Bat-Sheva Ofra Haza-Ashkenazi was an Israeli singer, actress and Grammy Award-nominee recording artist, commonly known as "The Israeli Madonna", or "Madonna of the East". Her voice has been described as a "tender" mezzo-soprano.
Hanna Helena Pakarinen is a Finnish pop and pop-rock singer who rose to fame as the winner of the first series of the Finnish singing competition Idols in 2004. Since then she has represented Finland in the Eurovision Song Contest in 2007 on homeland, and has sold over 91,000 certified records in Finland, which places her among the top 50 best-selling female soloists in her home country.
Gaudete is a sacred Christmas carol, thought to have been composed in the 16th century. It was published in Piae Cantiones, a collection of Finnish/Swedish sacred songs published in 1581. No music is given for the verses, but the standard tune comes from older liturgical books.
Abba-esque is an EP by the British pop duo Erasure. Released in 1992, it was their first and only number one on the UK Singles Chart.
The ARIA Charts are the main Australian music sales charts, issued weekly by the Australian Recording Industry Association. The charts are a record of the highest selling songs and albums in various genres in Australia. ARIA became the official Australian music chart in June 1988, succeeding the Kent Music Report which had been Australia's national charts since 1974.
Méav Ní Mhaolchatha, mononymously known as Méav, is an Irish singer, songwriter and recording artist specialising in the traditional music of her homeland. She was one of the original soloists in the musical ensemble Celtic Woman, which has sold over six million albums. Her solo albums have reached the Billboard World Music Top 10. She sings in multiple languages: English, Irish, French, Latin, Italian and German.
"Nocturne" was the winning song in the Eurovision Song Contest 1995, performed in Norwegian by Secret Garden representing Norway. It was the second time Norway won the contest, after it had won in 1985 with Bobbysocks! song "La det swinge". For their performance at the Contest the Secret Garden duo of Fionnuala Sherry and Rolf Løvland featured three guest musicians; Norwegian vocalist Gunnhild Tvinnereim, Hans Fredrik Jacobsen on penny whistle and Swedish nyckelharpist Åsa Jinder.
"Stars" is a song by Swedish pop music duo Roxette, released on 2 August 1999 as the third single from their sixth studio album, Have a Nice Day. It was their first – and only – foray into the techno subgenre, and features a children's choir in the song's chorus. A remix of the song by production collective Almighty served as the version which was predominantly played on European radio. The song became a hit throughout Europe, particularly in Scandinavia and in Germany, where it became the album's best-performing single. Its music video was directed by Anton Corbijn.
Robyn is the fourth studio album by Swedish singer Robyn. It was released on April 27, 2005 by Konichiwa Records. The album represented a departure from Robyn's previous urban and R&B musical style, and explored synth-pop and dance-pop music, with inspirations from electronic duo The Knife and rock band Teddybears. It also marks Robyn's first album release on her own record label, Konichiwa Records, which she founded in 2004.
Private Line are a hard rock band from Helsinki, Finland, formed during the mid-1990s and continuing today.
Manic Street Preachers are an alternative rock band from Blackwood, Wales, formed in 1986. Their discography consists of 13 studio albums, three compilation albums, four video albums, 52 music videos, five extended plays, 41 singles, 185 B-sides, as well as other appearances.
Sverigetopplistan is the Swedish national record chart, earlier known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and known by its current name since October 2007, based on sales data from the Swedish Recording Industry Association. Before Topplistan, music sales in Sweden were recorded by Kvällstoppen, whose weekly chart was a combined albums and singles list.
Eimear Anna Quinn is an Irish singer and composer. She is best known for winning the Eurovision Song Contest 1996 with the song "The Voice".
"Shy Guy" is a song by Jamaican recording artist and songwriter Diana King for the movie soundtrack album Bad Boys. It also appeared on King's debut studio album Tougher Than Love (1995). The song was written by King herself with the help of Andy Marvel and Kingsley Gardner. It was produced by Marvel. The song was released by Sony Music worldwide in 1995 as the lead single on the Tougher Than Love album. The song received positive reviews from music critics. Many said it was a definite highlight of the album and some said it was one of the best reggae fusion songs of its time. Allmusic said the song was a highlight of both the soundtrack and King's debut album. The song also received charting success, but was mostly known as a one hit wonder. The song peaked at number thirteen in the United States and went to number two in the UK. It topped the charts in Finland and Sweden. The song contains a sample from “School Boy Crush” by Average White Band.
Lynn Hilary is an Irish singer, guitarist, and songwriter. She has also performed as a featured soprano soloist in the all-female ensemble Celtic Woman.
Mikko Herranen is a Finnish multi-instrumentalist, singer/songwriter, recording engineer and producer in Rock and Metal music. His current band Misterer is a Thrash Metal band from Helsinki, Finland and they are preparing songs for their upcoming debut album. Previously Herranen fronted RUST that released three albums and several singles between 2003–2010. Herranen competed in Michael Monroe's team in the reality singing competition The Voice of Finland in 2012. His debut solo album Kylmä maailma was released through Johanna Kustannus on 20 June 2012.
"Cotton Eye Joe" is a song by Swedish Eurodance group Rednex from their debut studio album Sex & Violins (1995). Based on the traditional American folk song "Cotton-Eyed Joe", it combines the group's style with traditional American instruments such as banjos and fiddles. The vocal verses are performed by Annika Ljungberg, while the "Cotton Eye Joe" chorus is sung by railway engineer Göran Danielsson, who never appears in the video. In 2002, "Cotton Eye Joe" was remixed in a dance version, and was released from Rednex's greatest hits album, The Best of the West.
