Most people around the world are familiar with American pop, with the U.S. having the biggest music market worldwide. Japanese pop, or J-pop, and Korean pop, or K-pop, are growing in popularity and influence thanks to its widespread coverage on the internet.
Many people though are unfamiliar with the pop coming out of Sweden; arguably, the birthplace of pop music itself.
Remember, ABBA, the 4-member co-ed group? Yes, they’re from Sweden, and gained worldwide recognition with hits, such as song-turned-musical “Mamma Mia” among their long string of hits in the 60’s and 70’s.
The fame attained by ABBA paved the way for other Swedish artists like Roxette (“It Must Have Been Love”), Ace of Base (“The Sign”), Robyn (“Do You Really Want Me”, and more recently “Call Your Girlfriend”), and the A*Teens (“Upside Down”) which started as an ABBA tribute group.
Now that I’ve given a crash course on Swedish pop, let me focus on their male pop artists.
1. Eric Saade
The Swedish representative to 2011’s Eurovision, and finishing 3rd place, Eric Saade has already been popular in his homeland. With his participation in the Eurovision he has made his name known across Europe. He has even made a single with Dev, U.S. rapper and often collaborator to The Cataracs and Far East Movement.
Pronunciation note: His surname is pronounced /Sa·a·de/.
2. Anton Ewald
He joined this year’s Melodifestivalen (the competition that determines Sweden’s representative to Eurovision) with his entry even reaching the final. He’s a newcomer to the music scene as a singer, but he’s been a dancer and choreographer for years now. Time will tell if he can follow up the success of his MF entry, “Begging.”
3. Darin
Of Kurdish descent, Darin joined the first season of Swedish Idol where he finished second place. Since Idol, he has gone on to release 6 studio albums with most of his singles reaching at least top 50 of the Swedish charts. He has even released an independent single as part of an anti-bullying campaign.
4. Måns Zelmerlöw
Mans is an alumni of Swedish Idol, but his popularity grew even more when he joined 2009’s Melodifestivalen with “Hope & Glory” where he reached the finals, winning the jury vote, but only reaching 4th place overall. Since then he has been busy with TV hosting and has released his latest single (video in link below) in anticipation for his new album after a long hiatus.
Pronunciation note: His first name is pronounced /Mons/.
5. Andreas Moe
Though uncredited as a feature, Andreas Moe is most popular for being featured in the Avicii track, “Fade Into Darkness” (or if you’re in the U.K., it’s “Collide,” with Leona Lewis on vocals). Aside from being a singer, he plays guitar, releasing acoustic covers on his Youtube channel, and also a songwriter for other European artists.
So those are some of the men of Swedish pop. Do you have any favorites? Other Swedish pop men we missed?
Bonus:
6. The United
Technically, this entry doesn’t belong in this list, because (1) The United is not a solo male artist, and (2) not really Swedish. But, The United (1) is a boyband (i.e., a group of males) and (2) one of the members is Swedish.
They’re a new pan-European boyband (the direct inverse would be pan-Asian girl group, Blush) with members from the U.K., Germany, Netherlands, Italy, and of course, Sweden. That’s Mike, Manuel, Teus, Step, and Gabriel, respectively.
I would best describe them this way: They have the styling and branding of One Direction with the sound of The Wanted. Definitely a welcome addition to the boyband music landscape this year.
Check out their debut single release for most European countries… and weird enough, Thailand (they apparently went to promote there already)
Check out Scandipop for more on the music of Sweden and its Scandinaivan neighbors. Great reads and listens on that blog!
