| Robyn | |
|---|---|
 Robyn in Karlskrona, Sweden
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| Background information | |
| Birth name | Robin Miriam Carlsson |
| Born | June 12 1979 |
| Origin |  Stockholm, Sweden |
| Genre(s) | Pop, dance, Europop |
| Occupation(s) | Singer-songwriter |
| Instrument(s) | Vocals |
| Years active | 1995–present (singer) |
| Label(s) | Sony BMG/ |
| Website | Official website |
Robin Miriam Carlsson a.k.a. 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)". She has since started to gain mainstream success in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands again, due to the massive critical and commercial success of her single "With Every Heartbeat".
Contents |
Career
1991-1993: Discovery
In 1991 and at the age of 12, 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.
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'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. 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 #32 on the Hot 100 Airplay chart. As Robyn's popularity grew across the globe, especially in the United States, she was lined up as the support act for the 1997 Backstreet Boys tour. However, Robyn was diagnosed with exhaustion and she quickly returned to Sweden to recover. "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.
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 #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 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.
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", likely due to legal issues. However, another Don't Stop the Music single, "O Baby", is included.
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 go 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 #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.
2006-2008: 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 two slightly altered versions 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. Konichiwa Records also signed an international licensing deal with Island Records in order to launch and distribute Robyn's music across the globe, The US edition is set to be released sometime in 2008.
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.
Selective discography
Albums
| Album and statistics | Singles |
|---|---|
| Robyn is Here | Singles Released |
| My Truth | Singles Released
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Don't Stop the Music
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Singles Released
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| Robyn | Singles Released |
Singles
| Year | Single | Chart positions | Album | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE | UK | U.S. | NET | IRE | NOR | AUS | GER | |||
| 1995 | "You've Got That Somethin'" | 24 | 54 | — | — | — | — | — | 85 | Robyn Is Here |
| "Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)" | 2 | 20 | 28 1 | — | — | 7 | — | — | ||
| 1996 | "Do You Know (What it Takes)" | 10 | 26 | 7 | 82 | — | — | 48 | — | |
| 1997 | "Show Me Love" | 14 | 8 | 7 | 27 | — | — | 34 | 70 | |
| 1999 | "Electric" | 6 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | My Truth |
| "Play" | 31 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2000 | "My Only Reason" | 53 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |
| 2002 | "Keep This Fire Burning" | 3 | — | — | 52 | — | 19 | — | — | Don't Stop the Music |
| "Don't Stop The Music" | 7 | — | — | 85 | — | 19 | — | — | ||
| 2005 | "Be Mine!" | 3 | — | — | — | — | 13 | — | — | Robyn |
| "Who's That Girl?" | 37 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2006 | "Handle Me" | — | 17 | — | — | 47 | — | — | — | |
| "Crash and Burn Girl" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||
| 2007 | "Konichiwa Bitches" | — | 98 | — | — | — | — | 67 | — | |
| "With Every Heartbeat" | 18 | 1 | — | 7 | 15 | — | — | 38 | ||
| "Cobrastyle" | — | — | — | — | — | — | 67 | — | ||
- 1 single reached number 28 on U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Airplay chart.
References
- ^ a b c "Robyn - Robyn Is Here". All Music Guide. Retrieved 2 August 2007.
- ^ a b c d http://swedishcharts.com/showinterpret.asp?interpret=Robyn “Robyn - Robyn Is Here”]. SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved 2 August 2007. Retrieved 15 May 2007.
- ^ Cite error: Invalid
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External links
- Official UK website
- Official Myspace
- Konichiwa Records
- Robyn interview by Rashmi Shastri
- Robyn Carlsson at the Internet Movie Database
- Robyn Fanzone - lots of info about Robyn
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| Albums | Robyn Is Here · My Truth · Don't Stop the Music · Robyn |
| EPs | The Rakamonie EP |
| Singles | "You've Got That Somethin'" · "Do You Really Want Me (Show Respect)" · "Do You Know (What it Takes)" · "Show Me Love" · "Electric" · "Play" · "My Ony Only Reason" · "Main Thing" · "Keep This Fire Burning" · "Don't Stop the Music" · "O Baby" · "Be Mine!" · "Who's That Girl?" · "Handle Me" · "Crash and Burn Girl" · "Konichiwa Bitches" · "With Every Heartbeat" |
| Related articles | Discography · Konichiwa Records |
