Robyn

Robyn
Robyn at the 2011 P3 Guld
Background information
Birth name	Robin Miriam Carlsson
Born	(1979-06-12) 12 June 1979[1] Stockholm, Sweden
Genres	Electropop dance-pop Europop R&B[2]
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter, record producer
Instruments	Vocals, piano, keyboards
Years active	1989–present
Labels	BMG, RCA, Jive, Konichiwa, Interscope
Associated acts	The Knife, Röyksopp, Christian Falk, Snoop Dogg, Kleerup, I Blame Coco, Teddybears STHLM, Neneh Cherry
Website	www.robyn.com

Robin Miriam Carlsson^[3] (born 12 June 1979), known as Robyn, is a Swedish soprano vocalist.^[4] Robyn became known in 1997 for the worldwide dance-pop hit "Do You Know (What It Takes)" from her debut album, Robyn Is Here. The popularity of her UK number-one "With Every Heartbeat" and her 2005 album, Robyn, brought her international success. Australian Dance Albums Chart [60], Belgian Albums Chart [61], Canadian Albums Chart [62], European Top 100 Albums [46], Irish Albums Chart [63], Swiss Albums Chart [64], UK Albums Chart [43], US Billboard 200 [50], In June 2010 Robyn released the first album of a trilogy, Body Talk Pt. 1 (her first album since Robyn), which reached number one. Its lead single, "Dancing on My Own", was released several weeks before the album and received a Best Dance Recording nomination for a 2010 Grammy Award. Body Talk Pt. 2 was released on 6 September and debuted at number one on the Swedish chart.^[5] The trilogy's final album, Body Talk, was released on 22 November with "Indestructible" its lead single; "Call Your Girlfriend" was the album's second single.^[6] In May 2015 Robyn announced a new music project, La Bagatelle Magique.^[7]

Career

2005–08: Konichiwa Records and Robyn

The decade-long relationship between Robyn and Jive Records ended in 2004. When the label reacted negatively to "Who's That Girl?"'s electropop sound, she decided to release music on her own. In early 2005 the singer announced that she would found her own record label, Konichiwa Records.^[8]

On tour in 2003

The second single from the UK release, "With Every Heartbeat", was released in late July 2007 and reached number one on the UK singles chart. Robyn appeared on Jo Whiley's BBC Radio 1 show, Live Lounge, and her follow-up singles "Handle Me", "Be Mine!", "Who's That Girl?" and "Dream On" were top 30 hits. In Australia, Robyn reached the top 10 of the iTunes Store album chart. Robyn completed a short US tour to promote Robyn, and supported Madonna's Sticky & Sweet Tour at some European dates in 2008.^[9]

2009–present: Body Talk, Do It Again and Love Is Free

In Karlskrona, Sweden, in 2005

In January 2009, Robyn won a Swedish Grammis Award for Best Live Act 2008.^[10] She released the first album of the Body Talk trilogy, Body Talk Pt. 1, on 14 June 2010 in the Nordic countries on EMI and on 15 June in the US on Interscope Records.^[11][12] The album was preceded by the single "Dancing on My Own" on 1 June 2010. It was Robyn's first number-one hit in Sweden and her fourth top-ten hit in the UK and the US, peaking at number eight on the UK Singles Chart and number three on Billboard's Hot Dance Club Songs chart. In July 2010 she sang a minimalist, electro cover version of Alicia Keys' "Try Sleeping with a Broken Heart" in a live performance on iheartradio.^[13] Robyn made the All Hearts Tour in July–August 2010 with American singer Kelis to promote the Body Talk albums,^[14] and a four-date UK tour at the end of October.^[15]

At the 2008 Nobel Peace Prize concert (photo: Harry Wad)

On 6 September 2010, Body Talk Pt. 2 was released in the UK.^[15] It was preceded by the lead single, a dance version of "Hang with Me" from Body Talk Pt. 1, on 5 September.^[16] The album includes a duet with American rapper Snoop Dogg, "U Should Know Better".^[17] Robyn performed "Dancing on My Own" with deadmau5 at the 2010 MTV Video Music Awards on 12 September.^[18] In a BBC Newsbeat interview, Robyn explained her decision to release three albums in one year: "It was just something I felt like I needed to do. I just never thought about selling records or not, making this decision. I just did it for myself. It's a way of, for me, to stay inspired and to be able to do the things I like to do".^[19] She said she would not do it again: "When you do 16 or 13 songs in one go, you kind of empty yourself, and it takes a while to fill back up and have new things to talk about, so I think it's good for everyone".^[19]

Robyn announced the release of the single, "Indestructible", on 13 October 2010;^[20] an acoustic version appeared on Body Talk Pt. 2. The song was released on 17 November in Scandinavia and 22 November in the UK.^[21] Co-written by Klas Åhlund, it was described as a "pulsating full power version [that] takes every ounce of that emotion and wraps it up in another exceptional disco-pop record worthy of any dance-floor or passion-laden sing-a-long."^[20] Robyn planned to collaborate with Swedish producer Max Martin on the song, "Time Machine";^[22] Martin produced Robyn's US hits "Do You Know (What It Takes)" and "Show Me Love", both of which peaked in the top 10 of the Billboard 100 in 1997.^[23] Combined, the Body Talk albums have sold 91,000 copies in the US.^[24]

At the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize concert (photo: Harry Wad)

In 2010 Robyn guest-starred on "War at the Roses", an episode of Gossip Girl, in which she performed the acoustic version of "Hang With Me". "Dancing on My Own" was also featured at the end of the episode. In November, she said she would return to the studio in January 2011 with enough material to release a new album later that year.^[25] Robyn supported Coldplay on their 2012 tour as the opening act in Dallas, Houston, Tampa, Miami, Atlanta, Charlotte, Philadelphia and Washington, D.C.<ref name"Coldplay 2012 opening acts North America>Sepinwall, Alan (24 February 2012). "Robyn among acts to open for Coldplay on North American tour". Hitfix.com. Retrieved 28 May 2014. </ref> In mid-2013, Robyn appeared with Paul Rudd and Sean Combs in "Go Kindergarten" on the Lonely Island's The Wack Album.^[26]

On 21 and 22 June 2013, Robyn posted two videos of the Snoop Dogg collaboration: "U Should Know Better"^[27] and "Behind The Scenes",^[28] and a game, Mixory.^[29] That year she received the Stockholm KTH Royal Institute of Technology Great Prize for "artistic contributions and embrace of technology", a prize of 1.2 million Swedish kronor (£117,197), which she planned to donate to a cause of her choice.^[30]

At the Roskilde Festival

In 2014 Robyn announced the Do It Again Tour with Röyksopp and that she would record with the band for a collaborative mini-album, Do It Again. The album was planned for release on 26 May through Don Triumph, Wall of Sound and Cooking Vinyl.^[31] Robyn sings on Neneh Cherry's "Out of the Black" from her album, Blank Project.^[32]

Personal life

At the 2012 Parklife Festival in Perth

Robyn started dating Olof Inger in 2003, and they were engaged until 2011.^[33] She has since become engaged to videographer Max Vitali, referring to him in a 2013 interview with Collection of Style magazine as her fiancé: "We became friends when we made the video for 'Be Mine', and now we work together a lot. He made all the videos for the last album [Body Talk]."^[34] Robyn has two younger siblings, Jac and Effie.

Discography

• Robyn Is Here (1995)
• My Truth (1999)
• Don't Stop the Music (2002)
• Robyn (2005)
• Body Talk Pt. 1 (2010)
• Body Talk Pt. 2 (2010)
• Body Talk Pt. 3 (2010)
• Body Talk (2010)
• Do It Again (with Röyksopp) (2014)
• Love Is Free (as Robyn & La Bagatelle Magique) (2015)

Awards and nominations

See also

• Swedish pop music

References

External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Robyn.

• Official website
• Robyn discography at Discogs
• Robyn Carlsson at the Internet Movie Database