My first contact with Aurora wasn't an instant passion like many other fans may have experienced. A friend of mine sent me a live performance of Warrior, and I thought it was cool but not compelling enough. At that time, I was happy and had good friends.
Then life happened. I broke up with someone, isolated myself from my friends, and developed depression. In my darkest hour, when I was just surfing the internet to minimize my pain, I rediscovered Aurora. Suddenly, I felt the light and warmth of the sun on my skin again.
It was truly a point of hope in my life. How could she exist? Her pure, naive, and talented personality-so protected and perfect: a Norwegian from a lovely family, the youngest of three sisters who inherited all the recessive genes for herself, a true musical genius with one of the most touching voices on this Earth.
Her early songs carry so much beauty, not only in her angelic voice but also in her dark lyrics. Always telling the story of a free spirit trying to live her best in this ephemeral world.
Murder Song, Under the Water, Churchyard, Winterbird, and Awakening, just to mention a few, are truly messages from a young girl who turned the coldness of existence into her safe place.
I was truly obsessed, and after a few weeks, I felt like I had watched every performance and interview of hers available on YouTube, and yet, I was sad about all the other performances she gave that weren't recorded and will be forever lost in time and in the memory of a lucky few.
But then, when I saw this documentary for the first time, I realized that someday, our lovely and sweet Aurora-who became a friend to me when I needed her the most-would eventually grow up and go out into the world. She wasn't and never will be this idealized persona that we, as fans around the world, created for ourselves.
We were just spectators of her personal journey to accept how things really are in this industry and to become a well-selling musician. I think this phase officially began with the release of Cure for Me and what came next.
But before all of this success, she fought as a true free spirit, captivating so many admirers along the way.
And for this, she will always be a genius, as this documentary made clear.
