A young Mikhael Paskalev realised the power of music in film when John Lennon's Jealous Guy floated in the background of 1989 comedy, Look Who's Talking.
He remembers thinking it was the greatest thing in the world, and then soon after he began playing guitar about the age of 12.
The Norwegian singer/songwriter will make his first trip to Australia in March and release debut album, What's Life Without Losers.
Paskalev says the title is inspired by him striking up the courage to pursue his now girlfriend, whom he met a few years ago.
"I was about to go through my very selfish 'I don't really care about a relationship' phase," he explains from Oslo.
"I met her and, sorry for being extremely cheesy, but I was kind of like hit by the fact that she was really, really cool and I wanted to hang out with her - on a lot of levels.
"I had a little anthem in my head to kind of start seeing her.
"You've got to risk something to sometimes be a winner."
Paskalev came to international attention with his Risky Business-esque clip for single I Spy, which has received more than 1.3 million YouTube hits.
The song was voted number 75 in Triple J's Hottest 100 despite Paskalev not having ventured here yet.
His second single, the upbeat Jive Babe, is another track that gets listeners on their feet, but there are also some slower, cinematic songs on the album, including Paskalev's favourite, Only You.
"I got dumped, basically, and it felt actually very OK but it was the first time I realised that as a song writer you have to tap into stuff like that.
"I just started listening to a lot of break-up songs and trying to figure out a character based on myself but more extreme.
"I tried to make it pretty desperate to kind of just evoke that feeling that I think a lot of people have after something like that."
The indie pop artist is a cinema buff and hopes his songs might feature in a film one day.
He is a big Christopher Walken fan and particularly loved his performance in the Deer Hunter, which inspired the last track on the album, Sayonara Saigon.
"I'm a pretty cool guy, I can handle myself but I am almost crying full of tears and hanging up this phone just by the thought of Christopher Walken in that movie.
"Christopher Walken, he can do it to me."
MIKHAEL PASKALEV AUSTRALIAN TOUR:
March 1 - Chevron Festival Gardens, Perth Festival
March 4 - Alhambra Lounge, Brisbane
March 5 - Oxford Arts Factory, Sydney
March 7 Howler, Melbourne
March 8 - WOMADelaide, Adelaide
* What's Life Without Losers is out March 7.
