Amanda Jenssen
| Amanda Jenssen | |
|---|---|
| Birth name | Jenny Amanda Katarina Bengtsson |
| Born | September 12, 1988 |
| Origin | Lund, Sweden |
| Genres | Jazz, acoustic, rock, indie, soul |
| Occupations | Singer, Songwriter |
| Instruments | Singing, Guitar |
| Years active | 2007–present |
| Labels | Sony BMG (2007–present) |
| Associated acts | Marit Bergman, Pär Wiksten, Miss Li |
| Website | Official website |
Jenny Amanda Katarina Jenssen (born Bengtsson, 12 September 1988 in Lund, Sweden) is a Swedish singer and Idol 2007 runner-up. Jenssens first album released in 2008 became one of that year's most sold music albums in Sweden which saw it peak at number 1 on the Swedish album chart. She also had success with her music singles, with seven individual placements on the Swedish single chart for her songs.
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[edit] Career
[edit] Early life
Jenssen started her career as the lead singer in the band Oh Hollie Neverdays and even in the band called Amanda and the Papas which did covers of classic songs. Oh Hollie Neverdays wrote their own tunes (Jenssen and guitarist, Viktor Rinneby). In May 2007 they won the Swedish competition "Musik Direkt" and the prize was a tour in Gambia.
[edit] Idol experience
Jenssen entered the Idol 2007 talent show on TV4, early on becoming one of the favourites after some strong performances. In the end she finished second in the finale after going head to head with Marie Picasso on December 7, 2007 in Globen Arena in Stockholm. Jenssen lost to Marie Picasso but received 48.7% of the votes.
[edit] Idol performances
- That's Alright Mama
- Dream a Little Dream
- Look What They've Done to My Song
- Tainted Love
- Don't Hate on Me
- Born to Run
- Baby Can I Hold You Tonight
- Disco Inferno
- Suspicious Minds
- Just a Girl
- You Really Got Me
- No One
- Hallelujah
[edit] Post-Idol career
On the January 3, 2008 Jenssen announced that she had landed a record deal. Her first single, "Do You Love Me", was released in stores on January 23 the same year. The following single "Amarula Tree" (written by Jenssen and Pär Wiksten) was released on April 16, 2008.
Her debut album, "Killing My Darlings", was released on the May 7, 2008 and became one of the most sold albums of 2008 landing at number 1 on the Swedish album chart. The majority of the songs on the album were written by herself and together with Wiksten. Marit Bergman and Vincent Pontare also contributed with a song each. A nationwide tour in the summer and autumn of 2008 followed. She was backed up by members of Damn and her songwriting friend Wiksten. It was a huge success, and at the end of the summer she was voted Queen of the summer tours by Aftonbladet readers (the biggest Swedish evening paper).
In early 2009, Jenssen was nominated for a number of awards at the Swedish Grammy Awards and the P3-guld galan and at the Rockbjörnen and Gay galas she won. At Rockbjörnen for "This Year's Female Artist" and "This Year's Newcomer" and at Gaygalan she won "Artist of the Year".
[edit] Happyland
After the success with her debut album Killing My Darlings, Jenssen returned to the studio to record her second album Happyland which was slated for a release on October 28, 2009. Her first single from the album was "Happyland" and it debuted at number 3 on the Swedish Singles chart and at number 55 on the German Singles chart.[1]
The album debuted at number three on the Swedish charts and was certified Gold status after just one week of album sales. The album was critically praised and it went on to win two Grammies for best female artist and best composer.[2]
[edit] Other appearances
Jenssen's song "Do You Love Me" was played on September 23, 2008 in the beginning of the third episode of the American TV series Privileged. The episode was watched by about 1.8 million viewers in the US.
"Our Time", a song from Happyland album, was played on Dior's Haute Couture Fashion Show Spring Summer 2011.
[edit] Discography
| Releases | ||
|---|---|---|
| ↙Studio albums | 2 | |
| ↙Singles | 7 | |
| ↙Music videos | 4 | |
[edit] Albums
| Year | Album details | Peak chart positions | Certifications (sales thresholds) |
|||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE | AUT | GER | SWI | |||
| 2008 | Killing My Darlings
|
1 | - | - | - |
|
| 2010 | Happyland
|
3 | 55 | 43 | 68 |
|
[edit] References
[edit] External links
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