Robin Miriam Carlsson, known as Robyn, is a Swedish pop singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. Her 1995 debut album Robyn Is Here produced two Billboard Hot 100 top 10 singles: "Do You Know " and "Show Me Love". Her second and third albums, My Truth (1999) and Don't Stop the Music (2002), were released in Sweden.
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". Between 1989 and 1993, she had 11 UK top 30 hits, including "Listen to Your Heart" (1989), "Counting Every Minute" (1990) and "Only Fools " (1991). In 1994, she starred as Sandy in a West End revival of the musical Grease, while on television she appeared as Bunty in the 1998 BBC comedy series The Lily Savage Show.
Kim Wilde is an English pop singer. She first gained success in 1981 with her debut single "Kids in America", which peaked at No. 2 in the UK. In 1983, she received the Brit Award for Best British Female solo artist. In 1986, she had a UK No. 2 hit with a reworked version of the Supremes' song "You Keep Me Hangin' On", which also topped the US Billboard Hot 100 in 1987. Between 1981 and 1996, she had 25 singles that charted within the Top 50 of the UK Singles Chart. Her other hits include "Chequered Love" (1981), "You Came" (1988), and "Never Trust a Stranger" (1988). In 2003, she collaborated with Nena on the song "Anyplace, Anywhere, Anytime", which topped the Dutch and Austrian charts.
Karl Martin Sandberg, known professionally as Max Martin, is a Swedish record producer and songwriter. He rose to prominence in the late 1990s with songwriting credits on a string of hit singles, such as Britney Spears's "...Baby One More Time" (1998), the Backstreet Boys' "I Want It That Way" (1999), Celine Dion's "That's the Way It Is" (1999) and NSYNC's "It's Gonna Be Me" (2000).
Sandra Ann Lauer, later Sandra Cretu, commonly known mononymously as Sandra, is a German pop singer who enjoyed mainstream popularity in the 1980s and early 1990s with a string of European hit singles, produced by her then-husband and musical partner, Michael Cretu, most notably "(I'll Never Be) Maria Magdalena" (1985), "In the Heat of the Night" (1985), "Everlasting Love" (1987), "Secret Land" (1988), "Hiroshima" (1990), and "Don't Be Aggressive" (1992). Her albums Into a Secret Land (1988) and Close to Seven (1992) have won Sandra high critical acclaim.
Richard Philips, better known by his stage name Richard X, is a British songwriter and music producer. Gaining attention as a pioneer of the bootleg craze, Richard X has earned success as a producer and remixer. He has helmed hit singles for artists including Annie, Kelis, Liberty X, Rachel Stevens and Sugababes. According to an early issue of the now defunct Popworld magazine, Philips' alias comes from a postcard which was sealed with a kiss misinterpreted for the letter X.
Taylor Dayne is an American singer. She rose to fame in 1987 after her debut single "Tell It to My Heart". Dayne achieved six additional U.S. top-10 singles, including "Love Will Lead You Back", "With Every Beat of My Heart", "Prove Your Love", and "I'll Always Love You".
Lutricia McNeal is an American soul and pop singer. She achieved worldwide success with her cover version of "Ain't That Just the Way" which sold two million copies worldwide.
"I Have a Dream" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in December 1979 as the sixth and final single from the group's sixth studio album, Voulez-Vous. Anni-Frid Lyngstad sang lead vocals. It was a major hit, topping the charts in many countries and peaking at No. 2 in the UK over the Christmas week of 1979. Twenty years later, Irish pop group Westlife released a version that reached No. 1 in the UK over the Christmas week of 1999.
Sandy Mölling is a German singer and television personality. She rose to fame as one of the members of the girl group No Angels, which were formed in 2000 on the German television talent show Popstars, becoming one of the best-selling girl groups of European origin of all time. During their hiatus, Mölling released a solo album, Unexpected (2004), which produced the top ten singles "Unnatural Blonde" and "Tell Me", and became a judge on the fourth season of Popstars.
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.
Pure is the third studio album by all-female German pop group No Angels. It was released by Cheyenne Records and Polydor on 25 August 2003. Conceived after the departure of original member Jessica Wahls, the project marked No Angels's first studio release as a quartet and their final album before their temporary disbandment in fall 2003. The remaining four members reteamed with frequent collaborators Thorsten Brötzmann and Peter Ries to work on the majority of the album, with additional songwriting and production contribution from Tobias Lundgren, Perky Park, Nigel Rush, Stephan Ullman, and Twin.
"Tell Me" is a song by English singer Melanie B from her debut solo album Hot (2000). It was written by Melanie B in collaboration with LaShawn Daniels and Fred Jerkins III, and produced by the latter. It was released as the lead single from the album in the United Kingdom on 25 September 2000, by Virgin Records. "Tell Me" is an R&B song whose lyrics are directed at the singer's former husband, Jimmy Gulzar. The track received generally positive reviews from music critics, who complimented its production.
"Feelgood Lies" is a song by all-female German pop band No Angels. It was written by Pelle Ankarberg, Charlie Dore, Niclas Molinder, Maryann Morgan and Joacim Persson for the group's third studio album Pure (2003), while production was helmed by Molinder and Persson under their production moniker Twin, with Ankarberg serving as co-producer. A dark urban dance pop song that is built upon a heavy guitar riff and uplifting strings, the subjects of "Feelgood Lies" are revenge and karma. Not wanting to feel broken-hearted, the female protagonist warns a love interest to check his alibis.
Destiny is the fourth regular studio album by all-female German pop group No Angels, released by Polydor Records and Universal Music Domestic on 13 April 2007 in German-speaking Europe. A comeback release, it marked the return of No Angels after the group had gone into hiatus in autumn 2003, which allowed each member to launch solo careers. Primarily produced by production duo Twin, with additional contribution from Jiant, Max Martin, Adrian Newman, and Thorsten Brötzmann as well as several new producers, it was the first album to feature No Angels's third lineup, excluding original band member Vanessa Petruo.
Laleh is the self-titled debut album by Swedish singer-songwriter Laleh, released on 30 March 2005 on Warner Music Sweden Records. The album, which was both written and produced by Laleh herself, was nominated to "Album of the Year" at the Grammis Awards for 2005 but lost to pop singer Robyn for her self-titled album "Robyn". The album was also a success on the Swedish Albums Chart where it peaked at number one and stayed on the list for 71 weeks. The album is sung in English, Swedish and Persian.
"Handle Me" is a song by Swedish recording artist Robyn, taken from her self-titled fourth studio album. It was written and produced by Klas Åhlund. The song was initially released as a promotional single in Sweden in 2005. It received a proper single release on 22 October 2007, as the album's third international single and fifth overall. It was later released as the second single in the United States on 1 April 2008. The song was described as a feminist anthem about a man who believes he is cool, but Robyn thinks he is not and she wants to tell him that. The song utilizes thudding beats and string instruments, including violas, violins and guitars.
"Teardrops" is a song by American husband-and-wife duo Womack & Womack, released on 5 August 1988 by Island Records as the first single from their fourth studio album, Conscience (1988). The song was written by Cecil Womack and Linda Womack, while production was helmed by Chris Blackwell. Although the song was not a hit in their native United States, it charted highly in the United Kingdom and several European countries, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
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.
"Unnatural Blonde" is a song by German singer Sandy Mölling. It was written by Maryann Morgan, Niclas Molinder, Joacim Persson, and Pelle Ankarberg and recorded for her debut solo album Unexpected (2004), with production helmed by Moldinder and Persson under their production moniker Twin. Selected as Mölling's solo debut single following the hiatus of her former band No Angels, the uptempo pop song was released on 21 May 2004 in German-speaking Europe and became a top ten hit in Germany.
