ABBA are a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's name is an acronym of the first letters of their first names arranged as a palindrome. One of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, they became one of the best-selling music acts in the history of popular music, topping the charts worldwide from 1974 to 1983, and in 2021. ABBA have achieved 48 hit singles.
Garage Inc. is a compilation album of cover songs by American heavy metal band Metallica. It was released on November 24, 1998, through Elektra Records. It includes cover songs, B-side covers, and The $5.98 E.P. - Garage Days Re-Revisited, which had gone out of print since its original release in 1987. The title is a combination of Garage Days Revisited and Metallica's song "Damage, Inc.", from Master of Puppets. The album's graphical cover draws heavily from the 1987 EP. The album features songs by artists that have influenced Metallica, including many bands from the new wave of British heavy metal movement, hardcore punk bands and popular songs.
The Lovin' Spoonful is an American rock band that was popular during the mid- to late-1960s. Founded in New York City in 1965 by lead singer/songwriter John Sebastian and guitarist Zal Yanovsky, it is best known for a number of hits, including "Summer in the City", "Do You Believe In Magic", "Did You Ever Have to Make Up Your Mind?", and "Daydream". The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2000.
Guy Theodore Sebastian is an Australian singer, songwriter and producer who was the winner of the first Australian Idol in 2003, judge on Australia's The X Factor from 2010 to 2012 and again from 2015 to 2016, and coach on The Voice Australia since 2019. He represented Australia at the 2015 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing in fifth place.
"You Oughta Know" is a song by Canadian singer Alanis Morissette, released as the lead single from her third studio album, Jagged Little Pill (1995) on July 7, 1995. After releasing two studio albums, Morissette left MCA Records Canada and was introduced to manager Scott Welch. Morissette began working on new music after moving from her hometown of Ottawa to Toronto, but made little progress. In Los Angeles, she met producer Glen Ballard, with whom she wrote songs including "You Oughta Know".
Franz Ferdinand are a Scottish rock band formed in Glasgow in 2002. The band's original line-up was composed of Alex Kapranos, Nick McCarthy, Bob Hardy, and Paul Thomson. Julian Corrie and Dino Bardot joined the band in 2017 after McCarthy left during the previous year, and Audrey Tait (drums) joined the band after Thomson left in 2021. The band is one of the more popular post-punk revival bands, garnering multiple UK top 20 hits. They have been nominated for several Grammy Awards and have received two Brit Awards – winning one for Best British Group – as well as one NME Award.
Karl Martin Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish record producer, songwriter, and retired singer. He rose to prominence in the late 1990s making a string of hit singles such as Britney Spears's "...Baby One More Time" (1998), the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" (1999), and NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" (2000).
Susanna Lee Hoffs is an American singer-songwriter. She is best known as a co-founder of the Bangles. Hoffs founded the Bangles in 1981 with Debbi and Vicki Peterson. They released their first full length album All Over the Place on Columbia Records in 1984. Hoffs started a solo career after the Bangles disbanded in 1989. She released her first solo album, When You're a Boy, in 1991. She later formed the faux British 1960s band Ming Tea with Mike Myers and Matthew Sweet. Hoffs has also appeared in a supporting role in several movies.
"What's Up?" is a song by American rock group 4 Non Blondes, released as the second single from their 1992 debut album, Bigger, Better, Faster, More!. It has gained popularity in the United States and in several European countries, peaking at number one in Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Iceland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Sweden and Switzerland.
Skid Row is an American rock band, formed in 1986 in Toms River, New Jersey. Their current lineup comprises bassist Rachel Bolan, guitarists Dave Sabo and Scotti Hill, drummer Rob Hammersmith and vocalist ZP Theart. The group achieved commercial success in the late 1980s and early 1990s, with its first two albums Skid Row (1989) and Slave to the Grind (1991) certified multi-platinum, the latter of which reached number one on the Billboard 200. Those two albums also produced some of Skid Row's most popular hits, both in and outside of the United States, including "18 and Life" and "I Remember You", which peaked in the top 10 of the Billboard Hot 100, and other charting singles such as "Youth Gone Wild", "Monkey Business", "Slave to the Grind", "Wasted Time", and "In a Darkened Room". The band's third album Subhuman Race (1995) was also critically acclaimed, but failed to repeat the success of its predecessors. During this period, the band consisted of Bolan, Sabo, Hill, drummer Rob Affuso and frontman Sebastian Bach. The band had sold 20 million albums worldwide by the end of 1996.
Arctic Monkeys are an English rock band formed in Sheffield in 2002. The group consists of Alex Turner, Jamie Cook, Nick O'Malley, and Matt Helders. Former band member Andy Nicholson left the band in 2006 shortly after their debut album was released.
"What You Waiting For?" is a song by American singer Gwen Stefani from her debut solo studio album, Love. Angel. Music. Baby. (2004). Written by Stefani and Linda Perry, the song is the album's opening track and was released as Stefani's debut solo single. "What You Waiting For?" details Stefani's lack of inspiration, fear of producing the album, as well as her reaction to pressures exerted by her record label. It is primarily an electropop song and introduces Stefani's four back-up dancers, the Harajuku Girls, who had a major input into the album's production.
Agnes Emilia Carlsson, known mononymously as Agnes, is a Swedish recording artist. She rose to fame as the winner of Idol 2005, the second season of the Swedish Idol series. She was then signed to Sony Music, through which she released her self-titled debut album, Agnes, and follow-up, Stronger, both of which topped the Swedish Top 60 Albums Chart. In early 2008, it was announced that Agnes had parted ways with her record label, and was now signed to small independent label Roxy Recordings. Released on 28 October 2008, her third album, Dance Love Pop, reached number five in Sweden, 70 in Austria, 38 in France, 45 in Switzerland and 13 in the United Kingdom. With 200,000 albums sold worldwide this is her most successful album, 50,000 albums were sold in France, 40,000 in Sweden. Its first two singles, "On and On" and "Release Me" became international hits, reaching the top-ten in charts worldwide. "Release Me" topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs and peaked at three in the United Kingdom, selling over 900,000 copies worldwide.
Idol is a Swedish reality-competition talent show broadcast on TV4. It first appeared in August 2004, and became one of the most popular shows on Swedish television. Part of the Idols franchise, it originated from the reality program Pop Idol created by British entertainment executive Simon Fuller, which was first aired in 2001 in the United Kingdom.
Swedish House Mafia (SHM) is a Swedish house music supergroup consisting of Axwell, Steve Angello and Sebastian Ingrosso. The group officially formed in late 2008, were placed at number ten on the DJ Mag Top 100 DJ Poll 2011, and have been called "the faces of mainstream progressive house music", while being credited for "setting the tone for the EDM boom of the early 2010s, more than any other act in modern dance music". In 2012, they were ranked at number twelve on the DJ Mag Top 100 Poll. The group's biggest hit to date is "Don't You Worry Child". On 24 June 2012, the group announced they would split up. Their final performance was at Ultra Miami on 24 March 2013. For the next five years Angello worked solo, while Axwell and Ingrosso performed as the duo, Axwell & Ingrosso. On 25 March 2018, the group reunited with a surprise closing set at the 20th anniversary of Ultra Music Festival in Miami, Florida. The group will release their third studio album, Paradise Again, in late 2021, through their new label, Republic.
Death Magnetic is the ninth studio album by American heavy metal band Metallica, released on September 12, 2008, through Warner Bros. Records. The album was produced by Rick Rubin, marking the band's first album since ...And Justice for All (1988) not to be produced by longtime collaborator Bob Rock. It is also the first Metallica album to feature bassist Robert Trujillo, and the second to share writing credit to all of the band's members.
The Jonas Brothers are an American pop rock band. Formed in 2005, they gained popularity from their appearances on the Disney Channel television network. They consist of three brothers: Kevin Jonas, Joe Jonas, and Nick Jonas. Raised in Wyckoff, New Jersey, the Jonas Brothers moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, in 2005, where they wrote their first record that made its Hollywood Records release. In mid-2008, they starred in the Disney Channel Original Movie Camp Rock and its sequel, Camp Rock 2: The Final Jam. They also starred as Kevin, Joe, and Nick Lucas from the band, JONAS, in their own Disney Channel series Jonas, which was rebranded as Jonas L.A. after the first season and cancelled after the second. The band have released five albums: It's About Time (2006), Jonas Brothers (2007), A Little Bit Longer (2008), Lines, Vines and Trying Times (2009), and Happiness Begins (2019).
Sebastian is the 2006 debut album from Swedish Pop/Rock singer Sebastian Karlsson, led by the first single and four weeks No. 1 hit "Do What You're Told". The album was released on March 1, debuting at No. 1 in Sweden, and not falling until a few weeks thereafter. More than 30.000 copies of the album have been sold, certificating gold the album.
Music from the Motion Picture Juno is the soundtrack for the 2007 film Juno. The album compiles mostly indie rock songs from the 2000s, and was released by Rhino Entertainment on December 11, 2007. It received enough critical and commercial success that other compilations and expanded re-releases have been released in subsequent years.
Swedish popular music, also called Swedish pop music, or just Swedish pop, refers to music that has swept the Swedish mainstream at any given point in recent times. After World War II, Swedish pop music was heavily influenced by American jazz, and then by rock-and-roll from the U.S. and the U.K. in the 1950s and 60s, before developing into dansband music. Since the 1970s, Swedish pop music has come to international prominence with bands singing in English, ranking high on the British, New Zealand, American, and Australian charts and making Sweden one of the world's top exporter of popular music by gross domestic product.
