Robyn

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This article is about the singer. For the singer's self-titled album, see Robyn (album). For other uses, see Robyn (disambiguation).
Robyn

Background information
Birth name Robin Miriam Carlsson
Born June 12, 1979 (1979-06-12) (age 30)
Origin Stockholm, Sweden
Genre(s) Pop, dance, electronica, R&B, hip hop
Occupation(s) Singer-songwriter
Instrument(s) Vocals, piano/keyboards
Years active 1995–present (singer)
Label(s) Sony BMG
  • RCA (1995–2002)
  • Jive (2002–2005)

Konichiwa (2005–Present)
Island (2007–Present)
Cherrytree/Interscope (US) (2007–Present)
Website Official website

Robin Miriam Carlsson, better known by her stage name Robyn (born 12 June 1979) is a Grammy Award-nominated Swedish pop singer-songwriter. Robyn was known in the late nineties for her dance-pop hits "Show Me Love" and "Do You Know (What it Takes)". Robyn entered Melodifestivalen 1997 as songwriter with the entry "Du gör mig hel igen". She has since started to gain mainstream success worldwide owing to the popularity of her No 1 hit single "With Every Heartbeat" and subsequent album release. In January, 2009 Robyn won a Swedish Grammis award for Best Live Act 2008. She is also very popular for electronica in Britain and the US.

Contents

[edit] Career

[edit] 1991-1993: Discovery

In 1991, at the age of twelve, Robyn recorded the theme song for the Swedish television show Lilla Sportspegeln, named Du kan alltid bli nummer ett ("You can always be number one"). She performed her first self-written song at this age on another television show, Söndagsöppet.

Robyn was rediscovered by Swedish pop singer Meja in the early nineties. Meja and her band Legacy of Sound visited Robyn's school and were involved with a musical workshop. Robyn's performances impressed Meja so much so that she contacted her management and a meeting was arranged with Robyn and her parents. Following the completion of her middle school education, Robyn signed to Ricochet Records Sweden, a subsidiary of BMG. She collaborated with producers Max Martin and Denniz Pop, who provided the singer with a gritty yet popular sound. Writing duties were assisted by Ulf Lindstrom and Johan Ekhe, who also helped to produce the album, and they stayed on board with Robyn until the completion of her album Don't Stop the Music in 2003.

[edit] 1994–1997: Robyn Is Here

Robyn started her career in the pop music industry at sixteen years old. She signed a record deal with RCA Records in 1994 to release her debut single, "You've Got That Somethin'", in Sweden. Later that same year, her Swedish breakthrough came with the single "Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)". These singles became part of the album Robyn Is Here, released in October 1996. Robyn entered Swedens pre-selection for Eurovision Song Contest 1997, as songwriter and producer of the song "Du gör mig hel igen", which was performed by Cajsalisa Ejemyr. In Melodifestivalen 1997 the song ended up in fourth place.

Robyn's U.S. breakthrough came in 1997, when the dance-pop singles "Show Me Love" and "Do You Know (What It Takes)" reached the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. She performed on the children's show All That in 1997, singing "Show Me Love", proving her growing popularity in the United States. The songs also performed well in the UK. Robyn re-released "Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)" internationally but it did not fare as well as the other releases. In the U.S., it was ineligible to chart because there was no retail single available, but it reached number thirty-two on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. The song "Show Me Love" was prominently used in the 1998 Lukas Moodysson film Fucking Åmål, and the song's title was used as the film's title in English-speaking countries.

As Robyn's popularity grew across the globe, especially in the United States, she was diagnosed with exhaustion and quickly returned to Sweden to recover.

[edit] 1998–2001: My Truth

Recording began on Robyn's second album in 1998. The album, My Truth, was released in May 1999 in Sweden, with subsequent releases elsewhere in the continent. The single "Electric" was a hit across Europe, and propelled My Truth to number two in Sweden. My Truth was a autobiographical release for Robyn, and included the tracks "Universal Woman" and "Giving You Back", which explained her secret abortion. The album achieved synonymous acclaim, and critics remarked on Robyn's evolution as an artist.

Robyn's record company, RCA, publicised their intention to release her subsequent efforts in the United States. However, following the release of My Truth in Sweden, her record company reconsidered as they did not feel the market would be receptive to her new sound. Following discussion between RCA Sweden and their American counterpart, there were plans for My Truth to be partially re-recorded with U.S.-radio friendly production. Robyn was uncomfortable with the prospect and valued her artistic credibility above her record company's advice, and so My Truth was not released in the United States.

In 1999, Robyn contributed to Christian Falk's debut solo album Quel Bordel, appearing on the tracks "Remember" and "Celebration". In 2000, she appeared on the track "Intro/ Fristil" on Petter's self-titled album. In 2001, Robyn contributed the song "Say You'll Walk the Distance" to the soundtrack for the film On the Line. The song was later covered by fellow Swedish pop singer Darin Zanyar.

[edit] 2002–2004: Don't Stop the Music

Robyn on tour in 2003

In November 2002, Robyn swapped labels at BMG (from RCA to Jive Records) and released the album Don't Stop the Music in Sweden. It was set to see a pan-European release, but only the singles were issued on the continent (excluding Britain). The title track was later covered by Swedish girl group Play, and the lead single, "Keep This Fire Burning", was covered by British soul singer Beverley Knight. Robyn was discontent with her mismanagement and plans were underway for the termination of her record label contract.

In May 2004, the album Robyn's Best was released in America. It is essentially a shortened version of her first album and contains no material from her later albums. It is widely considered a poor attempt by her past record label to pass the album off as a greatest hits album. In Sweden, a different greatest hits album was released entitled Det Bästa Med Robyn (The Best of Robyn). Omitted from this release were the singles "Don't Stop the Music" and "Keep This Fire Burning".

[edit] 2005–2006: Konichiwa Records and Robyn

Robyn performing at Karlskrona, Sweden in 2005

The decade-long relationship between Robyn and her label ceased in 2004. When her superiors reacted negatively to "Who's That Girl?", which showcased a new electro-pop sound, Robyn decided to release music on her own. In early 2005, she announced she would be leaving Jive Records to start her own record label. Konichiwa Records was created, with its aim firmly set on liberating Robyn artistically. Robyn revealed on her website that her new album would be released earlier than anticipated, and noted several fabled collaborators on the album, including Klas Åhlund from Teddybears STHLM, Swedish duo The Knife and former Cheiron producer Alexander Kronlund.

Robyn released the single "Be Mine!" in March 2005. A month later, her fourth studio album, Robyn, became her first number-one album upon its release in Sweden. Sampling influences from electronica, rap, R&B and new age, Robyn received rave reviews, and gained the singer three Swedish Grammy Awards in 2006 for "Årets Album" (Best Album), "Årets Kompositör" (Best Writer, alongside Klas Åhlund) and "Årets Pop Kvinnlig" (Best Pop Female). It also garnered Robyn interest on a global level. She gained recognition for writing the song "Money for Nothing" for Darin Zanyar, his debut single. Robyn released three more singles—"Who's That Girl?", "Handle Me" and "Crash and Burn Girl"—from the eponymous LP, which proved immensely popular in Sweden.

Robyn featured on the Basement Jaxx track "Hey U", taken from their album Crazy Itch Radio, released in 2006. The year also marked the release of Christian Falk's second album, People Say, on which Robyn contributed the tracks "Dream On" and "C.C.C".

[edit] 2006–2008: International comeback

In December 2006, Robyn released The Rakamonie EP in the UK as a preview to her more recent material. This was followed by the release of "Konichiwa Bitches" in March 2007. The revised edition of Robyn was released in the UK in April 2007, and contains two new tracks—"With Every Heartbeat" (a collaboration with Kleerup) and "Cobrastyle" (a cover of a 2006 single by Swedish rockers Teddybears)—alongside slightly altered versions of two of the original songs. It was deleted from British stores to make way for an August re-release.

The second single from the UK release was "With Every Heartbeat", released in late July and reaching number one on the UK singles chart. Robyn was featured on Jo Whiley's BBC Radio 1 showcase show, Live Lounge, a reflection of her growing popularity in Britain. Follow-up singles "Handle Me", "Be Mine!", "Who's That Girl?" and "Dream On" were top forty hits. In Australia, where Robyn reached the top ten of the iTunes Store's album chart, "With Every Heartbeat" received substantial attention on radio and video networks in Australia. Also in 2007, Robyn contributed vocals to Fleshquartet's single "This One's for You", from their album Voices of Eden.

Konichiwa Records signed an international licensing deal with Universal Music Group to launch and distribute Robyn's music globally. Releases in the UK are issued under the Island Records label. The Rakamonie EP was released in January 2008 under Cherrytree Records, a subsidiary of Interscope, and the U.S. edition of Robyn was released in April 2008. "With Every Heartbeat", "Handle Me" and "Cobrastyle" were top ten club hits, and the former received airplay at U.S. pop and dance radio stations. Robyn was visible in the U.S. market in 2007 when Britney Spears released the single "Piece of Me", which contains Robyn's backing vocals. She was also featured on the Fyre Department remix of "Sexual Eruption" by rapper Snoop Dogg.

Robyn completed a short U.S. tour to promote Robyn, and was the supporting act for Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour at select European dates in 2008.[1] In January 2009, Robyn won a Swedish Grammis Award for Best Live Act 2008; in her acceptance speech, she said that Madonna was to thank for the prize.[2]

Robyn stated to Aftonbladet, a Swedish newspaper site, that she wants to start recording a new album in the beginning of 2009 and that she will work with producers such as Kleerup ("With Every Heartbeat")[3] as well as Klas Åhlund who she worked with on Robyn[4].

Robyn is featured on Norway's premier electronic outfit Röyksopp's new album "Junior" with the song "The Girl and the Robot."

[edit] Personal life

Robyn's parents are actors, and she herself was involved in acting at the age of 9, having an extra role in Kronbruden at the Swedish theatre Dramaten. She was discovered by the Swedish pop singer Meja while singing about her parents' divorce.[citation needed]

After the release of her second album in 1999, My Truth, Robyn became a UNICEF ambassador and visited, among other countries, Kenya and Tanzania. During her two years of dedicating herself to this work, she intended to draw attention to UNICEF and their worldwide work for children in need of aid.

In 2000, Povel Ramel awarded her the Karamelodiktstipendiet, a scholarship for her musical achievements where most of the reward lies in the prestige and honour, and not financial incentives.

[edit] Discography

Main article: Robyn discography

[edit] Albums

[edit] Top ten hits

The following tables lists Robyn's singles which have charted in Sweden, United Kingdom, United States of America, Australia, Netherlands and Norway. For a comprehensive list of Robyn's singles, please go to Robyn discography

Year Single Chart positions
SWE UK U.S. AUS [5] NL NOR
1995 "Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)" 2 20 28 — — 7
1996 "Do You Know (What It Takes)" 10 26 7 48 82 —
1998 "Show Me Love" 14 8 7 34 20 —
1999 "Electric" 6 — — — — —
2002 "Keep This Fire Burning" 3 — — — 52 19
"Don't Stop The Music" 7 — — — 85 19
2005 "Be Mine!" 3 10 — — — 13
2007 "With Every Heartbeat" (with Kleerup) 11 1 — 69 7 —

[edit] References

  1. ^ Robyn To Support Madonna's 'Sticky & Sweet' TourRetrieved June 19, 2008 from madonna.com news.news
  2. ^ Robyn årets liveakt - tackade Madonna
  3. ^ http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/article4072218.ab
  4. ^ http://www.arjanwrites.com/arjanwrites/2009/02/grammys-2009-update-interview-with-robyn.html
  5. ^ http://www.australian-charts.com/search.asp?cat=s&artist=Robyn&artist_search=starts&title=&title_search=starts

[edit] Sources

http://music.yahoo.com/ar-270640---Robyn
http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/article/news/47274-robyn-invites-us-to-be-mine-on-latest-single-dates
http://www.mtv.com/music/artist/robyn/artist.jhtml

[edit] External links

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