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A prestigious hotel in Paris is where we were set to meet. My experience working for the biggest fashion magazine in the world doesn't even come close to how exclusive my interview with the Anniken Dahl-Smith, CEO of Dahlhouse Entertainment, was about to be. For it's been 3 years since the business woman and her representatives have spoken to the media at all. The world was left hanging when Anniken Dahl-Smith and the majority of her roster of hit-making artists went missing without a trace. Publications everywhere were sent into a frenzy, coming up with one conspiracy theory after another as to explain why such a company would dissipate in it's prime. As time went by, talk of the Dahlhouse cooled down but there was still buzz over the loose ends left behind. Bringing in the new year on a high note, Anniken Dahl-Smith has decided to break her silence.
Anniken Dahl-Smith is the definition of chic, you could tell by her elegant attire. Whether she was in a sharp suit or a flowy dress, she wore only nice things and she wore them well. The expensive outfits, the alluring face and the intimidating reputation all came together to provide Mrs. Smith with one hell of a presence. When I entered the room and caught my first glimpse of her, I was taken aback. She invited me to sit with her for tea time and that I did.
There were so many questions I wanted to ask but before I could understand who the woman in front of me has become, I needed to get to know who Anniken Dahl-Smith used to be. As we sat down for tea and French delicacies, she broke the ice by talking very briefly about her origins.
"My father was the Prime Minister of Norway. My mother, a socialite. I became a world class model at a very young age to spite them both." She grinned hard and her grin reminded me that I'm having tea with a woman who knows how to weaponize her success. It seems the last thing her political family wanted was for their Norwegian daughter to go across seas and become a provocative supermodel and yet, Anniken Dahl-Smith was proud of herself for choosing to defy them.
"Modeling was fun for me. I got to travel the world and brush elbows with just about everyone in the entertainment industry. Don't get me wrong, it wasn't an easy industry to work in at all but it was better than being back home. I participated for a good decade. I had the face for it, the body too, but my mind always wished for more." It's no wonder why Anniken Dahl-Smith had such an easy time breaking into the entertainment industry as an executive. Today, she has about 30 years worth of experience and connections in the business all because of where she started. So, what exactly sparked her transition from supermodel to business woman?
"I fell in love and became a mother. I knew it was the end of my modeling career and I wanted it to be the end of my modeling career. I was so happy to start my own family and move onto bigger things in life. It all became even bigger than I could have ever imagined."
Every time Anniken mentioned her daughter Airmese "Coke" Smith and her late-husband Dakari Smith, it brought a spark to her eyes. Yes, you got the story right. Anniken Dahl-Smith built an empire just so she could have the means to fulfill her daughter's dream.
"Everything I do is for my family. I never knew I would be blessed to have such a talented daughter but once I realized who Airemese Smith was becoming, I knew I had to be the person that could give her everything she needed to succeed. One day, she came home with a best friend, Niña "Rum" Tarantino, and that fated encounter really ended up expanding my definition of family. After that, I just kept running into all of these young talented souls and I couldn't help but take them all under my wing. Thus, the birth of The Dahlhouse. My legacy." Rum & Coke were the first artists Anniken Dahl-Smith introduced to the industry and she soon grew to have more than 20 entertainment acts under her belt including K-pop girl group Mi•Mi, sultry singer Aikya Balan and teenage heartthrob Dae Ho Park.
She comes across as a strict woman from time but Anniken is someone who cares and knows how to effectively act on it. 8 years of running her own entertainment company and recruiting artists, actors and models from all over the world has shown just that. With a tendency to sign on talents who other companies would consider "trouble", she never turns her back on those she has promised a better life to.
"It was like I was gaining the whole world but losing what really mattered." Anniken says, finally speaking on why everything had come to an abrupt stop. The tragic news of Dakari Smith passing away surfaced in 2017 and Anniken Dahl-Smith admits that trying to push through such a huge loss as if life could continue 'business as usual', is one of the biggest mistakes she made in life.
"The love of my life died and I just...I had no idea what to do. So, I worked and I made my daughter work too." She shook her head and let out a deep breath. In 2017, Airmese "Coke" Smith released her sophomore solo album, 'GOLD', where she aired out her resentment for her love for music and her love for her mom, both which robbed her of a chance to grieve her dad's death in a healthy way. "She was miserable and I was miserable. I tried my hardest to keep it together for all of us. Not just my immediate family but my Dahlhouse family as well."
With so many people to let down, Anniken had to make the best choice for the business. This time 3 years ago in 2018, Anniken Dahl-Smith scheduled a meeting with her entire roster and her management team. Everyone associated with Dahlhouse Entertainment showed up to the meeting, awaiting their fate.
"I was going to step down that day for good. I had it all planned out in my head. However," Anniken paused, her eyes watering. "I stepped outside of myself and in that moment, I could feel that I wasn't the only person working through their pain. We had all sat in a room together for the first time in maybe years and I felt... Everyone was hurting and I could feel it. All of it."
"I was put on this earth to take care of others. Instead of giving up on my mission, I found a new way to achieve it. We all needed a break. Life was overworking us more than any business ever could." There was nothing for me to say, all I could do was listen to the heartfelt words of one wise woman.
"You know something people never think about? These artists, they live their entire lives waiting for the world to give them permission to be artists. They're all often so busy chasing their passion that they rarely ever give themselves time to live outsie of their passion. A lot of them dont know who they are without music and were never given the tools to handle the burdens that this life flings onto them."
"I spent the last 3 years giving my talents the break that they needed. I took care of everyone, continued to pay for everything and even brought in group-counseling so that we could come together as a family and truly heal. Instead of working on product to push, we worked on ourselves. Personal development is just as important as artist development."
No one guessed humanity would be facing a year full of death when heading into 2020. A pandemic has taken the whole world by shock and many are still in disbelief. As we move into 2021, we begin to look back at how we responded to such a troubling time for the collective. One thing's for certain: we, as a society, have not helped each other or ourselves as much as we possibly could have. It seems our biggest fault lies within how even for the average person, our livelihoods depends on the businesses in our world and very few of them have everyone's well-being in mind.
2 years before reality threw a drastic public emergency in all of our faces, Anniken Dahl-Smith already had the nudge to do the right thing. Anniken is a dedicated business woman known for her unbreakable ambition but she learned the hard way, proving to herself and the world, that putting people before profit benefits us all.
"The Dahlhouse is back. We finally feel that the time is right for a fresh start. After 3 years of retreat, we just want to show the world that a lot of good comes out of giving yourself time. In 2021, I urge everyone to step outside of their own problems and look around. Understand that you are apart of the collective meaning when you are in pain, you are never alone. I want to encourage more people to isolate themselves less and to look for more solutions where we all come out on the brightside. Together. The way the world's looking right now, I fear it's the only way we'll all get out of this alive."
  Edited by user 02 January 2021 06:42:41(UTC)
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