put a smile on my face, put a prize on my soul

Ida Maria Børli Sivertsen, or better known as Ida Maria, is a Norwegian rocker chick who has had a great deal of success in Norway and is breaking through here in the US. Her 2008 release Fortress Round My Heart, has gotten great reviews across the board. This chick knows how to make some catchy rock music.

Ida Maria Sivertsen has a powerful voice that conjures so many classic-rock associations it's a wonder she doesn't get lost amid all the references. On her debut album, Fortress Round My Heart, she howls like Janis Joplin, with a bit of soulful vibrato that almost sounds like grandstanding. She rasps like Courtney Love, similarly steeped in cigarettes and alcohol but without the manic aversion to actually making music.