Subwoolfer: After the Banana — Where Are the Wolves Now?

Subwoolfer: After the Banana — Where Are the Wolves Now?

In January 2022, two figures in yellow wolf masks and black suits released a song about feeding a banana to a wolf before it eats their grandmother. “Give That Wolf a Banana” won Melodi Grand Prix 2022, finished tenth at Eurovision in Turin with 182 points, reached number four on the Norwegian charts, and became one of the most-streamed novelty hits of the year. Then came the question every masked act eventually faces: who are they? In February 2023, at the Melodi Grand Prix final, the wolves answered it themselves — unmasking mid-performance as Ben Adams of the British-Norwegian boyband a1 and Norwegian singer Gaute Ormåsen, an Idol runner-up. The mystery was solved. The interesting part is what happened next: the wolves kept going.

The 2022 phenomenon, briefly

It is worth remembering how complete the bit was. Subwoolfer arrived with full lore: Keith and Jim, two wolves from the moon, assisted by the silent DJ Astronaut, with a backstory stretching back billions of years. They gave press conferences in character, refused to break kayfabe in interviews, and turned anonymity into the engine of the act — every speculation about their identities, from Ylvis to TIX, was free publicity. The song itself, credited to the songwriters DJ Astronaut, Jim and Keith, was three minutes of absurdist dance-pop that worked precisely because it committed to the joke all the way down.

Turin gave them tenth place and a cult following. But novelty acts at Eurovision have a short half-life, and the smart money said the wolves would vanish back to the moon.

The unmasking: Adams and Ormåsen step forward

The reveal, when it came, was characteristically theatrical. Performing their new single “Worst Kept Secret” as the interval act at the MGP 2023 final — alongside their Eurovision hit — the duo removed the wolf heads on stage, confirming what many had suspected: Ben Adams, who had moved to Norway years earlier to work as a songwriter and producer, and Gaute Ormåsen, the Norwegian singer with MGP history of his own. Adams later told the press the project had started at a songwriting camp with a brief to “write the craziest thing that you could think of,” and that wearing masks was NRK’s suggestion when the pair hesitated to perform it themselves.

The unmasking could have been the end of the joke. Instead, it became a second beginning: two established music professionals, now publicly attached to the silliest hit of their careers, deciding to keep the act alive.

The releases since: a real discography

Here is what the “what’s next” actually looks like, and it is more substantial than most novelty acts manage. Even before the unmasking, the wolves were releasing: “Give That Wolf a Romantic Banana” (the Valentine’s version), the Mika-parody “Space Kelly,” and “Melocoton (The Donka Donk Song),” their first fully original post-Eurovision single. After the reveal came “Worst Kept Secret” itself, the Christmas single “Having Grandma Here for Christmas,” “Howling” featuring Luna Ferrari, the “Coco Pops” collaboration with the Subkids, “We Wrote a Book,” and “I Think I Killed Rudolph” — a team-up with Adams’s own band a1 for a Christmas comedy-horror film soundtrack.

The project kept evolving through 2024 with DJ Astronaut stepping further into the frame: “Spaceman,” “Fish,” “MMH” and “Train,” collaborations that expanded the Subwoolfer universe beyond the original duo. And after more than a year of quiet, December 2025 brought “Dark Side of the Moon” — proof, if any were needed, that the wolves were still out there, still recording, still committed to the bit.

Why the wolves endure

The secret of Subwoolfer’s longevity is that the unmasking changed nothing essential. Adams still tours with a1; Ormåsen still has his own career; the duo remain signed to Universal and continue writing and recording as the wolves. The masks were never really about hiding — they were about permission: permission for two serious music professionals to make unserious music without apology.

Most Eurovision novelty acts are remembered as punchlines. Subwoolfer turned the punchline into a franchise — a parallel career that runs alongside its creators’ real ones, releasing music, playing shows across the UK and Europe, and maintaining a fanbase that shows no sign of tiring of the joke. The banana was the beginning. The wolves, it turns out, were always the point.

The lore that launched a thousand theories

Part of the genius of Subwoolfer was how seriously the joke was taken. The official backstory had Keith and Jim forming the band billions of years ago on the moon, with the silent DJ Astronaut as their companion — and the duo maintained character with total discipline. They walked into Eurovision venues in visors and masks, stayed in their dressing rooms, avoided other contestants, and gave interviews without saying a word. Adams later recalled standing in rooms full of reporters he had known for years, unable to say hello, and getting texts afterwards: you were in the same room and didn’t even say hi.

The secrecy turned the fanbase into detectives. The most popular theories named Ylvis — the duo behind 2013’s “What Does the Fox Say?” — alongside Norwegian singers Didrik and Emil Solli-Tangen, Gaute Ormåsen and Ben Adams; one theory even had TIX, Norway’s 2021 contestant, as the hidden DJ Astronaut. During rehearsals, one wolf was heard speaking with a distinctly British accent, which only sharpened the speculation. Sam Ryder, the UK’s 2022 contestant, reportedly cottoned on after spotting Adams at a breakfast buffet and watching him flee without a greeting. The mystery was the marketing, and it worked better than any campaign Universal could have bought.

Subwoolfer discography timeline: the joke that became a catalogue

The wolves kept releasing long after the mystery was solved. The key dates:

Key facts and numbers

The 2022 phenomenon deserves its full context. Subwoolfer turned anonymity into the engine of the act: they gave press conferences in character, refused to break kayfabe in interviews, walked into Eurovision venues in visors and masks, stayed in their dressing rooms, avoided other contestants, and gave interviews without saying a word. Adams later recalled standing in rooms full of reporters he had known for years, unable to say hello, and getting texts afterwards: you were in the same room and didn’t even say hi.

The secrecy turned the fanbase into detectives. The most popular theories named Ylvis — the duo behind 2013’s “What Does the Fox Say?” — alongside Norwegian singers Didrik and Emil Solli-Tangen, Gaute Ormåsen and Ben Adams; one theory even had TIX, Norway’s 2021 contestant, as the hidden DJ Astronaut. During rehearsals, one wolf was heard speaking with a distinctly British accent, which only sharpened the speculation. Sam Ryder, the UK’s 2022 contestant, reportedly cottoned on after spotting Adams at a breakfast buffet and watching him flee without a greeting. The song itself was credited to the songwriters DJ Astronaut, Jim and Keith. The mystery was the marketing, and it worked better than any campaign Universal could have bought.

The project itself had started at a songwriting camp with a brief to “write the craziest thing that you could think of,” Adams later told the press — and wearing masks was NRK’s suggestion when the pair hesitated to perform it themselves. The duo remain signed to Universal; Adams still tours with a1 and Ormåsen still has his own career, while the wolves continue as a parallel career releasing music and playing shows across the UK and Europe.

What comes next for the wolves

The unmasking changed nothing essential, which is precisely why the act endures. The masks were never really about hiding — they were about permission: permission for two serious music professionals to make unserious music without apology. Most Eurovision novelty acts are remembered as punchlines; Subwoolfer turned the punchline into a franchise.

The December 2025 arrival of “Dark Side of the Moon,” after more than a year of quiet, answered the only question that mattered: are they done? Evidently not. The pattern since 2022 — a steady drip of singles, Christmas records, collaborations and universe-expanding side projects with DJ Astronaut — suggests the wolves operate on their own lunar calendar, surfacing when they feel like it. For a fanbase that shows no sign of tiring of the joke, that is exactly the right pace. The banana was the beginning. The wolves, it turns out, were always the point.

FAQ

Who are Subwoolfer?

Ben Adams — of the British-Norwegian boyband a1, who moved to Norway years earlier to work as a songwriter and producer — and Norwegian singer Gaute Ormåsen, an Idol runner-up. They revealed themselves by removing the wolf heads on stage at the MGP 2023 final.

When were Subwoolfer unmasked?

In February 2023, performing their new single “Worst Kept Secret” as the interval act at the Melodi Grand Prix final — alongside their Eurovision hit — the duo removed the wolf heads mid-performance, confirming what many had suspected.

What place did Subwoolfer finish at Eurovision?

Tenth at Eurovision 2022 in Turin with 182 points. “Give That Wolf a Banana” also reached number four on the Norwegian charts and became one of the most-streamed novelty hits of the year.

Who is DJ Astronaut?

The silent third member of the Subwoolfer universe — the wolves’ companion in the official lore, and one of the credited songwriters (alongside Jim and Keith) on “Give That Wolf a Banana”. In 2024, DJ Astronaut stepped further into the frame with the collaborations “Spaceman,” “Fish,” “MMH” and “Train”.

Are Subwoolfer still making music?

Yes. After the 2023 unmasking came a run of releases including “Howling,” “We Wrote a Book” and the a1 team-up “I Think I Killed Rudolph,” then the 2024 DJ Astronaut collaborations — and in December 2025, after more than a year of quiet, “Dark Side of the Moon”. The wolves remain signed to Universal.

Who wrote “Give That Wolf a Banana”?

The song is credited to the songwriters DJ Astronaut, Jim and Keith. Adams later said the project started at a songwriting camp with a brief to “write the craziest thing that you could think of” — and that wearing masks was NRK’s suggestion when the pair hesitated to perform it themselves.

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