Elvis mimic sets record with 50-hour songathon

LOVE HIM TENDER Norwegian artist Kjell Elvis (Kjell Henning Bjornstad) performs at the start of his challenge of the world’s longest Elvis Presley singing marathon in Oslo on Saturday. —AFP

OSLO — A Norwegian Elvis Presley impersonator set a world record on Saturday by singing the legendary entertainer’s songs for more than 50 hours straight in an online competition.

Kjell Henning Bjornestad, whose stage name is Kjell Elvis, sang nonstop for 50 hours, 50 minutes and 50 seconds, smashing the previous record, recognized by the Guinness Book of Records, by more than seven hours.

The title of the previous Elvis champion, a German by the name of Thomas “Curtis” Gaethje, had remained intact for more than 16 years.

Easy on the coffee

“I’ll never do this again,” Bjornestad, dressed in an Elvis costume, told Norwegian television after completing his performance early Saturday in an Oslo bar.

His manager said Kjell Elvis, who sang through two days and two nights, had been told to go easy on the coffee and to rely instead on smoothies, fruit and energy snacks to keep his voice in shape while staying the course.

He did sound increasingly hoarse during the final hours.

Bjornestad, 52, had set two Elvis singing records before. The last time, in 2003, it took him 26 hours of nonstop performing to come out on top.

Call for donations

He called on fans during the event to make donations in part to finance a hospital in Myanmar.

Elvis Presley, who died in 1977 and was known as “The King,” was among the top cultural icons of the 20th century.

He had dozens of No. 1 hits, sold more than 146 million albums and won more gold albums than anybody else. —AFP