Robyn
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| Robyn | |
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 Robyn Performing at Highline Ballroom, NYC
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robin Miriam Carlsson |
| Born | June 12, 1979 |
| Origin | Stockholm, Sweden |
| Genre(s) | Pop, Dance |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 1995–present (singer) |
| Label(s) | Sony BMG
Konichiwa (2005–Present) |
| Website | Official website |
Robin Miriam Carlsson, better known by her stage name Robyn (born June 12, 1979) is a Swedish pop singer-songwriter and is widely known in her homeland. 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 to the entry "Du gör mig hel igen". She has since started to gain mainstream success worldwide owing to the popularity of her single "With Every Heartbeat" and subsequent album release.
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[edit] Career
[edit] 1991-1993: Discovery
In 1991 and at the age of 13, 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 also performed her first self-written song at this age in another TV show called 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 captivated the "All About The Money" singer; so much so that Meja 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 "Don't Stop The Music" opus in 2003.
[edit] 1994-1997: Robyn Is Here
Robyn started out her career in the pop music scene at age 16. 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. 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 4th place.
Robyn's US breakthrough came in 1997 when the dance-pop singles "Show Me Love" and "Do You Know (What it Takes)" were released. These singles both ended up in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100. She performed on the kid'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. She also re-released "Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)" internationally but it did not fare as well as the other releases. It was ineligible to chart since there was no retail single available, but it reached no. 32 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart.
As Robyn's popularity grew across the globe, especially in the United States. Robyn was diagnosed with exhaustion and she quickly returned to Sweden to recover.
The song was prominently used in the 1998 Lukas Moodysson film Fucking Åmål, and the song's title, Show Me Love was used as the film's title in English-speaking countries.
[edit] 1998-2001: My Truth
Recording began on Robyn's second opus in 1998. The album My Truth was released on May 17, 1999 in Sweden, with releases elsewhere in the continent following. The single "Electric" was a huge smash across Europe, and propelled My Truth to no. 2 in Sweden. My Truth was a poignantly autobiographical release for Robyn, and included the tracks "Universal Woman" and "Giving You Back" which emotively explained her secret abortion. The album did achieve synonymous acclaim, and critics remarked on Robyn's seamless 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 didn't 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 US-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," She appeared on the tracks "Remember" and Celebration."
In 2000 Robyn 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
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 also covered by British soul singer Beverley Knight. This demonstrates the strength of the material although Robyn was not able to showcase it. Understandably, the singer 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 other material from her latter albums. It is widely considered to be 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", probably due to legal issues.
[edit] 2005-2006: Konichiwa Records & Robyn
The decade long relationship between Robyn and her label ceased in 2004. When her bosses reacted badly to the sound of "Who's That Girl?", which showcased a new electro-pop sound, Robyn decided to do it alone. In early 2005, Robyn 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. Uncharacteristically for a musician, 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 her new single "Be Mine!" in March 2005, and a month later her fourth studio album Robyn. The album became Robyn's first no. 1 album upon its release in Sweden. Sampling influences from electronica, rap, R&B and new age, Robyn received rave reviews for the Swedish soul star. It gained her 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. Robyn also 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. The album proved immensely popular in Sweden.
Robyn also went on to feature on the Basement Jaxx track "Hey U", taken from their album Crazy Itch Radio, released in 2006. 2006 also saw 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 on April 2, 2007. The UK release contained new tracks "With Every Heartbeat" 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 the Kleerup collaboration "With Every Heartbeat". The song was A-listed by BBC Radio 1 and was released in late July in digital format and early August physically, reaching number 1 in the singles chart in the UK on August 12, 2007. Robyn has also been featured on Jo Whiley's popular Radio 1 showcase show, Live Lounge which is a reflection of her growing popularity on British shores. The track has now been receiving airplay at US pop and dance radio stations.
"With Every Heartbeat" has also been receiving a lot of attention in Australia. It is played often on radio networks such as Nova and its video is popular on Channel V. Her album reached the top ten of the Australian iTunes album chart.
Also in 2007 Robyn contributed vocals to Fleshquartet's single "This One's For You" from their album "Voices of Eden"
Konichiwa Records also signed an international licensing deal with Universal Music Group in order to launch and distribute Robyn's music across the globe. Releases in the UK are issued under the Island Records label. The Rakamonie EP was released on 29 January 2008 under Cherrytree Records, a subsidiary of Interscope, and The US edition of Robyn was released on April 29th, 2008. Robyn was also seen in the U.S. market in 2007 when she recorded backing vocals for Britney Spears' single "Piece of Me". She was also featured on the Fyre Department remix of "Sexual Eruption" by Snoop Dogg.
Perez Hilton has added a new entry detailing Robyn's upcoming U.S. tour. "The ferociously talented Robyn is finally releasing her superexcellent new album in the U.S. and Canada. And, the Swedish dynamo is coming on her first ever full tour of North America to accompany its release".[1]
Robyn has built a strong American fan base after the release of her 2007 U.K. electro-heavy self-titled album. She has now completed a short a U.S. tour to promote Robyn.
[edit] Personal life
Robyn's parents are actors, and she was herself 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.
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. She was happy to emphasize the need of taking responsibilities to help, and tried to make herself a good example for the young generation.
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.
Robyn's drink of choice is Guinness.[citation needed]
[edit] Selective discography
[edit] Albums
- 1995/1996 - Robyn Is Here
- 1999 - My Truth
- 2002 - Don't Stop the Music
- 2005 - Robyn
[edit] Top Ten Hits
The following tables lists Robyn's singles which have charted in Sweden, United Kingdom, United States Of America, Netherlands and Norway. For a comprehensive list of Robyn's singles, please go to Robyn discography
| Year | Single | Chart positions | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE | UK | U.S. | NL | NOR | ||
| 1995 | "Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)" | 2 | 20 | 28 | — | 7 |
| 1996 | "Do You Know (What It Takes)" | 10 | 26 | 7 | 82 | — |
| 1997 | "Show Me Love" | 14 | 8 | 7 | 27 | — |
| 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)" | 18 | 1 | — | 7 | — |
[edit] References
http://perezhilton.com/category/robyn/
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
- Official website
- Official Myspace
- Konichiwa Records
- Interscope Records
- Robyn interview on Buzznet.com
- Robyn interview on musicOMH.com
- Robyn interview on ilikemusic.com
- Robyn interview by Rashmi Shastri
- Robyn Carlsson at the Internet Movie Database
- Who's That Girl Review
- Robyn's AOL Music Session
- Bellaboo interview with Robyn
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