Norway's latest export hope, Lene Marlin sees the No. 2 chart debut of her single "Sitting Down Here" as a good omen for her forthcoming album. The track has already reached gold status with more than 10,000 units sold at retail.


While many artists usually have to keep their day jobs to make a living, 18-year-old Marlin, who is signed to Virgin Records, has made music her career choice. Her debut album, "Playing My Game," is scheduled for release March 22 in Norway. Judging by the unprecedented success of her current single, as well as her previous hit, "Unforgivable Sinner," the set is poised to make more domestic chart history. ("Unforgivable Sinner,", released last October, debuted at No. 1, making Marlin the first Norwegian artist to achieve that feat with a first single.)

Marlin hails from the northern city of Tromsø, a place which has also spurred the careers of such acts as Espen Lind, Bel Canto, and Biosphere. She writes her own songs and easily fends off any suggestions of being "a new teen-pop sensation." Among her favorite acts are the Cardigans, Shawn Colvin, Heather Nova, and Lind. "I have never stood in front of the mirror pretending to be a Spice girl," she says.