupon her brother went to live with their father, her sister went to live with an aunt, and she stayed with her mother. Clarkson's mother later married Jimmy Taylor. Clarkson is of English, Welsh, Irish and Greek descent. Her mother is a descendant of Republican state senator Isaiah Rose, whose life story was discussed on Clarkson's episode of "Who Do You Think You Are?" in 2013. Clarkson was raised Southern Baptist. She has said, "I always grew up in church. I was the leader of our youth group. I've always grown up pretty close to church and with God. But I think I've just gotten a lot closer just because He's the only one I can lean on." She later said of her upbringing, "My family was highly conservative; I had to go to church on Sunday and Wednesday."


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Clarkson was educated at Pauline Hughes Middle School. In the seventh grade, the school's choir teacher, Cynthia Glenn, overheard her singing in a hallway and asked her to audition for the school choir. Clarkson told her she had never received any professional vocal training. Clarkson graduated from Burleson High School in 2000, where she performed in several musicals, such as "Annie Get Your Gun", "Seven Brides for Seven Brothers", and "Brigadoon". Clarkson started voice training, hoping to secure a college scholarship in music.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: After graduating high school, Clarkson declined full scholarships to the University of Texas, University of North Texas, and Berklee College of Music. She declined them stating, "I'd already written so much music and wanted to try on my own. And I figured you're never too old to go to college. She worked several jobs to finance a demo, recording material and trying to market it to record labels, but she received little response. Clarkson turned down two recording contracts from Jive Records and Interscope Records, saying, "They would have completely pigeonholed me as a bubblegum act. I was confident enough that something better would come along." In 2001, she traveled to Los Angeles, pursuing a career in music. She appeared as an extra in a few television series such as "Sabrina, the Teenage Witch" and "Dharma & Greg" and briefly worked with musician Gerry Goffin to record five demo tracks in an effort to secure a record deal. According to Clarkson, her early attempts to launch her music career floundered when she was turned down by almost every U.S. record label for sounding "too black". Lack of other career opportunities and a fire incident in her apartment forced Clarkson to return to Burleson, where she promoted Red Bull energy drinks, worked as a telemarketer and as a cocktail waitress in a comedy club.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Upon returning to Burleson, Clarkson was encouraged by her friends to audition for the inaugural season of the reality television series "American Idol: The Search for a Superstar" in May 2002. Despite receiving a "golden ticket", a pass to the Hollywood rounds, in the series premiere, Clarkson made her first appearance during the second episode. In an interview in 2012, Clarkson referred to the inaugural season as "ghetto", explaining: "On our season we were like kids in camp. Nobody knew what to do. The show was ever changing every day. They did one season of "Pop Idol" in the UK, but America is a very different market. They dropped us off in a mall and said 'find some clothes to wear on national television'. I am maybe the closest to white trash you can get. What do I buy? White pants I guess? I definitely looked like a cocktail waitress." Clarkson went on to win the competition on September 4, 2002, at the Kodak Theatre (now Dolby), earning 58% of the votes against runner-up Justin Guarini.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Immediately after winning "American Idol", Clarkson was signed to a record deal with RCA Records, 19 Recordings, and S Records by talent manager Simon Fuller, who created "American Idol", and music mogul Clive Davis, who was slated to executive-produce her debut album. On September 17, 2002, her debut double-A-side single, "Before Your Love"/"A Moment Like This", was released. Both songs were performed by Clarkson during the season finale of "American Idol". After debuting at number 60 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart, the single climbed to number 52 the following week, and subsequently ascended to number one. It broke a 38-year-old record set by the British band The Beatles for the biggest leap to number one. It eventually went on to become the best-selling single of 2002 in the United States.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Clarkson's debut album, "Thankful", was released on April 15, 2003. The album contained aspects of pop, contemporary R&B, and gospel music, with several established musicians such as Rhett Lawrence, Diane Warren, The Underdogs, and Babyface contributing on to the tracks. Released during a time of urban-R&B dominance, the album was well received by several critics. AllMusic critic Stephen Thomas Erlewine praised the album for its vocal ability: "throughout this record, (Clarkson) makes it seem effortless and charming. She can croon, she can belt out a song, she can be sexy and sassy while still being graceful and as wholesome as the girl next door." Henry Goldblatt of "Entertainment Weekly" remarked: "Clarkson glides through octaves with the masterful control of someone who's been doing this for decades." "Thankful" was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the "Billboard" 200 chart and went on to sell over 4.5 million copies worldwide. It was later certified double platinum by the RIAA, platinum in Canada, and gold in Japan and Australia.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Its lead single, "Miss Independent", became her first international hit, reaching the top ten in five national charts, including the US. It was later certified gold by the RIAA. It earned Clarkson her first Grammy Award nomination for "Best Female Pop Vocal Performance" at the 46th Grammy Awards. It was followed with two moderately successful singles, "Low" and "The Trouble with Love Is"; the latter was used on the soundtrack of British romantic film "Love Actually". Her first video album, "Miss Independent", was released on November 18, 2003, and was certified gold by the RIAA. To support "Thankful", Clarkson and "Idol" season two runner-up Clay Aiken co-headlined the 2004 Independent Tour throughout the US.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Clarkson made her film debut with Guarini with the release of the musical romantic comedy film "From Justin to Kelly" in June 2003. The film was poorly received by critics and was unsuccessful at the box office, with Clarkson explaining that she was "contractually obligated" to do the film and didn't like it. In 2002, Clarkson, along with "American Idol" judges Paula Abdul and Randy Jackson and hosts Brian Dunkleman and Ryan Seacrest, participated in the season premiere of the eighth season of the television comedy series "MADtv". She also portrayed Brenda Lee in two episodes of the television drama "American Dreams" between 2003 and 2004. On December 25, 2003, Clarkson participated in the television special competition "World Idol" in London, along with the inaugural winners of the several "Idol" television series around the world. Clarkson was contractually obligated to participate, and she performed Aretha Franklin's "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman". She ended up as the runner-up with 97 points, behind the first "Norwegian Idol" Kurt Nilsen.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Trying to distance herself from her "American Idol" image, Clarkson decided to part ways with Fuller and 19 Management and hired the services of talent manager Jeff Kwatinetz of The Firm. She reinvented her musical direction by developing a more rock-oriented sound with her second studio album, "Breakaway". Davis served as the executive producer for the record, while Clarkson co-wrote six of the tracks with pop and rock songwriters such as former Evanescence band members Ben Moody and David Hodges, Kara DioGuardi, Dr. Luke and Max Martin. "Breakaway" received critical acclaim, with Erlewine of "AllMusic" remarking: "What gives "Breakaway" its spine are the driving, anthemic pop tunes, numbers that sound simultaneously mainstream and youthful, which is a hard trick to pull off, and they are the tracks that illustrate Clarkson is a rare thing in the 2000s: a pop singer who's neither hip nor square, just solidly and enjoyably in the mainstream."


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: "Breakaway" was released on November 30, 2004, and became Clarkson's most commercially successful album. After debuting at number three on the "Billboard" 200, its longevity allowed it to become the third-best-selling album of 2005 in the US and was certified sextuple platinum by the RIAA. The album also enjoyed success throughout the world; it topped the charts in the Netherlands and Ireland, became the world's seventh-best-selling album of 2005 and went on to sell more than twelve million copies worldwide. Clarkson supported "Breakaway" with the Breakaway World Tour, which took place from 2005 to 2006.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Five singles were released to promote "Breakaway". Its title track, "Breakaway", was originally released in July 2004, as the soundtrack for Disney film "" and was later re-released as the album's fifth single in May 2006. It became Clarkson's third top-ten single on the "Billboard" Hot 100 with a peak of number six. It was a major success on adult contemporary radio, topping the "Billboard" Adult Contemporary for 21 weeks and the Adult Contemporary Audience chart for 28 weeks (her longest number one on any charts). "Since U Been Gone" was released as the album's lead single in November 2004 and became Clarkson's most successful single on the Hot 100 despite peaking at number two. The second and third singles, "Behind These Hazel Eyes" and "Because of You", also followed suit—peaking at number six and number seven on the Hot 100, respectively. "Because of You" became Clarkson's biggest single worldwide, reaching number one on the European Hot 100 Singles chart and the national charts in Brazil, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Switzerland. The fourth single, "Walk Away", peaked at number twelve on the Hot 100. According to Mediabase, Clarkson was the most-played artist of 2006 in the U.S.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: "Breakaway" garnered Clarkson many accolades, including two trophies at the 48th Grammy Awards—the Best Female Pop Vocal Performance for "Since U Been Gone" and the Best Pop Vocal Album. She also won Best Female Video two years in a row, for "Since U Been Gone" and "Because of You", at the MTV Video Music Awards. Clarkson's second video album, "Behind Hazel Eyes", was released on March 29, 2005. In 2005, she performed and participated during the thirtieth season of the American sketch-comedy series, "Saturday Night Live", and the reality series "Damage Control" with Simple Plan frontman Pierre Bouvier. She performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Game2 of the NBA Finals. She also performed during the festivities All-Star Game and the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy; In 2006, Clarkson recorded "Go" as a free download for the Ford Motor Company advertising campaign.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Clarkson's third studio album, "My December", was released on June 22, 2007. The album relied on darker themes and heavier rock music. Clarkson replaced Davis as the executive producer and co-wrote all the tracks. She opted to collaborate with her band members rather than her previous producers and collaborators. Its production and release became a subject of a dispute with RCA, particularly with Davis. He noted the album's lack of professional production input and wanted her to re-record tracks with a more mainstream appeal, which she refused. Clarkson defended herself saying, "I've sold more than 15 million records worldwide, and still nobody listens to what I have to say. I couldn't give a crap about being a star. I've always just wanted to sing and write." The album received positive response, but lack of promotion due to reluctance of RCA led Clarkson to dismiss Kwatinetz and Live Nation to cancel its accompanying tour, the My December Tour, and reschedule it into a smaller scale with supporting acts Jon McLaughlin, Sean Kingston and Mandy Moore. Clarkson later hired talent manager Narvel Blackstock of Starstruck Management. Blackstock was the husband of country artist Reba McEntire, of whom Clarkson is a close friend. Clarkson later issued an apology to Davis, citing him as "a key advisor" in her success.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: "My December" debuted at number two on the "Billboard" 200 chart and was certified platinum by the RIAA. The album went on to sell over 2.5 million copies worldwide. It featured only one major hit single, "Never Again", which debuted and peaked at number eight on the "Billboard" Hot 100—her highest debut on the chart ever. On July 7, 2007, Clarkson performed on the American leg of Live Earth concert. Clarkson partnered with NASCAR during their 2007 season, appearing in televised advertisements, performed at pre-race concerts, promoted NASCAR Day, and appeared at the Champions' Banquet in December.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Clarkson collaborated with Reba McEntire in an hour-long "CMT Crossroads" special at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium on February 22, 2007. Introduced by Dolly Parton, Clarkson performed "Why Haven't I Heard from You" and "Does He Love You" with Martina McBride on the television special "CMT Giants: Reba McEntire". She also appeared on an episode of McEntire's sitcom "Reba", which aired on January 14, 2007. At the Academy of Country Music Awards on May 16, 2007, Clarkson and McEntire sang a country version of "Because of You", which also became the lead single from the album "". It peaked at number two on the "Billboard" Hot Country Songs chart and was nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Country Collaboration with Vocals. Throughout 2008, Clarkson and McEntire embarked on the 2 Worlds 2 Voices Tour to support "Reba: Duets" and "My December".


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Clarkson's fourth album, "All I Ever Wanted", was released on March 10, 2009. Clarkson continued to co-write her own material, but this time she returned to a mainstream-oriented sound by reuniting with previous collaborators Dr. Luke, Martin, and DioGuardi, and new collaborators Howard Benson, Claude Kelly, Ryan Tedder, Glen Ballard, Matt Thiessen and Katy Perry in contributing tracks for the album. The release of "All I Ever Wanted" was met with positive acclaim from music critics for its lighter themes. The album was a commercial success, debuting at number one on the "Billboard" 200 and remaining there for two weeks. The album has sold over a million copies in the U.S. and garnered Clarkson a nomination for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 52nd Grammy Awards.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Its first single, "My Life Would Suck Without You", became an international hit. It entered the "Billboard" Hot 100 at number 97 and rose to the top position the following week, breaking the record for the biggest jump to number one in a single week previously held by Britney Spears' "Womanizer". It also topped the charts in the United Kingdom, Canada, and Hungary. It was followed with two more top-twenty singles, "I Do Not Hook Up" and "Already Gone". The release of "Already Gone" became a subject of another dispute between Clarkson and RCA, after she realized its similarities with Beyoncé's song "Halo", both of which were produced by Tedder. Further promotion for the album was abruptly ended with the limited success of its fourth and final singles, "All I Ever Wanted" and "Cry". Clarkson supported "All I Ever Wanted" with the All I Ever Wanted Tour from 2009 to 2010. She also performed as one of many main artists for the return of "VH1 Divas" in September 2009. Clarkson became a guest mentor on the Dutch television series "X Factor" in November 2009.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Clarkson recorded a country duet with Jason Aldean, "Don't You Wanna Stay", for his 2010 album "My Kinda Party". It became her first number-one song on the "Billboard" Hot Country Songs chart and has sold over 2.7 million copies, making it the best-selling country collaboration in history. It received numerous country-related accolades, including a nomination for a Grammy Award for Best Country Duo/Group Performance at the 54th Grammy Awards. Clarkson incorporated a slight country vibe into her fifth studio album, "Stronger", which was also influenced by Prince, Tina Turner, Sheryl Crow, and Radiohead. She worked with several producers including Greg Kurstin, Ester Dean, Darkchild, Toby Gad, Steve Jordan, and Howard Benson. Released on October 21, 2011, "Stronger" debuted at number two on the "Billboard" 200 and was certified platinum by the RIAA. It was also critically applauded and won the Grammy Award for Best Pop Vocal Album at the 2013 Grammy Awards, making her the first artist to win the award twice.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: "Stronger"s lead single, "Mr. Know It All", was released in September 2011. It reached number one in Australia and South Korea and attained a top-ten position in seven countries, including the U.S., where it became her ninth top-ten hit on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart. It also became a crossover hit to the country charts, prompting RCA to reissue a country version. "Stronger (What Doesn't Kill You)" served as the second single in January 2012, and topped sixteen "Billboard" charts, becoming her third number one on the Hot 100. It also reached number one in Poland and Slovakia and reached the top ten in many other charts worldwide. It remains Clarkson's best-selling single, with 4.9 million copies sold in the U.S. alone. The song was nominated for three Grammy Awards—Record of the Year, Song of the Year, and Best Pop Solo Performance. "Dark Side" was released as the third and final single in June 2012, and it achieved a modest success. It became her eleventh top-ten hit on the "Billboard" Adult Pop Songs chart, and she surpassed Sheryl Crow and Katy Perry as the female artist with the most top-ten songs on the chart.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: The release of "Stronger" was accompanied by two EPs, "The Smoakstack Sessions" and "iTunes Session". The latter debuted at number 85 on the "Billboard" 200, and it was promoted by its only single, a cover of "I'll Be Home For Christmas". Clarkson co-wrote "Tell Me a Lie", which was recorded by British boy band One Direction for their debut album, "Up All Night" (2011). Clarkson promoted "Stronger" with two concert tours, the Stronger Tour and the co-headlining the Kelly Clarkson / The Fray Tour with the alternative rock band The Fray. On February 5, 2012, she performed "The Star-Spangled Banner" at Super Bowl XLVI to widespread critical acclaim. She later released a promotional single, "Get Up (A Cowboys Anthem)", for use in Pepsi's NFL advertising campaign.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Clarkson served as a mentor and judge, alongside John Legend, Jennifer Nettles, and Robin Thicke, on the ABC television show "Duets," which premiered on May 24, 2012. The show concluded on July 19, 2012, with Clarkson's contestant Jason Farol finishing as the second runner-up. She also became a guest mentor to Blake Shelton's team on season two of the American television series "The Voice". The two later collaborated on a cover of "There's a New Kid in Town" for Shelton's 2012 Christmas album, "Cheers, It's Christmas".


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Commemorating the 10th anniversary of her career in music, Clarkson released her first greatest hits album, "Greatest Hits – Chapter One", on November 19, 2012. Three new songs recorded for the compilation—"Catch My Breath", "Don't Rush" (featuring country musician Vince Gill) and "People Like Us"—were all released as singles. "Catch My Breath" became her 14th top-twenty hit on the Hot 100 chart as well as her 13th million-selling single in the United States. According to "Billboard", it was the third biggest adult contemporary song of 2013. However, its follow-up singles performed moderately well on the charts. Clarkson earned more nominations from the country music industry, including Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Don't Rush" at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards and Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2012 Country Music Association Awards. "Chapter One" was eventually certified gold in Australia, the UK and the U.S.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: In January 2013, Clarkson performed "My Country, 'Tis of Thee" at the second inauguration of U.S. President Barack Obama. Her live rendition was acclaimed by critics, who contrasted it with Beyoncé's pre-recorded performance during the same event. In February 2013, she performed "Tennessee Waltz" and "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman" at the 55th Annual Grammy Awards as a tribute to Patti Page and Carole King. She also released a non-album single, "Tie It Up", exclusively to country music stations in June 2013. Clarkson and Maroon 5 performed at 24 concerts as part of the 12th Annual Honda Civic Tour, starting on August 1, 2013, and ending on October 6, 2013. She was featured on the re-recorded version of "Foolish Games" for Jewel's first compilation, "Greatest Hits" (2013). Clarkson also collaborated with singer Robbie Williams on the song "Little Green Apples" for his 2013 album "Swings Both Ways".


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Clarkson's sixth studio album and first Christmas record, "Wrapped in Red", was solely produced by Greg Kurstin. She co-wrote all five original songs and recorded eleven cover versions of Christmas standards and carols. Released on October 25, 2013, the album debuted at number one on the "Billboard" Top Holiday Albums and at number three on the "Billboard" 200 chart. By December 2013, "Wrapped in Red" had already been certified platinum by the RIAA and eventually became the best-selling holiday album of the year, making her the first American female artist to do so. The album's lead single, "Underneath the Tree", was an adult contemporary number-one hit in both the U.S. and Canada. Clarkson subsequently became "Billboard"s ninth top adult contemporary act of 2013. On December 11, 2013, her first Christmas special debut, "Kelly Clarkson's Cautionary Christmas Music Tale," garnered over 5.3 million viewers. In December 2013, Citizen Watch Co. announced Clarkson as their newest Brand Ambassador. Retaining her relationship with country music acts in 2014, Clarkson collaborated with Martina McBride on "In the Basement" (originally by Etta James and Sugar Pie DeSanto) for McBride's album "Everlasting" and with Trisha Yearwood on "PrizeFighter" for Yearwood's compilation "". Clarkson also performed a rendition of "All I Ask of You" with Josh Groban on his seventh studio album, "Stages", and its companion television special. She was featured on Ben Haenow's "Second Hand Heart", the lead single from his debut studio album.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: In February 2015, Clarkson released "Piece by Piece", her seventh and final studio album under her recording contract with RCA Records. Musically, it is an electropop and dance album, featuring collaborations with Kurstin, Jesse Shatkin, Sia, John Legend, and Shane McAnally, among others. "Piece by Piece" received a reasonably positive response from music critics and became her third album to debut at the top of the "Billboard" 200 chart. To promote the album, Clarkson appeared in several televised performances, including the fourteenth season of "American Idol", where she became the only alumnus ever to be dedicated with a competing week featuring her discography. She also supported the Piece by Piece Tour throughout 2015, which was cut short of its worldwide visits following medical recommendations for a vocal rest during the year.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: "Piece by Piece" spawned three singles. The first one, "Heartbeat Song", peaked at number 21 on the "Billboard" Hot 100 chart and became a top-ten hit in the UK, Austria, Poland, and South Africa. However, Clarkson failed to achieve a similar success with the second single, "Invincible". The third and final single, "Piece by Piece", debuted and peaked at number eight on the Hot 100 chart, following Clarkson's emotional performance on the fifteenth season of "American Idol". It became her eleventh U.S. top-ten hit and matched "Never Again" as her highest debut on the chart. At the 58th Annual Grammy Awards, the album and "Heartbeat Song" were nominated for Best Pop Vocal Album and Best Pop Solo Performance, respectively. At the following year, the title track also received a nomination for Best Pop Solo Performance.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: In February 2016, it was announced that Clarkson had signed a book deal with HarperCollins. Her first children's book, "River Rose and the Magical Lullaby" was released on October 4, 2016. The book features an original lullaby written and performed by Clarkson. On the possibility of writing any more books in the future, Clarkson told "Publishers Weekly", "I've got a few ideas – there could be a lullaby for each book. We've got a plethora of stories, and I've already written seven songs, full out, so we'll just have to see which ones might pan out to be a book. But yes, there will definitely be more." The second book featuring River Rose, "River Rose and the Magical Christmas," was released on October 24, 2017, and included an original song written and sung by Clarkson, "Christmas Eve".


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: On March 15, 2016, First Lady Michelle Obama released "This Is for My Girls", a collaborative track featuring vocals from Clarkson, Janelle Monáe, Kelly Rowland, Lea Michele, Zendaya, and Missy Elliott to coincide with Barack Obama's SXSW speech and to promote the First Lady's third-world educational initiative Let Girls Learn. Clarkson recorded a solo version of "It's Quiet Uptown" for "The Hamilton Mixtape". Her version was released on November 3, 2016, as a promotional single for the album. She also recorded a duet called "Love Goes On" with Aloe Blacc for the original soundtrack of "The Shack," which was released in the United States on March 3, 2017. On May 11, 2017, it was announced that Clarkson would join "The Voice" as a coach for the series' fourteenth season.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: On June 24, 2016, Clarkson announced she had signed a long-term worldwide deal with Atlantic Records, with the intentions of releasing a soul-influenced eighth studio album in 2017. In November 2016, Clarkson announced her intention to release a new single in April 2017, with the album to follow in June. On September 4, 2017, Clarkson announced her new lead single "Love So Soft", which was released on September 7, 2017, along with the song "Move You". On September 6, 2017, Clarkson announced that her album, "Meaning of Life", would be released on October 27, 2017. Clarkson opened the 45th American Music Awards with P!nk, and together they performed R.E.M.'s "Everybody Hurts" to honor first responders. Later in the show, she performed "Miss Independent" and "Love So Soft". "Love So Soft" was nominated for Best Pop Solo Performance at the 60th Annual Grammy Awards. She now holds the record for the most nominations in that category with four. With the release of "Meaning of Life", Clarkson revealed that she had discussions with Atlantic Records about the sound of the follow-up record and has expressed interest in venturing deeper into R&B and soulful pop music.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Clarkson lent her voice in the computer-animated film "The Star", alongside Oprah Winfrey, Steven Yeun, Tyler Perry, and others. The film is based on the Nativity of Jesus. Developed by Sony Pictures Animation, the film was released on November 17, 2017. This was the first film in which Clarkson performed a voice role. Clarkson also had a guest voice role in the Netflix animated series "", portraying herself in the series' 2017 animated Christmas special, "Home for the Holidays", alongside Ben Schwartz. In March 2018, Clarkson released "I've Loved You Since Forever", a ballad version of the children's book by Hoda Kotb. Clarkson hosted and performed at the 2018 "Billboard" Music Awards on May 20, 2018. In the fourteenth season of "The Voice", Brynn Cartelli was crowned the winner, giving Clarkson her first victory. In the fifteenth season of "The Voice", Chevel Shepherd was crowned the winner, giving Clarkson her second consecutive victory and making her the first female coach to win multiple seasons.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: On February 28, 2019, it was announced that she would return to host the 2019 "Billboard" Music Awards, which aired on May 1, 2019. Clarkson voiced Moxy and provided original songs in the animated musical comedy film "UglyDolls", which was released on May 3, 2019. On March 27, 2019, she released "Broken & Beautiful", the lead single from the "UglyDolls: Original Motion Picture Soundtrack". Clarkson also began hosting the daytime variety talk show, "The Kelly Clarkson Show", which premiered on September 9, 2019. In December 2019, Jake Hoot was crowned the winner of the seventeenth season of "The Voice", giving Clarkson her third victory as a coach in four seasons.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: In November 2019, Clarkson announced a Las Vegas residency, Kelly Clarkson: Invincible. The residency was due to take place at the Zappos Theater. It was supposed to run from April to September 2020, but it was postponed indefinitely due to the coronavirus pandemic. Also in November 2019, Clarkson made an appearance on the Apple TV+ drama series "The Morning Show" as herself, performing her song "Heat" and interacting with the fictional hosts of the show. In February 2020, Clarkson became a brand ambassador for Wayfair. In addition, Wayfair released "an 'exclusive' collection of furniture and decor inspired by Clarkson and her Texan roots." On April 10, 2020, "Trolls World Tour", which featured a character voiced by Clarkson, was released. On April 16, 2020, Clarkson released the standalone single "I Dare You" in English, as well as duets in five different languages with five native-speaking artists. In May 2020, Clarkson was nominated for two Daytime Emmy Awards for "The Kelly Clarkson Show", including Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show and Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host. The show itself earned seven nominations, the most for any talk show, with Clarkson winning in the category Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: In June 2020, it was announced that she would receive a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2021, being inducted into the category of Recording. In May 2021, NBC announced that Clarkson's show would take over the time slot of "The Ellen DeGeneres Show" after it ends in 2022. In June 2021, Clarkson won two Daytime Emmy Awards, including Outstanding Talk Show Entertainment and a second consecutive win for Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: On September 23, 2021, Clarkson released "Christmas Isn't Canceled (Just You)", the lead single off her ninth studio album and second Christmas album, "When Christmas Comes Around..." The album was released on October 15, 2021 to positive reviews. In November 2021, Clarkson performed at the second annual iHeartRadio Holiday Special. She hosted her second Christmas special titled "Kelly Clarkson Presents: When Christmas Comes Around", which premiered on NBC on December 1, 2021. Also in December 2021, Girl Named Tom were crowned winners of the twenty-first season of "The Voice". They are the first group act to win an American season & secured Clarkson's fourth victory as a coach.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: In February 2022, Clarkson and Snoop Dogg were named co-hosts of the singing competition series "American Song Contest". It is an adaptation of the popular international songwriting competition "Eurovision Song Contest". The series premiered on March 21, 2022.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: On June 9, 2022, Clarkson released "Kellyoke", an EP consisting of six cover songs that Clarkson covered during her "Kellyoke" segment on her talk show. She also revealed that her tenth studio album and follow-up to 2017's "Meaning of Life" and 2021's Christmas album "When Christmas Comes Around..." is complete, but Clarkson wanted more time to prepare for the promotion and release of the collection. The album is set to be released in 2023.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: In June 2022, Clarkson won two Daytime Emmys, including Outstanding Talk Show Entertainment for the second consecutive year and Outstanding Entertainment Talk Show Host for the third consecutive year. Clarkson received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on September 19, 2022. Clarkson appears on the Kelsea Ballerini song, "You're Drunk, Go Home" along with Carly Pearce, which was released in September 2022. Clarkson will host the 12th Annual NFL Honors on February 9, 2023. After taking season 22 of "The Voice" off, it was announced in October 2022, that Clarkson would return for season 23 in 2023.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Clarkson is a soprano, with a range spanning from E to G. Clarkson can ascend to the whistle register, as well as possessing the ability to sing complex melisma. Describing Clarkson's voice, Arion Berger of "Rolling Stone" wrote that "her high notes are sweet and pillowy, her growl is bone-shaking and sexy, and her mid-range is amazingly confident." In reviewing a live performance of Clarkson's, Jon Caramanica of "The New York Times" said she "showed off a voice that moved in all sorts of ways, without ever appearing to strain", continuing "Ms. Clarkson, who has a malleable voice and a boatload of vocal confidence, might be a soul siren in the making". However, in a separate review of "Stronger", Caramanica said Clarkson's voice is "too huge, too violent" for warmer and sweeter vocal stylings, stating "she's on a par with Taylor Swift when it comes to vengeance, and she'll do it louder and with more brutality in comparison to her contemporary." In a live review as part of her Stronger Tour, Sophie Sinclair of "Hit The Floor" said "Kelly's strong and powerful voice was flawless throughout the night, and some may even say she sounds better live than she does on her albums". Mark Deming from "Phoenix New Times" stated that "in an era when pop music means over-singing a song into a bloody pulp, Clarkson has consistently displayed both charisma and a welcome sense of restraint, knowing how to sound passionate and heartfelt without forgetting where the melody and the root note is supposed to go."


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Dr. Luke, who produced some of Clarkson's hits, said "She has powerful lungs. She's like the Lance Armstrong of vocal cords."


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: In an interview with "Good Morning America", Simon Cowell was asked of the then six "American Idol" winners, who he thought had the best voice. Cowell immediately answered that Clarkson did "by a mile", noting that she was "up there" with other great singers such as Celine Dion. "Esquire" wrote that Clarkson has "the best voice in the history of pop music". Reviewing "Stronger", Jody Rosen of "Rolling Stone" states, Clarkson has "one of music's most remarkable voices." Jason Lipshutz from "Billboard" considered Clarkson as one of the greatest singers in pop music. Regarding the controversial practice of lip-syncing, Clarkson says she never has and never will lip-sync, elaborating in an interview with Cory Myers, "I've actually never done that because I'm terrified; if I ever did that, something horrible would happen, the track would skip. I have a really unhealthy fear about it. So no, I've never done that". Clarkson has earned the title "Queen of Covers" for her ability to perform songs from artists of various genres.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: At age eight, Clarkson was first inspired to venture into music during a visit to an African-American church in Fort Worth. She recalled: "I was like, 'Wow, whatever they're feeling, I want to feel it too'." Clarkson has been influenced by musicians across various genres. She cited soul singer Aretha Franklin as her major influence. Many of her chosen "Idol" numbers were Aretha Franklin covers, including "(You Make Me Feel Like) A Natural Woman", which is considered her breakout moment during the competition. Other soul acts who influenced Clarkson were Whitney Houston, Mariah Carey, Etta James, Stevie Wonder. Clarkson was also influenced by rock acts such as Radiohead, Garbage, Aerosmith, and Jimi Hendrix, as well as Reba McEntire, Bette Midler, and Rosemary Clooney. Regarding her musical influence, Clarkson explained:


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: I grew up with three totally different parents that were into different music. My stepfather is into Willie Nelson and Elvis and all that kind of stuff. And my real father is into Whitney and Mariah, and Aretha, all those soulful singers. My mom is into more, like, adult contemporary—Celine Dion, Barbra [Streisand], Bette Midler, all those types of things. And then my brother is a big influence on me. He's like ten years older than me, so you always wanna be around your cool brother and hang out, so I grew up loving Guns N' Roses. I was all about Metallica. I was all about all those bands, and I still am. I love Aerosmith and No Doubt. I have so many influences on me that are so different. And even country. I love Reba McEntire. I could listen to her all the time.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Clarkson has scored over 100 number ones on the "Billboard" charts and sold over 25 million albums and 45 million singles worldwide, including 14 million albums and 35 million digital singles in the United States alone. She became the first artist to top each of "Billboard"s pop, adult contemporary, adult pop, country and dance charts. She was ranked nineteenth on VH1's list of 100 Greatest Women in Music. Television channel Fuse included Clarkson among "30 Greatest Musicians to Come From Singing Competitions" list. Music executive Simon Cowell believed that "What [Clarkson] sold in the UK, Europe, Asia had nothing to do with "American Idol". It had everything to do with the fact that she made a great record and she's got an incredible voice. She's not a girl who got lucky in a talent competition; we got lucky to find her." According to "The Hollywood Reporter", Clarkson is "the embodiment of the perfect pop star. Her unmistakable pipes are a powerful presence in top 40 and country, with forays into anthemic rock and dance." Nolan Feeney from "Time" asserted that Clarkson "has had more of a lasting impact on the pop music landscape than casual listeners might realize."


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: According to "Billboard", Clarkson was a "phenomenon" who "helped legitimize" the impact of talent shows. "The Washington Post" wrote that "Clarkson's powerhouse voice and dynamic presence signaled that the music industry should take these reality show contestants seriously: Her first two albums, "Thankful" and "Breakaway", sold about ten million copies combined, and her pop tunes became empowerment anthems across the globe." Glenn Gamboa of "Newsday" believed Clarkson "has set the standard for all singing competition contestants with her savvy mix of pop, rock and country."


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Fox Broadcasting Company said that Clarkson gave "lasting credibility" to "American Idol" and "in so many ways she cleared a road" for all of the next contestants." George Varga from "The San Diego Union-Tribune" underlined the difference of Clarkson from most other talent show contestants is that she "writes or co-writes a fair number of [her] own songs. She is also the only one whose quest to follow her artistic instincts—the better to rock out and break free from the "Idol" cookie-cutter pop mold—prompted her to fire her management team and engage in a prolonged public battle with her record company, RCA."


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Jon Lisi from "PopMatters" cited Clarkson as one of the forces of female domination in pop music of the 2000s. He explained that "Clarkson's anti-sexual image appealed to those who were uncomfortable with Britney Spears' overt exhibitionism. When Clarkson performed "Since U Been Gone" at the 2005 MTV Video Music Awards, for instance, she only showed her midriff, and it was clear that she was marketing herself to an alternative group of young females who liked pop music's conventional sound but didn't want to be confronted with sexual imagery." Mickey Rapkin of "Billboard" magazine, who called Clarkson a role model and compared her vocals to golden-era Aretha Franklin, stated that Clarkson "has never shied away from speaking her mind, whether in her propulsive pop anthems or on her filter-free Twitter feed." Clarkson has been an influence on other artists, including Vanessa Hudgens, Demi Lovato, Ava Max, Jordin Sparks, Ashley Tisdale, Avril Lavigne,


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: In 2012, Clarkson began dating talent manager Brandon Blackstock, son of her former manager Narvel Blackstock and former stepson of Reba McEntire. She and Blackstock married on October 20, 2013, at Blackberry Farm in Walland, Tennessee. During their marriage, Brandon was her manager. Together, they have a daughter, River Rose, born in June 2014, and a son, Remington "Remy" Alexander, born in April 2016. In June 2020, Clarkson filed for divorce from Blackstock, citing irreconcilable differences. In March 2022, it was reported their divorce had been finalized.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: In October 2019, Clarkson said that she has been managing an autoimmune condition and a thyroid condition since 2006, a fact which she had previously addressed on "Today" in 2018. Clarkson credited her health improvements and weight loss to "The Plant Paradox" program by Steven Gundry.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: In April 2007, Clarkson took part in "Idol Gives Back", a fundraiser for people in poverty in both Africa and the U.S., performing "Up to the Mountain" along with Jeff Beck. She would also perform a five-song set later that year on the American leg of Live Earth concerts opting for environmental awareness about climate change. She has served as ambassador for the March of Dimes since she was on "American Idol", raising money regularly and assisting in volunteer service, having walked for "March for Babies", for the cause of improvement of the health of mothers and babies. Clarkson, additionally, got involved in the organization "Houses of Hope", who take care and build orphanages for children in South Africa who have been affected by HIV/AIDS, abuse and poverty. She has visited those children and also participated in "A Night for Hope" fund-raiser concert (held by Clarkson's background vocal singers, Jill and Kate), where she performed a song she wrote after her trip to South Africa, "You Still Won't Know What It's Like". Clarkson also supports the charities Save the Children, UNICEF, "Do Something" and "STOMP Out Bullying" and music causes like the Save the Music Foundation.


title: Kelly Clarkson

text: Clarkson had a ranch in Texas for unwanted animals, which included amputee goats, blind dogs, and horses that survived colic; there are more than 80 animals at the sanctuary. She helped provide veterinary care for them and found them an adoptive family. Clarkson performed in a benefit concert on March 1, 2013, supporting the Omaha based Opportunity Education Foundation, an organization that provides access to education for children around the world, stating "Education was a key part of my childhood, and I am better for it. Anything for education I am really into and especially for kids. A lot of people don't have computers, and they can't afford them. Without education, you get far behind. As long as they have a chance, you know, I think that's important. I want every kid to have a chance." In 2013, Clarkson teamed up with State Farm Insurance to support teen safe driving as a part of Celebrate My Drive program. In 2013, Clarkson supported Feeding America, The Ad Council and their Child Hunger PSA Campaign, which provides food for children facing hunger. Also in 2013, Clarkson participated in Green Mountain Coffee's Great Coffee, Good Vibes, Choose Fair Trade campaign by traveling to coffee farms in Peru to draw attention to the importance of being Fair Trade Certified.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The Faroe Islands ( ), or simply the Faroes ( ; ), are a North Atlantic island group and a constituent country of the Kingdom of Denmark.


title: Faroe Islands

text: They are located north-northwest of Scotland, and about halfway between Norway ( away) and Iceland ( away). The islands form part of the Kingdom of Denmark, along with mainland Denmark and Greenland. The islands have a total area of about with a population of 54,000 as of June 2022.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The terrain is rugged, and the subpolar oceanic climate (Cfc) is windy, wet, cloudy, and cool. Temperatures for such a northerly climate are moderated by the Gulf Stream, averaging above freezing throughout the year, and hovering around in summer and 5 °C (41 °F) in winter. The northerly latitude also results in perpetual civil twilight during summer nights and very short winter days.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Between 1035 and 1814, the Faroe Islands were part of the Kingdom of Norway, which was in a personal union with Denmark from 1380. In 1814, the Treaty of Kiel transferred Norway to Sweden, whereas Denmark kept its Atlantic territories, which included the Faroe Islands, Greenland and Iceland.


title: Faroe Islands

text: While part of the Kingdom of Denmark, the Faroe Islands have been self-governing since 1948, controlling most areas apart from military defence, policing, justice, currency, and foreign affairs. Because the Faroe Islands are not part of the same customs area as Denmark, the Faroe Islands have an independent trade policy, and can establish trade agreements with other states. The Faroes have an extensive bilateral free trade agreement with Iceland, known as the Hoyvík Agreement. In the Nordic Council, they are represented as part of the Danish delegation. In certain sports, the Faroe Islands field their own national teams. They did not become a part of the European Economic Community in 1973, instead keeping the autonomy over their own fishing waters.


title: Faroe Islands

text: In Faroese, the name appears as . represents the plural of , older Faroese for 'island'. Due to sound changes, the modern Faroese word for island is . The first element, , may reflect an Old Norse word ('sheep'), although this analysis is sometimes disputed because Faroese now uses the word (from Old Norse ) to mean 'sheep'. Another possibility is that the Irish monks, who settled the island around 625, had already given the islands a name related to the Gaelic word , meaning 'land' or 'estate'. This name could then have been passed on to the Norwegian settlers, who then added (islands). The name thus translates as either 'Islands of Sheep' or 'Land Islands'.


title: Faroe Islands

text: In English, it may be seen as a tautology to say "the Faroe Islands", since the "oe" comes from an element meaning 'island'. This is seen in the BBC Shipping Forecast, where the waters around the islands are called "Faeroes". The name is also rarely spelled "Faeroe".


title: Faroe Islands

text: There is some evidence of settlement on the Faroe Islands before Norse Viking settlers arrived in the ninth century AD. Archeologists found burnt grains of domesticated barley and peat ash deposited in two phases; the first dated between the mid-fourth and mid-sixth centuries, and another between the late-sixth and late-eighth centuries. Researchers have also found sheep DNA in lake-bed sediments, which were dated to around the year 500. Barley and sheep had to have been brought to the islands by humans. As Scandinavians did not begin using the sail until about 750, it is unlikely they could have reached the Faroes before then, and it is more likely the settlers came from Great Britain or Ireland.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Archaeologist Mike Church noted that Dicuil, an Irish monk of the early ninth century, may have mentioned the Faroes. Dicuil wrote in his geographical work "De mensura orbis terrae" that there were "heremitae ex nostra Scotia" ("hermits from our land of Ireland/Scotland") who had lived on the northerly islands of Britain for almost a hundred years until the Vikings arrived. Church suggested that the people living there might have been from Ireland, Scotland, or Scandinavia, or possibly from all three. According to a ninth-century voyage tale, the Irish saint Brendan visited islands resembling the Faroes in the sixth century. This association, however, is not conclusive.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Norsemen settled the islands c. 800, bringing Old West Norse, which evolved into the modern Faroese language. According to Icelandic sagas such as "Færeyjar Saga", one of the best known men in the island was Tróndur í Gøtu, a descendant of Scandinavian chiefs who had settled in Dublin, Ireland. Tróndur led the battle against Sigmund Brestisson, the Norwegian monarchy and the Norwegian church.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The Norse and Norse–Gael settlers probably did not come directly from Scandinavia, but rather from Norse communities surrounding the Irish Sea, Northern Isles, and Outer Hebrides of Scotland, including the Shetland and Orkney islands. A traditional name for the islands in Irish, "Na Scigirí", possibly refers to the "(Eyja-)Skeggjar" "(Island-)Beards", a nickname given to island dwellers.


title: Faroe Islands

text: According to the "Færeyinga saga", more emigrants left Norway who did not approve of the monarchy of Harald Fairhair (ruled c. 872 to 930). These people settled the Faroes around the end of the ninth century. Early in the eleventh century, Sigmundur Brestisson (961–1005) – whose clan had flourished in the southern islands before invaders from the northern islands almost exterminated it – escaped to Norway. He was sent back to take possession of the islands for Olaf Tryggvason, King of Norway from 995 to 1000. Sigmundur introduced Christianity, forcing Tróndur í Gøtu to convert or face beheading and, although Sigmundur was subsequently murdered, Norwegian taxation was upheld. Norwegian control of the Faroes continued until 1814, although, when the Kingdom of Norway (872–1397) entered the Kalmar Union with Denmark, this gradually resulted in Danish control of the islands. The Protestant Reformation in the form of Lutheranism reached the Faroes in 1538. When the union between Denmark and Norway was dissolved as a result of the Treaty of Kiel in 1814, Denmark retained possession of the Faroe Islands (along with Greenland and Iceland); Norway itself was joined in a union with Sweden.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Following the turmoil caused by the Napoleonic Wars (1803–1815), in 1816, the Faroe Islands became a county within the Danish Kingdom.


title: Faroe Islands

text: As part of its mercantilist economic policy, Denmark maintained a monopoly over trade with the Faroe Islands and forbade their inhabitants trading with others (e.g. the geographically close Britain). The trade monopoly in the Faroe Islands was abolished in 1856, after which the area developed as a modern fishing nation with its own fishing fleet. The national awakening from 1888 initially arose from a struggle to maintain the Faroese language and was thus culturally oriented, but after 1906 it became more political with the foundation of political parties within the Faroe Islands.


title: Faroe Islands

text: In the first year of the Second World War, on 12 April 1940, British troops occupied the Faroe Islands in Operation Valentine. Nazi Germany had invaded Denmark and commenced the invasion of Norway on 9 April 1940 under Operation Weserübung. In 1942–1943, the British Royal Engineers, under the command of lieutenant colonel William Law, built the first and only airport in the Faroe Islands, Vágar Airport. Following the war, control of the islands reverted to Denmark, but Danish rule had been undermined, and Iceland's full independence served as a precedent and a model in the mind of many Faroese.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The 1946 Faroese independence referendum resulted in 50.73% in favour of independence to 49.27% against. The Faroe Islands subsequently declared independence on 18 September 1946; however, this declaration was annulled by Denmark on 20 September on the grounds that a majority of the Faroese voters had not supported independence and King Christian X of Denmark dissolved the Faroese Løgting on 24 September. The dissolution of the Løgting took place in November, followed by the Faroese parliamentary election of 1946 in which the parties in favour of full independence received a total of 5,396 votes while the parties opposed to it received a total of 7,488 votes. As a reaction to the growing movements in favour of self-government and independence, Denmark finally granted the Faroe Islands home-rule with a high degree of local autonomy in 1948.


title: Faroe Islands

text: In 1973 the Faroe Islands declined to join Denmark in entering the European Economic Community (which later became the European Union). Following the collapse of the fishing industry in the early 1990s, the Faroes experienced considerable economic difficulties.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The Faroe Islands are an island group consisting of 18 major islands (and a total of 779 islands, islets, and skerries) about off the coast of Northern Europe, between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, about halfway between Iceland and Norway, the closest neighbours being the Northern Isles and the Outer Hebrides of Scotland. Its coordinates are .


title: Faroe Islands

text: The islands cover an area of 1,399 square kilometres (540 sq. mi) and have small lakes and rivers, but no major ones. There are of coastline. The only significant uninhabited island is Lítla Dímun.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The islands are rugged and rocky with some low peaks; the coasts are mostly cliffs. The highest point is Slættaratindur in northern Eysturoy, above sea level.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The Faroe Islands are made up of an approximately six-kilometres-thick succession of mostly basaltic lava that was part of the great North Atlantic Igneous Province during the Paleogene period. The lavas were erupted during the opening of the North Atlantic ocean, which began about 60 million years ago, and what is today the Faroe Islands was then attached to Greenland. The lavas are underlain by circa 30 km of unidentified ancient continental crust.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The climate is classed as subpolar oceanic climate according to the Köppen climate classification: Cfc, with areas having a tundra climate, especially in the mountains, although some coastal or low-lying areas may have very mild-winter versions of a tundra climate. The overall character of the climate of the islands is influenced by the strong warming influence of the Atlantic Ocean, which produces the North Atlantic Current. This, together with the remoteness of any source of landmass-induced warm or cold airflows, ensures that winters are mild (mean temperature 3.0 to 4.0 °C or 37 to 39 °F) while summers are cool (mean temperature 9.5 to 10.5 °C or 49 to 51 °F).


title: Faroe Islands

text: The islands are windy, cloudy, and cool throughout the year with an average of 210 rainy or snowy days per year. The islands lie in the path of depressions moving northeast, making strong winds and heavy rain possible at all times of the year. Sunny days are rare and overcast days are common. Hurricane Faith struck the Faroe Islands on 5 September 1966 with sustained winds over 100 mph (160 km/h) and only then did the storm cease to be a tropical system.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The climate varies greatly over small distances, due to the altitude, ocean currents, topography, and winds. Precipitation varies considerably throughout the archipelago. In some highland areas, snow cover may last for months with snowfalls possible for the greater part of the year (on the highest peaks, summer snowfall is by no means rare), while in some sheltered coastal locations, several years pass without any snowfall whatsoever. Tórshavn receives frosts more often than other areas just a short distance to the south. Snow also is seen at a much higher frequency than on outlying islands nearby. The area receives on average 49 frosts a year.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The collection of meteorological data on the Faroe Islands began in 1867. Winter recording began in 1891, and the warmest winter occurred in 2016–17 with an average temperature of 6.1 °C (43 °F).


title: Faroe Islands

text: The Faroes belong to the Faroe Islands boreal grasslands ecoregion. The natural vegetation of the Faroe Islands is dominated by arctic-alpine plants, wildflowers, grasses, moss, and lichen. Most of the lowland area is grassland and some is heath, dominated by shrubby heathers, mainly "Calluna vulgaris". Among the herbaceous flora that occur in the Faroe Islands is the cosmopolitan marsh thistle, "Cirsium palustre".


title: Faroe Islands

text: Although there are no trees native to the Faroe Islands, a limited number of species have been successfully introduced to the region, in particular trees from the Magellanic subpolar forests region of Chile. Conditions in the Magellanic subpolar forests are similar to those in the Faroe Islands, with cold summers and near-continuous subpolar winds. The following species from Tierra del Fuego, "Drimys winteri", "Nothofagus antarctica", "Nothofagus pumilio", and "Nothofagus betuloides", have been successfully introduced to the Faroe Islands. A non-Chilean species that has been introduced is the black cottonwood, also known as the California poplar ("Populus trichocarpa").


title: Faroe Islands

text: A collection of Faroese marine algae resulting from a survey sponsored by NATO, the British Museum (Natural History) and the Carlsberg Foundation, is preserved in the Ulster Museum (catalogue numbers: F3195–F3307). It is one of ten exsiccatae sets. A few small plantations consisting of plants collected from similar climates such as Tierra del Fuego in South America and Alaska thrive on the islands.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The bird fauna of the Faroe Islands is dominated by seabirds and birds attracted to open land such as heather, probably because of the lack of woodland and other suitable habitats. Many species have developed special Faroese sub-species: common eider, Common starling, Eurasian wren, common murre, and black guillemot. The pied raven, a colour morph of the North Atlantic subspecies of the common raven, was endemic to the Faroe Islands, but now has become extinct.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Only a few species of wild land mammals are found in the Faroe Islands today, all introduced by humans. Three species are thriving on the islands today: mountain hare ("Lepus timidus"), brown rat ("Rattus norvegicus"), and the house mouse ("Mus musculus"). Apart from these, there is a local domestic sheep breed, the Faroe sheep (depicted on the coat of arms), and there once was a variety of feral sheep, which survived on Lítla Dímun until the mid-nineteenth century.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Grey seals ("Halichoerus grypus") are common around the shorelines. Several species of cetacea live in the waters around the Faroe Islands. Best known are the long-finned pilot whales ("Globicephala melaena"), which still are hunted by the islanders in accordance with longstanding local tradition. Orcas ("Orcinus orca") are regular visitors around the islands.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The domestic animals of the Faroe Islands are a result of 1,200 years of isolated breeding. As a result, many of the islands' domestic animals are found nowhere else in the world. Faroese domestic breeds include Faroe pony, Faroe cow, Faroe sheep, Faroese goose, and Faroese duck.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The islands were built up during a period characterised by high volcanic activity in the Early Palaeogene around 50-60 million years ago. The islands are built up in layers of different lava flows (basalt) alternating with thin layers of volcanic ash (tuff). The soft ash and the hard basalt thus lie layer upon layer in narrow and thick strips. The soft tuff or ash zones erode away relatively quickly, and the hard lump of basalt above the eroded tuff falls away, forming the first terrace.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Volcanic activity has varied over millions of years, with periods of quiescence and various periods of quiet eruptive fissures and explosive volcanism. In a few places, mainly on Suðuroy, thin layers of coal are present, which are the remains of swamp forests from the time between volcanic eruptions. The plateau has therefore been divided into different basalt series according to the course of volcanism and the age sequence of the layers.


title: Faroe Islands

text: There are major differences in the shape of the islands' terraces. The lowest and oldest series are thick lava deposits that can be seen on the southern part of Suðuroy, Mykines, Tindhólmur and the western side of Vágar. The basalts of the lower basalt series are often pillared, which is shown by elongated, angular and regular pillars in the mountain side. Very regular vertical columns are found on northern Mykines, where they can be up to high.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The middle basalt series consists of thin lava flows with a highly porous interlayer. This series has very little resistance to crumbling and weathering. As these erosion processes are more severe at higher altitudes than lower down, the lowlands are filled with weathering material from the heights, often resulting in a characteristic curved landscape shape. This can be clearly seen on Vágar, the northernmost part of Streymoy and on the north-western part of Eysturoy.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Glacial activity has reduced plateau surfaces, especially on the northern islands, where the surfaces have been reduced to a series of narrower or wider zig-zag rows along the length of the islands. The phenomenon is particularly pronounced on the islands of Kunoy, Kalsoy and Borðoy, where an eastward and a westward ice mass have eroded the intervening mountain range into a narrow ridge.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The Faroe Islands are a self-governing nation under the external sovereignty of the Kingdom of Denmark. The Faroese government holds executive power in local government affairs. The head of the government is called the "Løgmaður" ("Chief Justice") and serves as Prime Minister and head of Faroese Government. Any other member of the cabinet is called a "landsstýrismaður/ráðharri" ("Male Minister of the Faroese Government") or "landsstýriskvinna/ráðfrú" ("Female Minister of the Faroese Government"). The Faroese parliament – the "Løgting" ("Law Thing") – dates back to the early days of settlement and claims to be one of the longest functioning parliaments in the world, alongside the Icelandic Althing and the Manx Tynwald. The parliament currently has 33 members.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Elections are held at municipal and national levels, additionally electing two members to the Folketing. Until 2007, there were seven electoral districts, which were abolished on 25 October of that year in favour of a single nationwide district.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Administratively, the islands are divided into 29 municipalities ("kommunur") within which there are 120 or so settlements.


title: Faroe Islands

text: There are also the six traditional s"ýslur": Norðoyar, Eysturoy, Streymoy, Vágar, Sandoy, and Suðuroy. While no longer of any legal significance, the term is still commonly used to indicate a geographical region. In earlier times, each "sýsla" had its own assembly, the so-called "várting" ("spring assembly").


title: Faroe Islands

text: The Faroe Islands have been under Norwegian-Danish control since 1388. The 1814 Treaty of Kiel terminated the Danish–Norwegian union, and Norway came under the rule of the King of Sweden, while the Faroe Islands, Iceland, and Greenland remained Danish possessions. From ancient times the Faroe Islands had a parliament ("Løgting"), which was abolished in 1816, and the Faroe Islands were to be governed as an ordinary Danish amt (county), with the Amtmand as its head of government. In 1851, the "Løgting" was reinstated, but, until 1948, served mainly as an advisory body.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The islands are home to a notable independence movement that has seen an increase in popular support within recent decades. At the end of World War II, some of the population favoured independence from Denmark, and on 14 September 1946, an independence referendum was held on the question of secession. It was a consultative referendum, the parliament not being bound to follow the people's vote. This was the first time that the Faroese people had been asked whether they favoured independence or wanted to continue within the Danish kingdom.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The result of the vote was only a slight majority in favour of secession. The Speaker of the Løgting, together with the majority, initiated the process of becoming an independent state. The minority of the Løgting left in protest, regarding these actions as illegal. One parliament member, Jákup í Jákupsstovu, was shunned by his own party, the Social Democratic Party, for having joined the majority of the Løgting.


title: Faroe Islands

text: On 25 September 1946, a Danish prefect announced to the Løgting that the king, rejecting the majority vote, had dissolved the parliament and ordered new elections.


title: Faroe Islands

text: A parliamentary election was held a few months later, in which the political parties that favoured remaining in the Danish kingdom increased their share of the vote and formed a coalition. Based on this, they chose to reject secession. Instead, a compromise was reached and the Folketing passed a home-rule law that went into effect in 1948. The Faroe Islands' status as a Danish "amt" was thereby brought to an end; the Faroe Islands were given a high degree of self-governance, supported by a financial subsidy from Denmark to recompense expenses the islands have on Danish services.


title: Faroe Islands

text: At present, the islanders are about evenly split between those favouring independence and those who prefer to continue as a part of the Kingdom of Denmark. Within both camps there is a wide range of opinions. Of those who favour independence, some are in favour of an immediate unilateral declaration of independence. Others see independence as something to be attained gradually and with the full consent of the Danish government and the Danish nation. In the unionist camp, there are also many who foresee and welcome a gradual increase in autonomy even while strong ties with Denmark are maintained.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Two attempts have been made to draft a separate Faroese constitution. The first time in 2011, when the then prime minister Lars Løkke Rasmussen denounced it as incompatible with Denmark's constitution, stating that if the Faroe Islands wished to continue with the move, they must declare independence. A second attempt was made in 2015, facing similar criticisms before eventually being withdrawn without a vote.


title: Faroe Islands

text: As explicitly asserted by both treaties of the European Union, the Faroe Islands are not part of the European Union. The Faroes are not grouped with the EU when it comes to international trade; for instance, when the EU and Russia imposed reciprocal trade sanctions on each other over the War in Donbas in 2014, the Faroes began exporting significant amounts of fresh salmon to Russia. Moreover, a protocol to the treaty of accession of Denmark to the European Communities stipulates that Danish nationals residing in the Faroe Islands are not considered Danish nationals within the meaning of the treaties. Hence, Danish people living in the Faroes are not citizens of the European Union (though other EU nationals living there remain EU citizens). The Faroes are not covered by the Schengen Agreement, but there are no border checks when travelling between the Faroes and any Schengen country (the Faroes have been part of the Nordic Passport Union since 1966, and since 2001 there have been no permanent border checks between the Nordic countries and the rest of the Schengen Area as part of the Schengen agreement).


title: Faroe Islands

text: The Faroe Islands are not fully independent, but they do have political relations directly with other countries through agreement with Denmark. The Faroe Islands are a member of some international organisations as though they were an independent country. The Faroes have associate membership in the Nordic Council but have expressed wishes for full membership.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The Faroe Islands are a member of several international sports federations like UEFA, FIFA in football and FINA in swimming and EHF in handball and have their own national teams. They also have their own telephone country code, +298, Internet country code top-level domain, .fo, banking code FO and postal code system.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The Faroe Islands make their own agreements with other countries regarding trade and commerce. When the EU embargo against Russia started in 2014, the Faroe Islands were not a part of the embargo because they are not a part of EU, and the islands had just themselves experienced a year of embargo from the EU including Denmark against the islands; the Faroese prime minister Kaj Leo Johannesen went to Moscow to negotiate the trade between Russia and the Faroe Islands. The Faroese minister of fisheries negotiates with the EU and other countries regarding the rights to fish.


title: Faroe Islands

text: In mid-2005, representatives of the Faroe Islands raised the possibility of their territory joining the European Free Trade Association (EFTA). According to Article 56 of the EFTA Convention, only states may become members of the EFTA. The Faroes are an autonomous territory of the Kingdom of Denmark, and not a sovereign state in their own right. Consequently, they considered the possibility that the "Kingdom of Denmark in respect of the Faroes" could join the EFTA, though the Danish Government has stated that this mechanism would not allow the Faroes to become a separate member of the EEA because Denmark was already a party to the EEA Agreement. The Government of Denmark officially supports new membership of the EFTA with effect for the Faroe Islands.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The vast majority of the population are ethnic Faroese, of Norse and Celtic descent. Recent DNA analyses have revealed that Y chromosomes, tracing male descent, are 87% Scandinavian.


title: Faroe Islands

text: There is a gender deficit of about 2,000 women owing to migration. As a result, some Faroese men have married women from the Philippines and Thailand, whom they met through such channels as online dating websites, and arranged for them to emigrate to the islands. This group of approximately three hundred women make up the largest ethnic minority in the Faroes.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The total fertility rate of the Faroe Islands is currently one of the highest in Europe. The fertility rate is 2.409 children born per woman (2015 est.).


title: Faroe Islands

text: The 2011 census shows that of the 48,346 inhabitants of the Faroe Islands (17,441 private households in 2011), 43,135 were born in the Faroe Islands, 3,597 were born elsewhere in the Kingdom of Denmark (Denmark proper or Greenland), and 1,614 were born outside the Kingdom of Denmark. People were also asked about their nationality, including Faroese. Children under 15 were not asked about their nationality. 97% said that they were ethnic Faroese, which means that many of those who were born in either Denmark or Greenland consider themselves as ethnic Faroese. The other 3% of those older than 15 said they were not Faroese: 515 were Danish, 433 were from other European countries, 147 came from Asia, 65 from Africa, 55 from the Americas, 23 from Russia.


title: Faroe Islands

text: If the first inhabitants of the Faroe Islands were Irish monks, they must have lived as a very small group of settlers. Later, when the Vikings colonised the islands, there was a considerable increase in the population. However, it never exceeded 5,000 until the 19th century. Around 1349, about half the population perished in the Black Death plague.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Only with the rise of the deep-sea fishery (and thus independence from agriculture in the islands' harsh terrain) and with general progress in the health service was rapid population growth possible in the Faroes. Beginning in the 19th century, the population increased tenfold in 200 years.


title: Faroe Islands

text: At the beginning of the 1990s, the Faroe Islands entered a deep economic crisis leading to heavy emigration; however, this trend reversed in subsequent years to a net immigration. This has been in the form of a population replacement as young Faroese women leave and are replaced with Asian/Pacific brides.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The Faroese population is spread across most of the area; it was not until recent decades that significant urbanisation occurred. Industrialisation has been remarkably decentralised. Nevertheless, villages with poor harbour facilities have been the losers in the development from agriculture to fishing, and in the most peripheral agricultural areas, also known as Útoyggjar ("Outer Islands"), there are few young people. In recent decades, the village-based social structure has given way to a rise in interconnected "centres" that are better able to provide goods and services than the badly connected periphery. Shops and services are relocating en masse from the villages into the centres, and slowly but steadily the Faroese population is concentrating in and around the centres.


title: Faroe Islands

text: In the 1990s, the government abandoned the old national policy of developing the villages ("Bygdamenning"), and instead began a process of regional development ("Økismenning"). The term "region" referred to the large islands of the Faroes. Nevertheless, the government was unable to press through the structural reform of merging small rural municipalities to create sustainable, decentralised entities that could drive forward regional development. As regional development has been difficult on the administrative level, the government has instead invested heavily in infrastructure, interconnecting the regions.


title: Faroe Islands

text: As stipulated in section 11 (§ 11) in the 1948 Home Rule Act, Faroese is the primary and official language of the country, whereas Danish is taught in schools and can be used by the Faroese government in public relations, with public services providing Danish translations of documents on request. Faroese belongs to the North Germanic language branch and is descended from Old Norse, being most closely related to Icelandic. Due to its geographic isolation, it has preserved more conservative grammatical features that have been lost in Danish, Norwegian and Swedish. It is the only language alongside Icelandic and Elfdalian to preserve the letter Ð, though unlike the others, it is not pronounced.


title: Faroe Islands

text: According to the "Færeyinga saga", Sigmundur Brestisson brought Christianity to the islands in 999. However, archaeology at a site in Toftanes, Leirvík, named Bønhústoftin (English: prayer-house ruin) and over a dozen slabs from Ólansgarður in the small island of Skúvoy which in the main display encircled linear and outline crosses, suggest that Celtic Christianity may have arrived at least 150 years earlier. The Faroe Islands' Church Reformation was completed on 1 January 1540. According to official statistics from 2019, 79.7% of the Faroese population are members of the state church, the Church of the Faroe Islands (Fólkakirkjan), following a form of Lutheranism. The Fólkakirkjan became an independent church in 2007; previously it had been a diocese within the Church of Denmark. Faroese members of the clergy who have had historical importance include Venceslaus Ulricus Hammershaimb (1819–1909), Fríðrikur Petersen (1853–1917) and, perhaps most significantly, Jákup Dahl (1878–1944), who had a great influence in ensuring that the Faroese language was spoken in the church instead of Danish. Participation in churches is more prevalent among the Faroese population than among most other Scandinavians.


title: Faroe Islands

text: In the late 1820s, the Christian Evangelical religious movement, the Plymouth Brethren, was established in England. In 1865, a member of this movement, William Gibson Sloan, travelled to the Faroes from Shetland. At the turn of the 20th century, the Faroese Plymouth Brethren numbered thirty. Today, around 10% of the Faroese population are members of the Open Brethren community ("Brøðrasamkoman"). About 3% belong to the Charismatic Movement. There are several charismatic churches around the islands, the largest of which, called Keldan (The Spring), has about 200 to 300 members. About 2% belong to other Christian groups. The Adventists operate a private school in Tórshavn. Jehovah's Witnesses also have four congregations with a total of 121 members. The Roman Catholic congregation has about 270 members and falls under the jurisdiction of Denmark's Roman Catholic Diocese of Copenhagen. The municipality of Tórshavn has an old Franciscan school.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The best-known church buildings in the Faroe Islands include Tórshavn Cathedral, Olaf II of Norway's Church and the Magnus Cathedral in Kirkjubøur; the Vesturkirkjan and the St. Mary's Church, both of which are situated in Tórshavn; the church of Fámjin; the octagonal church in Haldórsvík; Christianskirkjan in Klaksvík; and also the two pictured here.


title: Faroe Islands

text: In 1948, Victor Danielsen completed the first Bible translation into Faroese from different modern languages. Jacob Dahl and Kristian Osvald Viderø (Fólkakirkjan) completed the second translation in 1961. The latter was translated from the original Biblical languages (Hebrew and Greek) into Faroese.


title: Faroe Islands

text: According to the 2011 Census, there were 33,018 Christians (95.44%), 23 Muslims (0.07%), 7 Hindus (0.02%), 66 Buddhists (0.19%), 12 Jews (0.03%), 13 Baháʼís (0.04%), 3 Sikhs (0.01%), 149 others (0.43%), 85 with more than one belief (0.25%), and 1,397 with no religion (4.04%).


title: Faroe Islands

text: The levels of education in the Faroe Islands are primary, secondary and higher education. Most institutions are funded by the state; there are few private schools in the Faroe Islands. Education is compulsory for 9 years between the ages of 7 and 16.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Compulsory education consists of seven years of primary education and two years of lower secondary education; it is public, free of charge, provided by the respective municipalities, and is called the Fólkaskúli in Faroese. The Fólkaskúli also provides optional preschool education as well as the tenth year of education that is a prerequisite to getting admitted to upper secondary education. Students that complete compulsory education are allowed to continue education in a vocational school, where they can have job-specific training and education. Since the fishing industry is an important part of Faroe Islands' economy, maritime schools are an important part of Faroese education. Upon completion of the tenth year of Fólkaskúli, students can continue to upper secondary education which consists of several different types of schools. Higher education is offered at the University of the Faroe Islands; a part of Faroese youth moves abroad to pursue higher education, mainly in Denmark. Other forms of education comprise adult education and music schools. The structure of the Faroese educational system bears resemblances with its Danish counterpart.


title: Faroe Islands

text: In the 12th century, education was provided by the Catholic Church in the Faroe Islands. The Church of Denmark took over education after the Protestant Reformation.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Modern educational institutions started operating in the last quarter of the nineteenth century and developed throughout the twentieth century. The status of the Faroese language in education was a significant issue for decades, until it was accepted as a language of instruction in 1938. Initially education was administered and regulated by Denmark. In 1979 responsibilities on educational issues started transferring to the Faroese authorities, a procedure which was completed in 2002.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The Ministry of Education, Research and Culture has the jurisdiction of educational responsibility in the Faroe Islands. Since the Faroe Islands is a part of the Danish Realm, education in the Faroe Islands is influenced and has similarities with the Danish educational system; there is an agreement on educational cooperation between the Faroe Islands and Denmark. In 2012 the public spending on education was 8.1% of GDP. The municipalities are responsible for the school buildings for children's education in Fólkaskúlin from age 1st grade to 9th or 10th grade (age 7 to 16). In November 2013 1,615 people, or 6.8% of the total number of employees, were employed in the education sector. Of the 31,270 people aged 25 and above 1,717 (5.5%) have gained at least a master's degrees or a Ph.D., 8,428 (27%) have gained a B.Sc. or a diploma, 11,706 (37.4%) have finished upper secondary education while 9,419 (30.1%) has only finished primary school and have no other education. There is no data on literacy in the Faroe Islands, but the CIA Factbook states that it is probably as high as in Denmark proper, i.e. 99%.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The majority of students in upper secondary schools are women, although men represent the majority in higher education institutions. In addition, most young Faroese people who relocate to other countries to study are women. Out of 8,535 holders of bachelor degrees, 4,796 (56.2%) have had their education in the Faroe Islands, 2,724 (31.9%) in Denmark, 543 in both the Faroe Islands and Denmark, 94 (1.1%) in Norway, 80 in the United Kingdom and the rest in other countries. Out of 1,719 holders of master's degrees or PhDs, 1,249 (72.7%) have had their education in Denmark, 87 (5.1%) in the United Kingdom, 86 (5%) in both the Faroe Islands and Denmark, 64 (3.7%) in the Faroe Islands, 60 (3.5%) in Norway and the rest in other countries (mostly EU and Nordic). Since there is no medical school in the Faroe Islands, all medical students have to study abroad; , out of a total of 96 medical students, 76 studied in Denmark, 19 in Poland, and 1 in Hungary.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Economic troubles caused by a collapse of the Faroese fishing industry in the early 1990s brought high unemployment rates of 10 to 15% by the mid-1990s. Unemployment decreased in the later 1990s, down to about 6% at the end of 1998. By June 2008 unemployment had declined to 1.1%, before rising to 3.4% in early 2009. In December 2019 the unemployment reached a record low 0.9%. Nevertheless, the almost total dependence on fishing and fish farming means that the economy remains vulnerable. One of the biggest private companies of the Faroe Islands is the salmon farming company Bakkafrost, which is the largest of the four salmon farming companies in the Faroe Islands and the eighth biggest in the world.


title: Faroe Islands

text: In 2011, 13% of the Faroe Islands' national income consists of economic aid from Denmark, corresponding to roughly 5% of GDP.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Since 2000, the government has fostered new information technology and business projects to attract new investment. The introduction of Burger King in Tórshavn was widely publicized as a sign of the globalization of Faroese culture. It remains to be seen whether these projects will succeed in broadening the islands' economic base. The islands have one of the lowest unemployment rates in Europe, but this should not necessarily be taken as a sign of a recovering economy, as many young students move to Denmark and other countries after leaving high school. This leaves a largely middle-aged and elderly population that may lack the skills and knowledge to fill newly developed positions on the Faroes. Nonetheless, in 2008 the Faroes were able to make a $52 million loan to Iceland in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis.


title: Faroe Islands

text: On 5 August 2009, two opposition parties introduced a bill in the "Løgting" to adopt the euro as the national currency, pending a referendum. The euro was not adopted.


title: Faroe Islands

text: By road, the main islands are connected by bridges and tunnels. Government-owned Strandfaraskip Landsins provides public bus and ferry service to the main towns and villages. There are no railways.


title: Faroe Islands

text: By air, Scandinavian Airlines and the government-owned Atlantic Airways both have scheduled international flights to Vágar Airport, the islands' only airport. Atlantic Airways also provides helicopter service to each of the islands. All civil aviation matters are controlled from the Civil Aviation Administration Denmark.


title: Faroe Islands

text: By sea, Smyril Line operates a regular international passenger, car and freight service linking the Faroe Islands with Seyðisfjörður, Iceland and Hirtshals, Denmark.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Because of the rugged terrain, road transport in the Faroe Islands was not as extensive as in other parts of the world. This has now changed, and the infrastructure has been developed extensively. Some 80 percent of the population of the islands is connected by tunnels through the mountains and between the islands, bridges and causeways that link together the three largest islands and three other islands to the northeast. While the other two large islands to the south, Sandoy and Suðuroy, are connected to the main area with ferries, the small islands Koltur and Stóra Dímun have no ferry connection, only a helicopter service. Other small islands—Mykines to the west, Kalsoy, Svínoy and Fugloy to the north, Hestur west of Streymoy, and Nólsoy east of Tórshavn—have smaller ferries and some of these islands also have a helicopter service.


title: Faroe Islands

text: In February 2014 all the political parties of the "Løgting" agreed on making two new subsea tunnels, one between Streymoy and Eysturoy (the Eysturoyartunnilin) and one between Streymoy and Sandoy (Sandoyartunnilin). The plan was that both tunnels should open in 2021 and not be private. The work to dig the Eysturoy-tunnel started on 1 March 2016 above the village of Hvítanes near Tórshavn, and it opened for traffic in late 2020. The Sandoyartunnilin is now expected to open in late 2023.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The culture of the Faroe Islands has its roots in the Nordic culture. The Faroe Islands were long isolated from the main cultural phases and movements that swept across parts of Europe. This means that they have maintained a great part of their traditional culture. The language spoken is Faroese, which is one of three insular North Germanic languages descended from the Old Norse language spoken in Scandinavia in the Viking Age, the others being Icelandic and the extinct Norn, which is thought to have been mutually intelligible with Faroese. Until the 15th century, Faroese had a similar orthography to Icelandic and Norwegian, but after the Reformation in 1538, the ruling Norwegians outlawed its use in schools, churches and official documents. Although a rich spoken tradition survived, for 300 years the language was not written down. This means that all poems and stories were handed down orally. These works were split into the following divisions: "sagnir" (historical), "ævintýr" (stories) and "kvæði" (ballads), often set to music and the medieval chain dance. These were eventually written down in the 19th century.


title: Faroe Islands

text: Faroese written literature has developed only in the past 100–200 years. This is mainly because of the islands' isolation, and also because the Faroese language did not have a standardised writing system. The Danish language was also encouraged at the expense of Faroese. Nevertheless, the Faroes have produced several authors and poets. A rich centuries-old oral tradition of folk tales and Faroese folk songs accompanied the Faroese chain dance. The people learned these songs and stories by heart, and told or sang them to each other, teaching the younger generations too. This kind of literature was gathered in the 19th century and early 20th century. The Faroese folk songs, in Faroese called "kvæði", are still in use although not so large-scale as earlier.


title: Faroe Islands

text: The first Faroese novel, "Bábelstornið" by Regin í Líð, was published in 1909; the second novel was published 18 years later. In the period 1930 to 1940 a writer from the village Skálavík on Sandoy island, Heðin Brú, published three novels: "Lognbrá" (1930), "Fastatøkur" (1935) and "Feðgar á ferð" (English title: "The old man and his sons") (1940). "Feðgar á ferð" has been translated into several other languages. Martin Joensen from Sandvík wrote about life on Faroese fishing vessels; he published the novels "Fiskimenn" (1946) and "Tað lýsir á landi" (1952).


title: Faroe Islands

text: Well-known poets from the early 20th century are among others the two brothers from Tórshavn: Hans Andrias Djurhuus (1883–1951) and Janus Djurhuus (1881–1948), other well known poets from this period and the mid 20th century are Poul F. Joensen (1898–1970), Regin Dahl (1918–2007) and Tummas Napoleon Djurhuus (1928–71). Their poems are popular even today and can be found in Faroese song books and school books. Jens Pauli Heinesen (1932–2011), a school teacher from Sandavágur, was the most productive Faroese novelist, he published 17 novels. Steinbjørn B. Jacobsen (1937–2012), a schoolteacher from Sandvík, wrote short stories, plays, children's books and even novels. Most Faroese writers write in Faroese; two exceptions are William Heinesen (1900–91) and Jørgen-Frantz Jacobsen (1900–38).


title: Faroe Islands

text: Women were not so visible in the early Faroese literature except for Helena Patursson (1864–1916), but in the last decades of the 20th century and in the beginning of the 21st century female writers like Ebba Hentze (born 1933) wrote children's books, short stories, etc. Guðrið Helmsdal published the first modernistic collection of poems, "Lýtt lot", in 1963, which at the same time was the first collection of Faroese poems written by a woman. Her daughter, Rakel Helmsdal (born 1966), is also a writer, best known for her children's books, for which she has won several prizes and nominations. Other female writers are the novelists Oddvør Johansen (born 1941), Bergtóra Hanusardóttir (born 1946) and novelist/children's books writers Marianna Debes Dahl (born 1947), and Sólrun Michelsen (born 1948). Other modern Faroese writers include Gunnar Hoydal (born 1941), Hanus Kamban (born 1942), Jógvan Isaksen (born 1950), Jóanes Nielsen (born 1953), Tóroddur Poulsen and Carl Jóhan Jensen (born 1957). Some of these writers have been nominated for the Nordic Council's Literature Prize two to six times, but have never won it. The only Faroese writer who writes in Faroese who has won the prize is the poet Rói Patursson (born 1947), who won the prize in 1986 for "Líkasum". In 2007 the first


title: Faroe Islands

text: ever Faroese/German anthology "From Janus Djurhuus to Tóroddur Poulsen – Faroese Poetry during 100 Years", edited by Paul Alfred Kleinert, including a short history of Faroese literature was published in Leipzig.