YLVIS

Ylvis is a Norwegian comedy duo consisting of

brothers Vegard and Brd Ylvisker. They
debuted as professional variety artists in 2000
and have since appeared in several countries in
variety shows, (1) ________. They are currently
the hosts of the Norwegian talk show I kveld med
Ylvis (Tonight with Ylvis). Written and filmed for
the talk show, their song and music video "The
Fox (What Does the Fox Say?)"
went viral on YouTube in September 2013 with
over 566 million views as of December 2015.

Vegard (born 19 May 1979 in Trondheim) and Brd (born 21 March 1982 in Bergen) Urheim
Ylvisker (2) ________, the older two of three brothers. Their early childhood years were spent
in Angola and Mozambique, where their father was an engineer during the civil wars there. After
a few years in Africa, the family moved back to Bergen, where the brothers received a musical
upbringing and were trained in classical instruments. Vegard played the viola and Brd
the violin. However, both quit during their youth, (3) ________, and Brd on guitar, voice, comedy
and acrobatics such as aerial silk.
While attending high school at Fana gymnas,
they were heavily involved in school and
variety shows as well as the school choir.
During a performance, they were spotted by
impresario Peter Brandt, (4) _______ at Ole
Bull Teater in Bergen in 2000. Their debut
show was called Ylvis en kabaret (Ylvis: A
Cabaret) and was followed in 2003 by Ylvis
en konsert (Ylvis: A Concert). In 2006, the
brothers signed a management contract with
the live production company Stageway. They also debuted as hosts on national broadcasting with
the radio show O-fag on NRK Radio.
In January 2007, they appeared onstage at Ole Bull Theater with a new variety show, Ylvis III.
They toured with the show for almost three years, the last show being played in Odda in western
Norway in December 2009. The show was also recorded and published on DVD. Also in 2007,
(5) ______ with the show Norges herligste (Norway's Most Wonderful), a version of the Swedish
show 100 hjdare (100 Highs). This was released on DVD as well as broadcast on Swedish TV.
(6) _______ a second series of the radio show O-fag and also a new TV show based on their Ylvis
mter veggen stage show on TVNorge, a game show concept inspired by the "Brain Wall", a
feature in the Japanese game show Tonneruzu no Minasan no Okage deshita on Fuji TV.

This was followed up by another game show, Hvem kan sl Ylvis (Who can beat Ylvis?) in 2009,
based on the German show Schlag den Raab (Beat Raab). Members of the public were invited to
(7) ______, with a reward of up to one million Norwegian kroner.

In 2010, they hosted "Nordens herligste" ("The

Nordics Most Wonderful"), a pan-Nordic version
of the show. In 2011 they reprised their variety
stage show with "Ylvis 4", premiering at the Ole
Bull Theater with the entire run sold out before
opening night. That year, the brothers also
launched a comedy talkshow "I kveld med Ylvis"
("Tonight with Ylvis") on TVNorge. A number of
(8) ______, either originally featured on "I kveld
med Ylvis" or used to promote the show, have
been released onto YouTube.

A. were born to parents from the Sogn district of western Norway

B. comedy concerts, television shows, radio shows and music videos
C. in 2008 they released
D. they debuted as hosts on national television
E. comedy and parody music videos
F. try to beat the brothers at various tasks
G. have a good relationship
H. Vegard instead focusing on guitar, voice, piano, double bass and comedy
I. who orchestrated their debut as professional variety artists