YLVIS in English

Why this site?

Thanks to some wonderful, generous people, many of Ylvis’ videos on YouTube have been translated and subtitled for us English speakers, so we can all appreciate the fantastic humor of the Ylvisåker brothers. Since these videos are scattered across various accounts, keeping track of them has gotten a bit complicated. I have therefore put together a hopefully comprehensive list of Ylvis videos in English, Ylvis videos that have been subtitled in English, and Ylvis videos that you can understand without speaking Norwegian, to make their body of work more easily accessible. Enjoy!

If you come across a video that I’ve missed, please post a link to it in the comments section below.

An extra big shoutout goes to Ylvis’ Facebookies, Emma, and UploadingFriend, who’ve translated the bulk of the videos you’ll find here.

 

How to use this site

Videos have been grouped and placed on individual pages. Browse the pages at random, or see the Master List of all the videos.

Videos with subtitles have been marked as such. Not all the videos have subtitles, but (unless otherwise indicated) those that don’t can be enjoyed even if you don’t understand Norwegian.

One last thing: while Ylvis’ humor is on the whole quite mild, there is English swearing scattered across their videos. This is not just an Ylvis thing. It is apparently common for Norwegians to swear in English, even on TV. Norwegians are also more comfortable with nudity than many other cultures. In short, if you are easily offended by swearing and nudity, Ylvis is probably not for you. Please quietly go find some other fandom to join. For the rest of you, there are a couple of videos that might be considered more “extreme”, but I have clearly indicated where this is the case so you can avoid them if you’re sensitive.

 

Wait — Ylvis who?

If you’re asking yourself this question, you’ve probably been living under a rock for the last few months. And you wouldn’t be on this site in the first place, so I’ll keep it brief.

Ylvis is a comedy duo (YES, there’s two of them) made up of Norwegian brothers Bård and Vegard Ylvisåker. They got their start right out of high school when they were discovered performing in a high school play. They went on to do a bunch of popular cabaret and variety shows, moved on to radio, then had a number of shows on Norwegian TV, including a game show (based on the Japanese Brain Wall), and a show in which they interview “wonderful” (read: weird) Norwegians. Then, in 2010, they launched their own late night talk show I Kveld med Ylvis (Tonight with Ylvis) on the Norwegian TV station, TVNorge. I Kveld med Ylvis also features a third host named Calle, the unfortunate Magnus, and David, who replaced Calle in the second season (Calle is back in Season Three — yay!). “The Fox (What Does the Fox Say)” was made to promote the start of the third season of the show… only things didn’t work out as they’d planned.

For the full story of Ylvis, see their Wikipedia entry, or visit their official website. You’ll also find links to the most informative Ylvis/The Fox interviews and articles, presented in chronological order, on our In Print page.

 

OK I know who Ylvis is, and yes the Fox video was pretty funny, but a fandom? Really? I don’t get what the big deal is.

Well for starters, this:

But a lot more besides that too, I promise 🙂 . You’ll just have to watch some videos and see for yourself!

 

Ylvis Fun Facts and Misconceptions:

• Ylvis is pronounced ILL-VIS, not YELL-VIS. (Though to really pronounce it accurately, you have to purse your lips into a “duck mouth” while saying the ILL part, instead of smiling. Seriously, it works.)
• Bård is pronounced a bit like the word “bore”, with a short O and a very guttural R… BORRRR.
• Vegard is pronounced VE-GAR, with “VE” as in “very”, and again with the guttural R at the end.
• YES Ylvis deserves their success. They didn’t just throw together a video one day and get lucky with it. They’ve been working hard at this for more than a decade.
• YES both Bård and Vegard can sing, on pitch, without autotune or playback. There are plenty of live videos proving this. Bård has a very nice “choir” voice and an amazing falsetto, while Vegard’s voice is just RIDICULOUS. Check out the music videos for “Stonehenge” and “Jan Egeland”, or the YLVIS Live page, to see for yourself.
• YES Bård and Vegard are incredibly talented. They’re funny. They’re charming. They can sing. They can write and compose music in numerous genres. They can dance better than 98% of men. They can play various instruments and improvise songs. They can speak a bunch of languages (or fake it so it sounds like they can). And Vegard has a pilot’s license. Just cause.
• NO Ylvis was not signed to Warner records as a result of the popularity of “The Fox”. They already had a deal with them, at least in Norway, and many of their previous songs were released under it.
• NO the Fox’s delayed availability on iTunes was not due to them being accused of plagiarism. It was held up because they hadn’t been prepared for it to be so successful, and had to sign some agreements and stuff before it could be released internationally.
• YES both the Ylvisåker brothers are in their 30s. Vegard’s birthday is on the 19th of May and he is currently 34 years old; Bård’s birthday is on the 21st of March and he is currently 31.
• YES although Vegard is the older brother, Bård is taller, and they do regularly tease each other about this. Bård is 1.80 m and Vegard is 1.745 m (about 5'11″ and just under 5'9″).
• YES Bård and Vegard lived in Africa as small children. Their parents were originally from Sogn (Norway), but their father worked as an engineer in Angola and Mozambique during the civil wars there. They later moved back to Norway, settling in Bergen. Recently, they moved from Bergen to Oslo to avoid commuting back and forth for the filming of I kveld med YLVIS.
• YES both Bård and Vegard are married. Bård to his high school sweetheart Maria Lekva, whom he met when he was around 15 (awwwww), though they only officially married in New York Last Year. Vegard tied the knot two years ago, to his love of ten years Helene Helgesen. This is her blog on interior design (their house won “Norway’s prettiest home” in 2010).
• YES both Bård and Vegard have children. Bård has three, Sofie (12) Nora (9), and Jens (4) (yes, he had his first child at the age of 19, though it’s hard to believe if you see videos of him from then); Vegard has two, Emma (6) and Mads (4).
• NO it is not wrong to find Bård and Vegard attractive. They’re in show business, it’s part of their popularity and appeal, it comes with the territory. Plus to my knowledge no harm has ever come of crushing from afar. Though if you’re tempted to start stalking them or randomly decide to move to Norway, there might be cause for concern 😉 .
• NO you don’t have to decide which of the two brothers you love more. You can love them both equally. Or you can love one more than the other — there’s plenty of love to go around!

Have a fun fact or correct a common misconception to add? Let me know in the comments section below!

 

Dear TVNorge,

If you happen to come across this site, please don’t use it as a quick way to identify copyright infringers and have the videos removed. Wherever possible, I have linked to videos on your official channel. If you subtitle more of your videos, I will update the links accordingly. In the meantime, please let us enjoy what would not otherwise be accessible to us! Thank you!