Sonia Evans, known mononymously as Sonia, is an English pop singer from Liverpool. She had a 1989 UK number one hit with "You'll Never Stop Me Loving You" and became the first female UK artist to achieve five top 20 hit singles from one album. She represented the United Kingdom in the 1993 Eurovision Song Contest, where she finished second with the song "Better the Devil You Know".
Lisa Jane Stansfield is an English singer, songwriter, and actress. Her career began in 1980 when she won the singing competition Search for a Star. After appearances in various television shows and releasing her first singles, Stansfield, along with Ian Devaney and Andy Morris, formed Blue Zone in 1983. The band released several singles and one album, but after the success of Coldcut's "People Hold On" in 1989, on which Stansfield was featured, the focus was placed on her solo career.
Gina G is an Australian former singer who represented the United Kingdom at the Eurovision Song Contest in 1996, with the song "Ooh Aah... Just a Little Bit", which reached No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart. The song also reached the US top 20 in 1997 and earned her a 1998 Grammy Award nomination for Best Dance Recording. Her other UK Top 30 hits are "I Belong to You" #6 (1996), "Fresh" #6 (1997), "Ti Amo" #11 (1997) and "Gimme Some Love" #25 (1997).
Blue are a British boy band consisting of members Simon Webbe, Duncan James, Antony Costa, and Lee Ryan. The group formed in 2000 and released three studio albums before announcing a hiatus in late 2004. In January 2011, the group reformed and represented the United Kingdom at the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest in Düsseldorf with the song "I Can", coming in 11th place with 100 points. In 2013, it was confirmed that the group would be joining The Big Reunion, in which six groups from the past reform for a one-off gig. On 27 March 2013, the group announced they would embark on their first headlining tour later on in the year, their first tour in nearly ten years.
Helena Paparizou, is a Greek singer, songwriter and television personality. Born and raised in Sweden to Greek parents, she launched her singing career in Sweden in 1999 as a member of the laïko and Eurodance duo Antique with friend Nikos Panagiotidis. The group released five studio albums between 1999 and 2003, and represented Greece in the Eurovision Song Contest 2001.
Idols is a Finnish reality-television singing competition that airs on Nelonen. It debuted in the summer of 2003, and went on to become one of the most popular shows on Finnish television. Part of the Idol 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.
Agnes Emilia Carlsson, known mononymously as Agnes, is a Swedish singer. 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.
Protereotita is the debut solo album by Greek singer Helena Paparizou, released on 27 June 2004 by Sony Music Greece. The album's first single, Anapandites Kliseis, was released as a CD-single prior to the album's release and reached number 1 on the Greek IFPI singles chart. The album was also re-released twice in Greece, and once internationally as My Number One. Overall, there are five different editions available of the album. The original album was only a mild success, however, following Paparizou's victory in the Eurovision Song Contest the Euro Edition peaked at number one on the charts and was certified platinum by the IFPI. The album was later certified double platinum in early 2006; as IFPI was making a transition in lowering their sales thresholds at that time, this would imply sales of at least 60,000 copies, although sales of up to 87,000 have been claimed.
Margaret Berger is a Norwegian singer, songwriter, music director, and DJ. She made her debut on Sony BMG after she placed second on the second season of Norwegian Idol in 2004.
Idol is a Swedish reality-competition talent show broadcast on TV4. It was first aired 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.
Marie Picasso is a Swedish singer, host and model who first rose to fame as a housemate on the popular reality television show Big Brother, before going on to win the fourth series of the Swedish singing competition Idol.
Anna Eira Margarida Heiskari, known professionally as simply ABREU since 2017, is a Finnish singer and songwriter. Abreu first rose to fame in Finland after placing as the runner-up in the third series of the Finnish singing talent show Idols in 2007. Her music has been described as pop with influences from genres such as R&B, dance, and Latin. Since her participation in Idols, Abreu has become one of the best-selling former Idols contestants in Finland, and one of the most successful Finnish female singers. She has certified record sales surpassing 190,000 copies, which places her also among the 100 best-selling music artists of all time in Finland.
Maria Haukaas Mittet also known as simply Maria is a Norwegian recording artist. She gained national recognition in 2004 for her participation in the Idol reality television series, and international recognition in 2008 as Norway's representative in the 53rd Eurovision Song Contest.
Swedish popular music, or shortly Swedish pop music, 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 1960s, 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.
When I Become Me is the debut album by Finnish pop/pop rock singer and season one Idols winner Hanna Pakarinen, released in Finland by RCA on June 9, 2004. "Love Is Like A Song", Pakarinen's number one hit Idols coronation song is featured as a bonus track on the album. A cover of the Bryan Adams song "Heaven" is featured on the album.
Stronger is the second album by Finnish pop/pop rock singer Hanna Pakarinen, released in Finland by RCA on September 7, 2005. The album was preceded by the lead single "Kiss Of Life" in August 2005 and followed later in the year by promotional singles "Stronger Without You" and "Damn You". "Run", a popular song from her debut album was also included as a bonus track.
Lovers is the third studio album by Finnish singer Hanna Pakarinen, released in Finland by RCA on February 14, 2007. It was preceded by the lead single "Go Go" and also includes the singles "Leave Me Alone" and "Hard Luck Woman". "Leave Me Alone" served as Pakarinen's entry song in the 2007 Eurovision Song Contest finals, in which she placed 17th. Following Eurovision, the album was released throughout the rest of Europe on May 23, 2007, becoming Pakarinen's first album to receive a launch outside Finland.
Love in a Million Shades is the fourth studio album by Finnish singer Hanna Pakarinen, released in Finland by RCA Records on January 14, 2009. It was preceded by the single "Make Believe" and followed by the singles "Shout It Out Loud", "Love in a Million Shades", and "Rescue Me".
Lena Johanna Therese Meyer-Landrut, also known by the mononym Lena, is a German singer. She rose to fame after representing Germany in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 in Oslo, winning the event with the song "Satellite". Both "Satellite" and her debut album My Cassette Player (2010) debuted at number one in Germany and became platinum sellers. With her three entries from the German national final Unser Star für Oslo, Meyer-Landrut set an all-time chart record in her home country by debuting with three songs in the top five of the German Singles Chart. She represented Germany for the second consecutive time in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 in Düsseldorf with the song "Taken by a Stranger", finishing in tenth place.
Laura Tesoro is a Belgian singer and actress. She represented Belgium in the Eurovision Song Contest 2016 with the song "What's the Pressure". Tesoro is also known for portraying Charlotte on the Flemish soap opera Familie and placing second on season three of The Voice van Vlaanderen. The singer is also one of the four coaches on The Voice Kids, and a "Comeback Stage" coach on The Voice van Vlaanderen.
