Carl Espen Thorbjørnsen (born 15 July 1982), better known as simply Carl Espen, is a Norwegian singer and songwriter, who represented Norway in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 with his song "Silent Storm".

Carl Espen was born in Bergen in 1982. The oldest of three siblings, he grew up on the island of Osterøy. He spent two years with the Norwegian Armed Forces and was stationed in Kosovo, before returning to Norway to take up work as a craftsman.

Espen's first performance was at a singing contest when he was 17.

In 2014, Espen was announced as one of the contestants in Melodi Grand Prix 2014, Norway's selection process for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014, with the song "Silent Storm". The song was written by Espen's cousin, Josefin Winther.

On 9 March 2014, he qualified from the third semi-final, proceeding to the final. In the final on 15 March 2014 at the Oslo Spektrum in Oslo, he progressed to the Superfinal where he won the right to represent Norway at the Eurovision Song Contest 2014.

At Eurovision, he performed during the second semi-final on 8 May 2014 and qualified to the final. In the final, Espen placed 8th.