September (singer)
September (Petra Marklund) | |
---|---|
September in 2008 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Petra Linnea Paula Marklund |
Born | 12 September 1984 |
Origin | Stockholm, Sweden |
Genres | Pop, eurodance,[1] disco[2] |
Occupations | Singer-songwriter |
Years active | 2003-Hiatus (as September) 2012-present (as Petra Marklund) |
Labels | Catchy Tunes, Family Tree, Hard2Beat (UK), Robbins Entertainment (US), Stockholm Records (debut album) |
Website |
Official website Official Petra Marklund website |
Petra Linnea Paula Marklund (born 12 September 1984), better known by her stage name September, is a Swedish singer-songwriter. When September was younger, she started recording in professional studios around the age of twelve, and when she was in a rock band, she received a record deal. She first came to the music scene with her debut single "La La La (Never Give It Up)" in mid-2003, which was released from her first studio album September (2004). In 2004, she released her single "Satellites", and received many accolades for the single.
September then released her single "Cry for You", which came from her second studio album In Orbit (2005), which "Satellites" was featured on. The song became a huge hit worldwide, charting in countries including Australia, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Japan, Canada and the United States. The song remains her biggest single to date. She then released her studio album Dancing Shoes (2007), which also feature big hits including "Can't Get Over". The album subsequently won a Grammis for Best Dance Album.
Her first ever Swedish recording was the single "Mikrofonkåt" became a huge success in her native Sweden, peaking at one and was certified 8x Platinum in that country. The song was also nominated for a Swedish Grammis award for Song of the Year. With many studio albums recorded, her fourth studio album, Love CPR, is her most successful album, entering straight at number one on the Swedish Albums Chart, being certified 2X Platinum and stayed in the charts for forty-one weeks. Her fifth studio album, Inferno was released on October 17, 2012 and reached number 1 in Sweden, along with the lead single "Händerna Mot Himlen".
Life and career
1984-1999: Early life and career beginnings
Petra Linnea Paula Marklund was born on 12 September 1984 in Stockholm, Sweden.[3] Her mother is Slovenian, who had a previous past of music and even entered in a Slovenian Music Contest, and a Swedish father, who is a professor in Astrophysics.[4] She has a sister who is a fashion designer.[5] When Marklund was a child, her family used to call her the "September child", hence the title of her stage name, because she was born in September.[6]
She started recording music in studios at the age of 12, but never commercially released any material. Then in 1998, Petra was discovered by Swedish producer and songwriter Hans Edler. She then recorded her first album Teen Queen, produced and written by Edler and released in 1999. However, the album was unsuccessful and didn't receive rave reviews.[7] When she was 17, she sang in a rock band and gained a record deal. Before releasing her first single "La La La (Never Give It Up)", she was working in a nightclub in Stockholm, and she said she recalled her song being played on the dancefloor for the very first time being released.[2] She had said that she use to play guitar outside shops so she could get money to "buy lollies".[2]
2003-2006: September and In Orbit
June 2, 2003, at the age of 18, she had released her debut single "La La La (Never Give It Up)". The single was a success in her homeland in Sweden, where it peaked at number 8 for twenty two weeks.[8] The second single that was released was "We Can Do It", which was released on November 3, 2003. The song peaked at number 10, staying in the charts for twelve weeks.[9]
Due to the success of both the singles, the self-titled album September was released on 11 February 2004 in Sweden, then released worldwide later in 2004. The song peaked at number 36 on the charts, becoming a least success, but stayed on the charts for six weeks.[10] As a result, September released her last single "September All Over". The song peaked at number 8, and stayed in the charts for ten weeks.[11]
After a silence for a while, September later signed to her current label CatchyTunes, and she later released her fourth single "Satellites" on 6 July 2005. "Satellites" was Septembers first single from her upcoming second album, and became her most successful single to date in Sweden, peaking at number 4 on the Swedish Single Charts, staying in for twenty nine weeks. It also manage to chart in Finland, peaking at number 18, for one week.[12][13] The song currently stands at number 139 in the Swedish All-time best performing in the Singles Chart being certified as Platinum.[14]
Her second single was "Looking For Love", which had peaked at number 17 on the Swedish Charts, breaking Septembers top ten singles, staying in the charts for thirteen weeks.[15] September later released her third single "Flowers on the Grave", which was released on 1 March 2006. The song was unsuccessful in Sweden, as it did not manage to chart on any important charts. After it did not manage to chart, it was released additionally as a promotional single outside Scandinavia and Europe. After releasing the single, she later released her fourth single "It Doesn't Matter". The song was not meant to release in Sweden, instead in other parts of Europe. It had minor success in Russia and Romania, where it peaked at 121 and 66 respectively. It had success through Poland, where it peaked at number 20.
2007-2009: Cry for You and international breakthrough
September released her fifth single from In Orbit entitled "Cry for You" on 29 November 2006. The song entered at number thirty-eight in Sweden, and peaked at number six, staying in the charts for seventeen weeks. The song was later released worldwide, receiving much attention.[16] The song was certified Gold by International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in Sweden.[17] Worldwide, the song proved to be a success. The song was released in the United States, where her compilation September also got an official release. The song peaked at number seventy-four on the Official Billboard charts, number twenty-nine on the Billboard Pop songs, and number 1 on Billboard Hot Dance Airplay.[18] It peaked at number thirty-three in Canada. She became the first Swedish singer to receive a certification in the United States since Ace Of Base's 1998 hit, Cruel Summer. In total, the song sold over 1.5 million copies worldwide.[19] The song was listed at number five on the Top 100 Club Chart Year-End result, and was the biggest selling-dance song of the year.[20]
The song was also successful in the Oceanic regions, as it peaked at fourteen in Australia and thirty-nine in New Zealand.[21][22] It was later considered as Septembers most
successful single to date, where it was September's only single to chart in worldwide charts.
On 1 September 2007, September competed in the Sopot International Song Festival in Poland, representing Sweden, her rivals were music stars: Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Thierry Amiel, The Cloud Room and Monrose. She finished 3rd in Viewers Choice (Silver Place) and 2nd in Jury Choice (Amber Place).
September released a new single entitled "Can't Get Over" on 20 June 2007 in Sweden and peaked at number five on the charts.[23] The single was followed by the release of Petra's third album in September called Dancing Shoes. The album reached 12 on the Swedish album chart. It only remained on the charts for 4 weeks while her previous two albums remained on the charts for 6 weeks. The second single released from the album is "Until I Die" it entered at five in Sweden, while it later peaked at six in Finland.
On 26 February 2008, Petra released her debut album in the US, Canada and Australia called September. On April 6, 2008 she released her second U.K. single "Cry for You", the single has been remixed for the release and a new video filmed. The song peaked at number five on the UK Singles Chart. September released her 11th single "Because I Love You on November 26, 2008, a week before releasing her third compilation album, "September". "Can't Get Over" was released in the United Kingdom, and peaked at fourteen on the UK Singles Chart.[24] The song resulted as her last charting single in that country.
September performed the new song "Leave It All Behind" at Dance Nation Live stating that it would be the next UK single, however her label Hard2Beat has confirmed that the next UK single will be "Until I Die" instead. During Summer 2009, September took residency in the UK to promote her new album. "Until I Die" was expected to be released at then end of July 2009 but due to lack of radio support, the release was canceled.
The debut album for September in the UK was given a digital only release on 3 August 2009. The album is entitled Cry For You and features new material, material from previous albums and re-worked material.
2010-2011: Love CPR
On 12 November 2010, September released the single "Mikrofonkåt" as a digital download in Sweden only. The song debuted at number one on Swedish Single Charts, making it Septembers most successful single in Sweden alone. The song stayed in the charts for over forty weeks and was certified 8X Platinum, resulting it as her longest spanning single and her most certified single to date.[25][26] Her second single "Resuscitate Me", which was released on 19 November 2010. The song was released in Europe and in Australasian territories, where it charted at number forty-five, staying in the charts for two weeks, becoming Septembers least successful single in Sweden.[27] September released her fourth studio album Love CPR on 11 February 2011 in Sweden. The album peaked at number 1 on Swedish Album Charts, and received double platinum, becoming Septembers only album to be certificated and her highest effort to date.[25] The album was then released in the Oceanic and European regions, her first studio album to do so.[28][29]
For the third single, September released "Me & My Microphone", the English version of Mikrofonkat. September did mention that the single will be released worldwide.[30] However, the song's commercial success was a failure, only peaking at forty-one on the Belgium Singles Chart. September announced that she will be touring for her album, as she had said on her official website. September announced that the third Swedish single is "Party In My Head".[25] The song was eventually released worldwide on May 11, 2012.[31] The song peaked at thirty-two on the Swedish Singles Chart, and released a music video, along with "Me & My Microphone".
2012-present: Inferno
"This is music with a focus on developing the musical and experimental, we have done a lot of strange variants of each melody, which in turn led on to something new. Playful. Pop music I sing that September is done on a basis that is based on more ... rules. Things I've learned about how to work out a cruel verse or melody and also is of course the music more beat-driven than this [...] It is a musical with a different dynamic"
- -September talking about the process of her studio album.[32]
On her website, September announced that she would be recording her first Swedish studio album.[33] The album is set to be released on October 17, 2012.[34] She stated "I am both pleased and a little excited to finally release this album. , it has been absolutely amazing and inspiring to be working with Daniel, Saska and Jocke during this time. This disc has been in my mind for quite a long time so it feels great that it is ready now."[34]
In an interview with Dn.se, she officially confirmed that the next album will be under her birth name Petra Marklund instead of September.[32] She announced that this studio album will have no trace of her signature eurodance style, and stated the album will be "Dark... and personal" and also stated that there is musical traces of pop and Hip-Hop.[32] The cover artwork for the album has also been shot.[32] It was announced by September that the title of the album would be "Inferno", and the lead single of the album "Händerna Mot Himlen" would be released on 14 September 2012, two days after her birthday. The artwork of the single was also released.[35] The song will premiere on radio stations in Sweden on September 14.[36] The music video premiered not long after the release.
Along with the release of "Händerna Mot Himlen", her US record label Robbins Entertainment announced to release "Hands Up" as the last single of the Love CPR album, as a completion of the album.[37] This is currently her last single under her signature name September.
In December, 2013 it was revealed that Marklund would become the new host of Allsång på Skansen on SVT in the summer of 2014.
Image
Musical influences and style
I always do my own fashion, myself. I am designing my own clothes. I design the clothes that I wear and my dances too. That is one thing why I have really different clothes, I also work with a really good stylist, a talented one. I want to have thing that are really different. I like unique, cool and catchy fashion. I create it.
- -September talking about her fashion style.[38]
In an interview, she stated that after the release of Teen Queen, she stated "People think I am stupid just because I have blond hair and and sing dance music."[5] In "The Story of September", she said that her biggest influence and idols were Kylie Minogue, Sophie Ellis-Bextor, Lily Allen, Kanye West and Madonna.[2] As for her music, she resides as a "disco and "dance" musician.[2] Ever since she was little, she use to play the guitar and danced.
September's is mostly known with a distinctive vocal range. She is one of the few dance-pop artists who's voice is considered recognizable.[1] Her music is typically upbeat with a focus on pop music structures and four-to-the-floor beats. Lyrically, her songs tend to stay in the vein of love or heartbreak. Most of the songs are original arrangements; however "Midnight Heartache" from the In Orbit album contains a sample of "Bette Davis Eyes" by Kim Carnes.[1] In an interview with Girl.co.au, she commented on her writing process saying "a lot of my songs are often [break-up songs]."[38]
In 2011, her image had changed which includes avant-garde fashion and her platinum-blonde hair, which was styled in a boy cut for her "Resuscitate Me" video.[1] For her style, she said that she "design the clothes that I wear and my dances too."[38]
Side projects
Petra Marklund provided the vocals for a song by German electronica project Schiller. The track is called "Breathe" and can be found on Schiller's album Sehnsucht.[39] The song charted at number one on the Macedonian Singles Top 20.[40]
On November 16, 2010, September released a cover of Petter's Mikrofonkåt after she performed it on Så mycket bättre. "Kärlekens Tunga" appeared and then charted at number six on Swedish Singles Chart, and thus became her ninth top-ten hit in Sweden overall.[41] In December 24, September released a duet with Petter fom Så mycket bättre and it peaked at number 3 on the Swedish chart. It has been certified as Platinum.[42]
Personal life
She currently lives in London, England, where she has been living since 2009. According to reports, Marklund is engaged.[32]
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result |
---|---|---|---|---|
2005 | Swedish Grammy Awards | Best Club/Dance Album | In Orbit | Won |
2008 | Best Club/Dance Album | Dancing Shoes | Nominated | |
2012 | Song of the Year | Mikrofonkåt | Nominated | |
Baksmälla | Won |
After September's huge international success with "Cry for You", September has been nominated with Biggest Music Export from Sweden 2008.[43] Her song "Satellites" was nominated for International Song of the Year at the NRJ Music Awards in 2006 and in 2007 September was nominated for Best Swedish Act at the MTV Europe Music Awards. Her studio album "In Orbit" was nominated at the Grammis for Best Dance Album in 2008, becoming her first Grammis nomination.
Discography
- Teen Queen (1999)
- September (2004)
- In Orbit (2005)
- Dancing Shoes (2007)
- Love CPR (2011)
- Inferno (2012)
Television appearances
- Så mycket bättre (8 episodes, 23 October-11 December 2010 , 2010) .... Herself
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 "September Profile - Profile of Eurodance Pop Artist September". Dancemusic.about.com. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 The Story of September (Part 1) www.youtube.com.
- ↑ Interview on her Official Polish Site
- ↑ Staff. "Biography". SeptemberMusic.se. Archived from the original on May 16, 2008. Retrieved 2009-05-07.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 Petra Marklund Biography
- ↑ September (Petra Marklund) - Interview www.youtube.com.
- ↑ Scandipop.co.uk - September | Teen Queen Retrieved on September 05, 2012.
- ↑ September - La La La (Never Give It Up). swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-17.
- ↑ September - We Can Do It. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-17.
- ↑ September - September. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-17.
- ↑ September - September All Over. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-17.
- ↑ September - Satellites. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-17.
- ↑ September - Satellites. finnishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-17.
- ↑ September - Satellites. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-17.
- ↑ September - Looking For Love. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-17.
- ↑ September - Cry for You www.swedishcharts.com.
- ↑ "Guld & Platina - År 2007" (in Swedish). IFPI Sweden. 27 August 2007. Retrieved 19 March 2011.
- ↑ http://www.billboard.com/artist/278654/september/chart
- ↑ "Biography | September". Septembermusic.se. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
- ↑ "Top 100 Club Chart - Year End 2007". Dancemusic.about.com. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
- ↑ September - Cry For You. australian-charts.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-17.
- ↑ September - Cry For You. charts.org.nz. Retrieved on 2012-05-17.
- ↑ Steffen Hung. "September - Can't Get Over". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
- ↑ ChartArchive - 't+Get+Over#single September - Can't Get Over(Link redirected to OCC website) Retrieved on September 05, 2012.
- ↑ 25.0 25.1 25.2 September Goes Mega - Platinum! | September. Septembermusic.se. Retrieved on 2012-05-17.
- ↑ Swedish Charts Portal. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-17.
- ↑ September - Resuscitate Me. swedishcharts.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-17.
- ↑ "Love CPR". Amazon.com. Retrieved 8 June 2011.
- ↑ "iTunes - Music - Love CPR by September". Itunes.apple.com. 10 September 2011. Retrieved 29 February 2012.
- ↑ K., Stephanie (2011-4-1). "September "M & MM" and Greg Parys Why Don't We Just F**k". Robbins Entertainment. Retrieved 2011-4-1.
- ↑ "iTunes - Music - Party in My Head (EP) by September". Itunes.apple.com. 11 May 2012. Retrieved 05 September 2012.
- ↑ 32.0 32.1 32.2 32.3 32.4 George Cederskoggeorg.cederskog@dn.se (2012-07-02). "Petra Marklund. Så mycket svartare". DN.SE. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
- ↑ News! New album in Swedish | September www.septembermusic.se.
- ↑ 34.0 34.1 Petra Marklund - Flash & Co. Petra Marklund release new album in October. www.blixten.se.
- ↑ ScandiPop.co.uk Petra Marklund: 'Händerna Mot Himlen' (premiere). Retrieved on 14 September 2012.
- ↑ ScandiPop.co.uk Petra Marklund: 'Händerna Mot Himlen' (review) Retrieved on September 5, 2012.
- ↑ "September". Facebook. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
- ↑ 38.0 38.1 38.2 "September Petra Marklund". Girl.com.au. 2007-09-27. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
- ↑ SeptemberFan - Petra Marklund fansite
- ↑ Schiller and September - Breathe - Music Charts. Acharts.us. Retrieved on 2012-05-17.
- ↑ Steffen Hung. "September - Kärlekens tunga". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
- ↑ Steffen Hung. "Petter & September - Baksmälla". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 2014-01-21.
- ↑ Victoria Ekeberg Management. Victoriaekeberg.com. Retrieved on 2012-05-17.
External links
- September's Official website
- September's Official Polish website
- Cry For You
- English September interview with scandipop
- September's Profil in Czech Language
Review: Daily Music Guide
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