Music of Sweden
Sweden is one of the largest exporters of pop and rock music in the world. Many Swedish artists have enjoyed success on the British and American charts and in other English speaking countries.
1970s
In April 1974, Blue Swede went to number one on the Billboard Hot 100 with the B. J. Thomas cover "Hooked on a Feeling". The band was renamed Blue Swede for the US.
In that same year, ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest in Brighton with "Waterloo". It was a big success throughout Europe, and reached number six on the Billboard Hot 100. Over the next few years ABBA had 18 consecutive top ten hits in the UK, nine of them reaching number one. Having sold an estimated 370 million units worldwide, ABBA became the best-selling band of the 1970s. In 1977 "Dancing Queen" became ABBA's only number one hit on the Billboard Hot 100. ABBA and Led Zeppelin are the only acts to have had 8 consecutive UK #1 albums .
Shortly after the release of Super Trouper, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad of ABBA decided to end their marriage, just as Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog had done two years prior. This event did not stop the foursome from working together. Their eighth album "The Visitors" was released at the end of 1981. Feeling that the energy was running out of the group, they decided to take a break in 1982; the group have not reunited since Agnetha Fältskog and Ann-Frida Lyngstad both pursued solo careers. In 1982 Lyngstad released her first solo album in English. It was produced by Phil Collins. The song "I Know There's Something Going On" was a huge hit around the world in 1982.
Benny and Björn collaborated with Tim Rice on the musical Chess which premiered in 1986 in the West End of London. The singles "One Night in Bangkok" and "I Know Him So Well" were both huge successes.
1980s
In 1986 a hard rock band from Upplands Väsby, Europe, hit number one in 26 countries including the UK with the song "The Final Countdown". The album of the same name also charted around the world and sold over 3 million copies in the United States alone and more than 6 million copies worldwide. The single has sold 8 million copies.
The following year included successful tours through Europe, Japan and the USA. Their next album was Out of This World which produced "Superstitious" as its biggest hit. This album sold about 4 million copies worldwide. In 1991, they released Prisoners in Paradise, which sold only 1 million copies. Europe decided to take a long break in 1992.
In 1986, Marie Fredriksson and Per Gessle formed the band Roxette. Four of their songs, "The Look", "Listen To Your Heart" (both 1989), "It Must Have Been Love" (1990) and "Joyride" (1991), all reached #1 on the Billboard Hot 100. Meanwhile, two of their other songs, "Dangerous" (1990) and "Fading Like a Flower" (1991), each peaked at #2 on the Billboard Hot 100.
Roxette's Join The Joyride World Tour 91-92 attracted 1.7 million people around the world. In 1993, they became the first non-English speaking band ever to play at MTV Unplugged. In 1995 they became the first Western band to be allowed to perform in China since Wham! in 1985.
In 2003, the duo was honoured with achievement medals by Swedish King Carl XVI Gustaf "for appreciated achievements in Sweden and internationally". To date their best selling albums areJoyride (11 million) and Look Sharp! (9 million).[9] Overall, the duo has sold more than 45 million albums and 25 million singles worldwide.In 1988, Swedish (but then UK-based) artist Neneh Cherry got her solo breakthrough with "Buffalo Stance". She now (2009) lives in Tågarp, Skåne, Sweden.
1990s
There are a number of popular music artists from Sweden from different genres who gained a name in the international music scene in the '90s:Yaki-Da,Ace of Base,The Cardigans, Dr. Alban, Leila K, Army of Lovers,, Stakka Bo, Rednex, Robyn,Eagle Eye Cherry, Emilia Rydberg, Teddybears and Meja.
2000s
With "Crying at the Discoteque" the band Alcazar achieved success across Europe in 2000. It peaked at #3 in Germany and at #13 in the UK Singles Chart. The following singles failed to reach this success.
The A*Teens were formed in 1998 as an ABBA Tribute Band. The debut album The ABBA Generation in 1999 consisted purely of ABBA covers and was a great success around the world. The album sold 3 million copies worldwide. Singles like "Mamma Mia" (UK #12 1999) and "Dancing Queen" (UK #21 1999) topped the charts in Sweden. Their second album Teen Spirit (2001) contained new songs and was certified Gold in the United States. "Upside Down" from that album became their biggest hit. After two records which were less successful internationally, the band broke up in 2004.
An other band which had success overseas were Play. Their biggest hit were "Us Against The World" which sold over 500,000 copies and caused them an American tour. The song also became featured in movies like The Master of Disguise and Holiday in the Sun, not forgetting the Lizzie McGuire series.
The electronic dance project Antiloop also reached international success; the song "In My Mind" was featured on the FIFA 2003 soundtrack.
The Swedish/Moroccan songwriter/producer RedOne made during the late 00's a huge success worldwide working alongside with Lady Gaga, and later other American stars. He has been nominated eight times but also won two Grammy Awards.
2010s:
The 2010s started off with the releases and success of Agnes and Robyn. Agnes, the winner of Sweden's Idol 2005, succeeded in Europe and especially the UK market in 2009/2010 with the single "Release Me", which entered the charts at #3 and sold over 300,000 copies. It was a hit both worldwide and in Europe it peaked at #6 on the Billboard Eurochart Hot 100 Singles. Carlsson was also signed to Universal Music/Interscope in the U.S. and started the promotion for the forthcoming album Dance Love Pop during the summer 2010. Robyn returned with her Body Talkseries.
2010 also saw the rising success of the Swedish House Mafia, a collaboration between the Swedish DJ and producers Axwell, Steve Angelo and Sebastian Ingrosso. Alongside, the DJ Avicii got a smash-hit with "Seek Bromance" and became in 2011 ranked as the 6th on Top 100 DJs list.
In 2011 the Swedish indie-artist Lykke Li released her second album Wounded Rhymes and continued her success from her earlier Youth Novels with singles like "Get Some" and "I Follow Rivers" which topped the charts in Belgium and Romania.
Stockholm based electro-pop group Niki & the Dove emerged in 2010, coming 5th on the BBC Sound of...2012 list, released their first album, Instinct, to great critical acclaim that year.
In 2012, Swedish Eurovision Song Contest 2012 winner Loreen charted at number one in several charts all across Europe, making her one of the more successful winners of the contest in recent years.
Lorine Zeineb Nora Talhaoui (born 16 October 1983), better known by her stage name Loreen, is a Swedish pop singer andmusic producer. Loreen represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan, with her entry "Euphoria" and won first place with 372 points.
Interested in becoming a musician, she took part in the Idol 2004 television competition, coming fourth overall. The following year she released her first single, "The Snake", with the band Rob'n'Raz and became a television presenter on TV400. Working as a segment producer and director for several Swedish reality TV shows, in 2011 she released the single "My Heart is Refusing Me" to commercial success in Sweden
