#Swedish Grammy Award

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Backstreet Boys - I Want It That Way 1999

"I Want It That Way" is a song by American vocal group Backstreet Boys. It was released as the lead single from their third studio album, Millennium (1999). It was written by Swedish hitmakers Max Martin and Andreas Carlsson. Max Martin has written or co-written 26 Billboard Hot 100 number-one songs, most of which he has also produced or co-produced. He is the songwriter with the second-most number-one singles on the chart, behind only Paul McCartney (32) and tied with John Lennon (26 both). In addition, he currently holds the record for the most Hot 100 number-one songs as a producer, with 24 as of January 2024. Congrats! 🥳

"I Want It That Way" was nominated for three Grammy Awards, including Song and Record of the Year. The music video received four MTV Video Music Awards nominations, winning Viewer's Choice. It became the group's first music video to surpass one billion views on YouTube in 2021.

"I Want It That Way" is the Backstreet Boys' signature song, and commercially it reached the number-one spot in more than 25 countries, including Austria, Germany, Italy, New Zealand, Switzerland and the UK.

The song was famously used in the cold open of the Brooklyn Nine-Nine season 5 episode "DFW". Andy Samberg's character has a police lineup sing the song to help a victim identify a killer.

"I Want It That Way" received a total of 82% yes votes!

[fuckyeahviagraboys]

[slavghoul]

At Wednesday's Grammis gala, Ghost was honoured in the Hard Rock/Metal of the Year category, and Tobias Forge is keen to point out how much the Swedish award means to him - while at the same time thinking that others who have not been honoured deserve it more.

"It actually means much, much more than people might think. Now that I get it a fourth time, it means a lot. I am very happy. For me and everyone who has been involved in the work, it is a huge recognition, that what we have done has gained some kind of metric significance," says Tobias Forge.

Ghost were nominated in three categories, but lost out to Tove Lo in both Album of the Year and Artist of the Year. To accept the award for Hard Rock/Metal of the Year, the singer brought his collaborators on stage, including producer Klas Åhlund and songwriters Vincent Pontare and Salem Al Fakir. However, one of the songwriters on his latest album Impera was absent - Kent's former frontman Joakim Berg.

"I love Jocke, and I love Kent. I think he's a great songwriter, and a great person. I wish he was here tonight, I missed him tonight, it would have been nice if he had been here to share it. I tried to get everyone involved," says Tobias Forge after the gala and continues: "It is an honour to work with someone like Jocke."

[surra-de-bunda]

Army of Lovers [Camilla Henemark] photographed by Roger Tillberg at The Grammis (Swedish Music Awards) as they receive an award for "Best Group" (March 1990). Camilla Henemark was born in Stockholm, to a Nigerian father and a Swedish mother. She started her modeling career in her teens and later had her own modeling agency. Henemark started her career in music in 1985 by joining Alexander Bard in his Barbie project as Katanga. That project morphed into the group Army of Lovers, and soon La Camilla (as she is best known) became the face of the group. Army of Lovers is a Swedish dance-pop group which formed in 1987 and had a number of hits in Europe throughout the 1990s. Some of their biggest successes include the song "Crucified", which was a big hit in Europe, charting 31 weeks in the Eurochart and peaking at number 14 in 1992. It remains their best-known song internationally. Their second international hit, "Obsession", charted 32 weeks and peaked at number 29. Their total album sales were seven million copies worldwide. The name of the band alludes to the documentary film Army of Lovers or Revolt of the Perverts by German gay rights activist Rosa von Praunheim, the title of which in turn alludes to the Sacred Band of Thebes.

[eptodaytommorowforever]

The Meaning Behind The Song: How Great Thou Art by Elvis Presley

Elvis Presley was known for his exceptional vocal ability, stage presence, and the ability to captivate his audience with his music. However, many fans and music lovers may not be aware of his rendition of the classic hymn “How Great Thou Art.” The song was released in 1967, and it quickly became a fan favorite due to the emotion and sincerity with which Presley delivered it. This article aims to explore the meaning behind “How Great Thou Art” and its significance to Elvis Presley and his fans.

Elvis Presley’s Connection with the Song

Elvis Presley was raised in the Pentecostal faith, which emphasizes the role of music in worship. Gospel music played a significant role in his upbringing, and he continued to draw inspiration from this genre throughout his career. In 1960, he recorded his first gospel album, “His Hand in Mine,” which marked the beginning of his long-standing relationship with gospel music.

“How Great Thou Art” was one of the tracks on his second gospel album of the same name, which was released in 1967. The album went on to win a Grammy Award for Best Sacred Performance. The song has since become one of the most beloved hymns of all time and continues to inspire people around the world.

Today Marks The 75TH Anniversary Of The Great And Awesome Gospel Song Hymn "How Great Thou Art"

The History and Origin of the Song The Composer Stuart K. Hine

“How Great Thou Art” is a Christian hymn with roots that go back to the late 19th century. It was originally written in Swedish by Carl Gustav Boberg in 1885. In 1925, Stuart K. Hine, an English missionary in Ukraine, heard a Russian version of the song and was inspired to translate it into English. Over the years, the song has been translated into several languages and recorded by numerous artists. including Elvis Presley As Seen Here In June 1977

[everythingeurovision]

Iconic & Notable Eurovision Performances

In 1956 the European Broadcasting Union launched “Grand Prix Eurovision de la Chanson Européenne” or in English, the Eurovision Song Contest Grand Prix, as a way to test and launch international live broadcasting.  It also became a way to unite the countries together after the chaos of World War II ended in 1945. 

The initial format for the contest based on the Italian music festival “Sanremo”. Active members of the EBU and various other associates are invited to participate in the show. The most notable ones are France, Germany, the UK, Spain and Italy. These countries are known as the Eurovision's “Big 5” and make the most notable financial contributions to the EBU.  Over the years Eurovision has evolved and is now the longest running international contest that is televised. 

Despite its huge success, Eurovision has had its fair share of backlash and hatred thrown its way, some people think the music broadcasted on the show isn't good, and that the show is only using art as a way to profit from it. Others say that it’s  too long and cringeworthy. In recent years politics has become the main reason for peoples disdain towards the contest, with Russia invading Ukraine in 2022 being a huge part of the contest to as recently 2024 where many performers spoke out in support of Palestine. 

But regardless of all this, the impact the show has is undeniable, I’ll be taking a look into a few of the most impactful and noticeable performances from the competition. Some of these are winners of the contest, and some are not. To be clear, these are just what I personally feel are important Eurovision performances.

You might disagree, and that's okay

Refrain - Lys Assia (Switzerland 1956)

1956 was the first year of the competition and the only year where countries could have two entries, and Lys Assia sang both songs that were chosen to represent Switzerland; “Refrain” which was originally sung in French & “Das alte Karussell” (The Old Carousel). Originally sung in German. Since the voting was kept secret, it's unclear where Switzerland's second entry placed in the competition. 

Refrain is a chansen style song that is about lamenting the loss of adolescents and youth. It was composed by jazz pianist and composer Géo Voumard and written by Émile Gardaz, a swiss author. 

Lys Assia was still involved in the Eurovision even after her iconic win. She performed at the 50 year anniversary show in 2005, and also presented the winning trophy in 2009. She even attempted to enter the competition again in 2013, but didn't qualify.

She passed away in 2018 but is still remembered for her bittersweet performance of “Refrain”. 

Waterloo - Refrain (Sweden, 1974)

Abba could arguably be the most successful participants of the contest to date, you can say you don't listen to them, but you certainly know who they are whether you remember them from their work on the soundtrack of “Mama Mia!” or for this iconic entry that marks the first of Sweden's seven victories. 

The group was formed in 1972 when 2 married couples combined their talents together,Despite not being very well received by Swedish audiences,  the group had some moderate success before the competition, releasing songs and playing at festivals around sweden. 

They entered the Melodifestivalen (Sweden's way of picking their Eurovision entry) in 1973 with their song “Ring Ring” but didn't qualify, afterwards the band began working on their entry for the following year as they saw the potential the contest had to launch the group into the industry, and to open themselves up to an international crowd. since then the band have skyrocketed, having received many Grammy nominations and even winning various awards such as a Brit award and the AGVA's Vocal Entertainer of the Year award in 1981.

Dana International-Diva (Israel, 1998)

The 1998 Eurovision was a huge moment for LGBTQ+ representation, as it was the first time in the competition an only transgender person would compete and also win the competition. 

Yaron Cohen, known also as “Dana international” began her career in 1987 as a drag queen and had her first notable success when she launched a satirical version of Whitney Houstens “My Name Is Not Susan”. She legally changed her name and underwent gender affirming surgery in 1993 and took on the stage name “Dana international”

She first entered the Eurovision Qualifying Contest for Israel in 1995, as it had been a childhood dream to compete, but her entry for the year came second in the preselection. She would go on to release an EP and album in the following years before being chosen in 1998 to represent Israel in the 43rd year of the contest's runtime. 

Despite huge backlash from conservative communities in Europe, Dana overcame all of the pushback and took home the trophy with her song “Diva”. A song praising many strong powerful women throughout history. 

Many orthodox jews were opposed to her presence in the contest and she received a lot of death threats. This entry was the first time a Trangender person had not only been seen on the contest stage but had also won the show, making it a huge celebration for the LGBTQ community. 

Conchita Wurst - Rise Like The Phoenix (Austria,2014)

2014 was another memorable/controversial time for the contest, Austria's chose to send a drag artist as their entry for the 58th Eurovision. This made her the first drag artist to take the stage, as well as being the first artist to perform on the stage without backing vocals or dancers. 

Conchita Wurst, real name Thomas Neuwirth, is a drag artist and performer originally from Styria, Austria. Before taking on the persona of “Conchita Wurst” Neuwirth competed in an austrian talent/scouting show in 2006 and finished third, later he would go on to form a boy group known as “Jetzt Anders!”, the group would disband later the same year

It was after this he developed the persona of “Conchita Wurst” and would go on to place second place in the Austrian Eurovisons selections for 2012. Two years later she would be selected to represent Austria in the 2014 Eurovision contest with the song “Rise Like A Phoenix”, a powerful ballad about overcoming difficulties. 

Her presence and success sparked a lot of controversy among viewers, with a lot of more conservative groups taking great offence to the performer's presence. Some countries even went as far as to create and sign petitions to have the performance excluded from the broadcast. This controversy highlighted the ongoing disagreement between Eastern and Western Europe on homosexuality, but her win once again shone a positive light onto the LGBTQ+ community.

Sandra Kim - J'aime La Vie (Belgium,1986)

Belgium's Sandra Kim (real name; Sandra Caldarone) became the youngest person to compete and win the competition in 1986 at only 13 years of age. 

Born in Montegnee in Belgium, Kim started singing when she was only seven years old.  In March of 1986, she won the national selections and performed at the 30th Eurovision Contest held in Norway and took first place for Belgium making it their first and only win so far. 

The song “J’aime La Vie” is an upbeat bubblegum pop song about the joys of life and living, though at the time the song made Kim appear to be 15 years of age. Once her real age had been revealed the Switzerland began a petition to have the song disqualified from the contest. After this all a rule was brought in that all contestants had to be over 16 to compete (at least on the day of the Finals)

Dave Benton, Tanel Padar & 2XL - Everybody (Estonia, 2001)

Dave Benton made history by being not only the oldest person to claim victory at the contest, he was also the first person of colour to win the show.  The performance is Estonia's first and only win to date in the competition, which also makes it the first of the Baltic states to take home the title.

Born in 1951 on the Caribbean island Aruba, He moved to the US and performed as a backing vocalist and drummer for many artists. Afterwards, Benton would move to Estonia after marrying his wife in 1997. He has had a broad musical career partially due to his ability to speak 8 different languages. He has also had career in acting appearing in films "The Dissidents" and "Infinite Summer".

The win was a shock as Estonia didn't place in the top 10 of oddsmakers and betters. 

Despite the song's victory, it was not immediately available as a single and could only be found  as part of a compilation album released by BGM Germany. Dave Benton initially declined to perform on the song, but changed his mind a few days later when asked again.

Paul Oscar - Min Hinsti Dans (Iceland, 1997)

In 1997, Pall Oskar Hjalmtysson (more commonly known as Paul Oscar) joined the international spotlight as the first openly gay man to perform in Eurovision. Having already had national success, he was chosen to represent his home country of Iceland at the 42nd iteration of Eurovision hosted in Dublin Ireland.

Born in 1970, Oskar was a very musical child, singing and performing a lot, but was deeply affected by bullying in school. This only worsened when at the age of 16, he came out to his family as gay. In 1993 he released his album “Stu “ he soon after joined the band Milljónamæringarnir and released 2 albums with them, in 1995 he began his solo debut with the album “Palli” released under his own recording company. It went on to be the best selling Icelandic album of that year. 

He co-wrote and performed the song “Minn Hinsti Dans” representing Iceland, the performance featured four women performing with him latex acting suggestive on a sofa, while the performance only placed 20th in the semi finals, it captured the attention of viewers for its boldness, particularly among the LGBTQ audience. 

Lordi - Hard Rock Hallelujah (Finland, 2006)

The audience of the 51st iteration of Eurovision got quite the shock when Finnish metal band Lordi took to the stage with their song “Hard Rock Hallelujah”. The band are known for their extravagant monster outfits and are even known as “the Finish monsters”. The band would be crowned winners and take home Finland's first and only victory in the contest.

The band originally formed in 1996 after meeting at a KISS concert the year before. They knew early on they wanted to perform with crazy pyrotechnics and be dressed as different monsters. The costumes are heavily inspired by KISS and Horror elements. The band are never seen without the masks on, no matter what. 

Up until this time, the songs in the contest were more predominantly europop, pop or ballads. heavier and alternative genres were not seen in the contest until Lordis performance. Many called the group devil worshipers. In fact, a group of Greek priests were certain the band were satanic and told Kerrang magazine the group wasn't welcomed in the country. 

Despite this Lordi’s performance opened the doors of Eurovision for more non mainstream artists, their win and performance have had a huge impact on the way people would perceive the contest. And undoubtedly paved the way for other non mainstream artists to succeed in later shows. 

Joost Klein - Europapa (Netherlands, 2024)

This years eurovisions had a lot of really notable performances, some for good reasons, some for more controversial, I found it hard to pick one to talk about, but felt i needed to mention this years contest due to everything surrounding it, and I think the story of Joost Klein makes the most sense to mention. 

Despite many viewers choosing to boycott the show this year due to Israel's presence amidst the political climate, “Europapa” took the world by storm and spread like wildfire over social media. It was exactly the type of song you’d expect at Eurovision, an upbeat techno song about loving Europe and needing to come together during tough times. with wild and quirky stage production. 

The sentiment of needing to unite against hate was incredibly strong this year, with many performers voicing the same message in their shows. but Joost’s stage charisma and established popularity as a dutch performer made him stand out amongst the rest. Making his sudden disqualification from the contest a huge shock.

After qualifying for the grand final, a female camera woman claimed Klein allegedly made threatening remarks towards her, and after an investigation into these claims, the EBU released a statement disqualifying Joost from the final. Many fans were shocked by the news as it's the first time an act has been disqualified from the contest. 

Since then, speculation around the EBU’s decision has mainly centered around a prior incident during a press conference between Klein and Eden Golan, the Israeli representative. During this event Klein would not make eye contact with the Israeli singer, and when she was questioned on if her presence at the contest was a safety issue. Golan refused to answer but Klein pushed back, adding he felt she should. 

Joost's disqualification added even more tension to the contest this year, especially with ongoing outcry for the EBU to take a firmer stand on Israel. With the 2025 Eurovision already scheduled to take place in Basel, Switzerland, many fans will be waiting to see whether Israel will be cut loose from the competition or if History will be repeating itself.  

[fetznerdeathrecords]

The Halo Effect - March of the Unheard

Melodic Death Metal from Gothenburg, Sweden

The Halo Effect may have started out as five old friends making music just for fun, but today they are one of the most popular new bands in heavy metal. Even before the Swedish quintet formed, its members were heroes of the heavy sound, playing a key role in establishing the much-imitated “Gothenburg sound” of melodic death metal in the 1990s. When the long-time companions finally came together and released the debut single “Shadowminds” in 2021, they quickly reached millions of streams. Their subsequent debut album, Days of the Lost, was nominated for a Swedish Grammy and promoted with tours with Machine Head, Amon Amarth and Meshuggah. They also won the Rising Star title at the 2024 Metal Hammer Awards. The rise of this band was as rapid as it was well-deserved.

1. Conspire to Deceive 03:57 2. Detonate 03:58 3. Our Channel to the Darkness 03:28 4. Cruel Perception 04:04 5. What We Become 03:46 6. This Curse of Silence 02:00 7. March of the Unheard 02:59 8. Forever Astray 04:04 9. Between Directions 04:28 10. A Death That Becomes Us 04:06 11. The Burning Point 03:47 12. Coda 03:53

Release date: January 10th, 2025 via @nuclearblastrecords

@thehaloeffectse

[wheelscomedyandmore]

Happy Birthday to Ann-Margret who turns 83 today!

83-Year-Old Ann-Margret Refuses To Give Up Her Harley.

Ann-Margret has a long list of prestigious accolades, but she's just a biker at heart.

Photo: Ann-Margret cruising on a chopper in 1971

Ann-Margret Olsson (born April 28, 1941), credited as Ann-Margret, is a Swedish-American actress and singer. She has won five Golden Globe Awards and been nominated for two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and six Emmy Awards, winning in 2010 for a guest role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

She is known for her roles in Pocketful of Miracles (1961), State Fair (1962), Bye Bye Birdie (1963), Viva Las Vegas (1964), The Cincinnati Kid (1965), Carnal Knowledge (1971), The Train Robbers (1973), Tommy (1975), Magic (1978), The Villain (1979), The Return of the Soldier (1982), Who Will Love My Children? (1983), 52 Pick-Up (1986), Newsies (1992), Grumpy Old Men (1993), Grumpier Old Men (1995), Any Given Sunday (1999), Taxi (2004), The Break-Up (2006) and Going in Style (2017).

Her singing and acting careers span seven decades, starting in 1961. Initially, she was billed as a female version of Elvis Presley. She has a sultry, vibrant contralto voice. She had a Top 20 hit song in 1961 and a charting album in 1964, and she scored a disco hit in 1979. She recorded a critically acclaimed gospel album in 2001 and an album of Christmas songs in 2004. In April 2023, she released her first rock album, Born to be Wild.

[music-addiction-disorder]

Lucifer is a heavy metal band formed in Berlin in 2014 by frontwoman Johanna Sadonis. Following several member changes, vocalist Sadonis remains the only constant member, with the current line-up featuring drummer /husband Nicke Andersson (Nihilist, Entombed, Death Breath, The Hellacopters, Imperial State Electric... ), guitarists Martin Nordin and Linus Björklund, and bassist Harald Göthblad. Currently based out of Stockholm, the members are Swedish with the exception of the German Sadonis.

In March 2017, it was announced that Nicke Andersson had joined the band Lucifer as drummer. He had started writing songs with his now-wife and Lucifer vocalist Johanna Sadonis in 2016, when two of its members had left. As he is a multi-insturmentalist, Lucifer recorded their second album in Andersson's home studio without a complete band, only the addition of guitarist Robin Tidebrink. The band's third and fourth albums, Lucifer III (2021) and Lucifer IV (2022), were each nominated for Best Hard Rock/Metal at the Grammis awards.

Johanna Platow Andersson (also known as Johanna Sadonis) is the front woman of the hard rock band Lucifer, which was founded in Berlin in 2014.

Johanna sang in various rock and metal bands in the 1990s and early 2000s (Informer, Dies Ater, Ferox, Cryogenic, Vinterkrig, The Oath, Lucifer)

Johanna Sadonis (born Johanna Claudia Platow) is a vocalist, DJ and promoter from Berlin, Germany.

In 2010, she was part of the electronic indie pop band Informer along with Rayshele Teige, a former employee of Century Media in the US.

She also runs the monthly old-school heavy metal party "Kill Em All Club" in Berlin.

Together with her husband Nicke Andersson she co-founded and runs Riding Reaper Records.

She co-wrote the lyrics and performed vocals for the track "Deep Down South" of the album "New Man, New Songs, Same Shit. Vol.1" (Napalm Records, 2020) by Me and that Man, an acoustic/folk rock project from Behemoth's Nergal.

Be sure to check out... 👇👇👇

https://crypticrock.com/interview-johanna-sadonis-nicke-andersson-of-lucifer/

[qnewsau]

The top 10 queer songs of 2024

New Post has been published on https://qnews.com.au/the-top-10-queer-songs-of-2024/

The top 10 queer songs of 2024

The team at Popchops has revealed which songs by queer artists were most listened to in 2024.  

December brings a litany of lists like the best movies of the year, sporting moments of 2024 and, of course, the best music. 

So we’re joining the fun and highlighting some of the biggest songs of the year by queer artists. 

Instead of choosing our top tracks or Spotify’s most listened, we’ve enlisted the help of Popchops.

Popchops is a DJ team that puts on parties across Australia with a very lively online community of over 2,000 members.

This group is predominantly queer and each month Popchop’s own Brad Elias puts together a monthly chart of the most listened-to songs by the community.

He has crunched the numbers and collated the list of the top 10 most loved tracks by queer artists exclusively for QNews.

Here are the top 10 in reverse order:

10. Reneé Rapp & Megan Thee Stallion – Not My Fault

The collaboration between the lesbian Broadway singer and bisexual rapper was for the musical movie remake of the iconic film Mean Girls. Although it was released in 2023 we’ll allow its inclusion because it was late December!

9. Tove Lo & SG Lewis – Heat

The Swedish pansexual singer joined forces with England’s SG Lewis for this dance banger. It’s had over 25 million streams with the accompanying video “an ode to queer dance floors around the world.” 

8. Nemo – The Code

Non-binary artist Nemo did a little better at Eurovision than Olly did – they won the whole thing for Switzerland! Nemo described the song as “the journey I started with the realisation that I am neither a man nor a woman.”

7. Olly Alexander (Years & Years) – Dizzy

Gay actor and singer-songwriter Olly Alexander entered Eurovision for the UK this year. His performance embraced his queer identity and left some viewers clutching their pearls. Although he finished 18th at the Contest, it still found a loyal following. 

6. Orville Peck – Midnight Ride (feat. Kylie Minogue & Diplo)

Everyone’s favourite gay cowboy was back in 2024 with this Kylie Minogue collab. The song has racked up 15 million streams and is nominated for The Crossover Song of 2024 at the People’s Choice Country Awards. 

5. Billie Eilish – LUNCH

Billie’s second song on the list is the lead single off her album Hit Me Hard and Soft. The lyrics leave little to the imagination with Billie singing “I could eat that girl for lunch, Yeah, she dances on my tongue, Tastes like she might be the one.” It reached no.2 in the UK and no.5 in Australia and the US. 

4. The Blessed Madonna & Kylie Minogue – Edge Of Saturday Night

Although Kylie is beloved by the queer community, this song doesn’t appear on this list because of her. American bisexual DJ The Blessed Madonna collaborated with our pop princess on this track. The song charted ok across Europe but is certainly beloved by both their fans and the inclusion on Kylie’s album Tension II doesn’t hurt!

3. Billie Eilish – BIRDS OF A FEATHER

The singer properly came out in late 2023 saying she didn’t realise fans didn’t know saying “Wasn’t it obvious?” Birds of a Feather was her biggest hit of 2024 with it going no.1 in Australia and no.2 in the US and UK. She performed it at the Closing Ceremony of the Olympics and it is nominated for Best Song and Record at the Grammy Awards. 

2. Kesha – JOYRIDE

The bisexual pop star gave the gays exactly what they wanted this year: hyperpop-dance-banger-accordian realness. It barely charted reaching no.88 in the UK but has been streamed almost 80 million times—a true cult classic. 

1. Chappell Roan – Good Luck, Babe!

2024 was a huge year for out lesbian singer Chappell Roan. Although her debut studio album The Rise and Fall of a Midwest Princess came out in 2023, this stand-alone single made waves this year. It reached no.2 in the UK and no.4 in Australia and the US, and is nominated for Song and Record of the Year at the upcoming Grammy Awards.

You can join the Popchops group and help influence their charts by joining facebook.com/PopchopsHQ

Read next:

‘Wasn’t it obvious?’: Billie Eilish on her low-key coming out

Chappell Roan debuts lesbian country song on SNL

Orville Peck is GQ Australia’s inaugural International Musician of the Year

For the latest LGBTIQA+ Sister Girl and Brother Boy news, entertainment, community stories in Australia, visit qnews.com.au. Check out our latest magazines or find us on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.

[doyoulikethissong-poll]

Gnarls Barkley - Crazy 2006

"Crazy" is the debut single of American soul duo Gnarls Barkley, taken from their 2006 debut album, St. Elsewhere. It became the first single to top the UK Singles Chart on download sales alone. The song remained at the top of the British charts for nine weeks, the longest number-one spell for more than ten years. The band and their record company then decided to remove the single from music stores in the country (while keeping the download available) so people would "remember the song fondly and not get sick of it". "Crazy" dropped to number five, before disappearing completely from the chart, as under chart rules a physically deleted single could not remain on the chart longer than two weeks after deletion date. Thus, "Crazy" made history at both ends of its chart run. It marked the most rapid exit from the British chart ever for a former number one, and number five was the highest position at which a single has ever spent its final week on the chart at that point.

In spite of this deletion, the song was the best-selling single of 2006 in the UK. In December 2006, it was nominated for the United Kingdom's Record of the Year but lost to "Patience" by Take That. "Crazy" won a Grammy Award for Best Urban/Alternative Performance in 2007 and was also nominated for Record of the Year, and it won a 2006 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Song. The music video was nominated for three 2006 MTV Video Music Awards: Best Group Video, Best Direction, and Best Editing, and won the latter two. It was also nominated for a 2006 MTV Europe Music Award for Best Video. "Crazy" was named the best song of 2006 by Rolling Stone and by The Village Voice's annual Pazz & Jop critics poll. "Crazy" was performed at the 2006 MTV Movie Awards, with Danger Mouse and Green dressed as various Star Wars characters.

The single entered multiple other single charts throughout Europe, including the German, the Swedish, the Austrian and the Irish Singles Charts, and the Dutch Top 40, resulting in a number one position on the European Hot 100 Singles. "Crazy" also performed strongly outside Europe, with top-five positions on the New Zealand and Australian Single Charts, and was also certified gold in both countries. In the US, the song "Crazy" spent seven consecutive weeks in the number-two spot on the Billboard Hot 100.

Musically, "Crazy" was inspired by film scores of Spaghetti Westerns, in particular by the works of Ennio Morricone, and the song "Last Men Standing" by Gian Piero Reverberi and Gian Franco Reverberi from the 1968 Spaghetti Western Django, Prepare a Coffin, an unofficial prequel to Django. "Crazy" samples the song, and also utilizes parts of the main melody and chord structure. Because of this, the Reverberis are credited as songwriters along with CeeLo Green and Danger Mouse. "Crazy" was used in several films and TV shows including Kick-Ass, I Think I Love My Wife, Religulous, The Big Short, Cold Case, How to Rock, Grey's Anatomy, Medium, Boyhood, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

"Crazy" received a total of 86,8% yes votes!

[mthguy]

Ann-Margret Olsson (born April 28, 1941), credited as Ann-Margret, is a Swedish-American actress and singer. She has won five Golden Globe Awards and been nominated for two Academy Awards, two Grammy Awards, a Screen Actors Guild Award, and six Emmy Awards, winning in 2010 for a guest role in Law & Order: Special Victims Unit.

Ann-Margret’s performance as the all-American teenager Kim in Bye Bye Birdie (1963) made her a major star. Its premiere at Radio City Music Hall, 16 years after her first visit to the famed theater, was the highest first-week grossing film to date at the Music Hall. Life magazine put her on the cover for the second time and announced that the "torrid dancing almost replaces the central heating in the theater." Her performance earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.

[omarera]

What are those G awards on top of the piano in OMR Beauty office? Something he won when he was in FO&O?

According to Swedish Wikipedia FO&O won following awards:

2014 Swedish Grammis Awards, the band was awarded Spotify's Innovator of the Year award.

2014 Rockbjörnen, the band was awarded in the categories "Fans of the Year", "Breakthrough of the Year" and "Live Group of the Year”

2015 Rockbjörnen, they won "Concert of the Year", "Live Group of the Year", and "Fans of the Year".

2016 Rockbjörnen, they won "Live group of the year".

2014, 2015 and 2016 they won the "Best Swedish Act" award at MTV EMA. (2016 they beat Zara Larsson. )

2015 they also won Best Swedish Act" award at the Kids Choice Awards

Wow that’s an impressive list! ✨ I hadn’t realized this. FO&O were big!!

[eurovision-revisited]

Eurovision 2004 - Number 40 - Itchycoo - "Super Mega Nova"

Fresh from Gothenburg's Academy of Music and Drama, three successful singles in 2003, and a break-through in Germany are Itchycoo. They are singer Mia Bergström and guitarist Tobias Gustavsson. They formed Itchycoo after failing to find success with previous bands and, having known each other from Gothenburg's Academy, try to make a go of it as a duo.

Success happened and the next logical success for a pop band in Sweden having a breakthrough year is obviously Melfest. Super Mega Nova is tale of seeking success at any cost, up to and including naked bike riding. For a newish band looking to strike it big, it's uncertain how much of this is autobiographical. At least in the final verse, the realisation dawns that sacrificing your soul for stardom has some drawbacks. The driving pop of the song is scaled back as regret takes hold.

That uncertainty as to whether this new band really would do these things adds an edgy element. It raises a question as to how self-centred this band might be, how much do they really want to be the main characters of Melfest itself. The track is fun, well produced, and is the quintessential pop-rock that normally gets lapped up at Melfest. Yet Super Mega Nova could only take Itchycoo to seventh place of eight songs in Heat 3, a significant number of votes away from even making it to second chance final.

This was their only time at Melfest or indeed any national final. The future lay largely in Germany having made a splash at the 2003 SW3 New Pop Festival beating Daniel Bedingfield and Skin to the newcomers award. Alas their German success didn't last long, they split up in 2005. Tobias went on to join other rock bands, but his main achievement was winning a Swedish Grammy award in 2009 for co-writing Swedish number one hit Jennie Let Me Love You.

[annamariemir4ge]

KUUMAA's Emma Gaala 2023 Speech TRANSLATED

Last February, KUUMAA won 'Vuoden Yhtye (Band of the Year)' award in the Emma Gaala 2023 (Finland's equivalent of the Grammys). Here is their speech translated in English.

Johannes: Wow! The band of the year. We've been doing seven years of music, so maybe you can say that patience is rewarded. Thank you Emma, the jury, and congratulations, lovely candidates. You guys are awesome. We want to thank the Universal (their record label), Meri Timgren, Jarkko Ehnqvist, and all the lovely guys out there. Fullsteam (their management), Konsta, Vyborg, Heikki Häkkinen, Mika, Sorola, and everyone else, thank you so much. Sonic geniuses Jesse Vainio, Henkka Niemistö, who have mixed and mastered our songs. Joonas Olsson, thank you so much, Joonas, and thank you for your friendship [...] but we wouldn't be anything without you, Virpi. [You] have been with us since the first demo and is still doing pretty well. Thank you, Virpi, and you are priceless.

Jonttu: We want to dedicate this award to friendship, because our band is based on friendship and that's what we have--a really wonderful one. Then, we want to thank our fans, everyone who goes to our gigs, and everyone who listens to our music, you are irreplaceable. And I am happy to inform you that our second album will be coming out [on] March.

Aarni: Thank you! [in Finnish and Swedish]

[stele3]