Carola Häggkvist

Infobox musical artist
Name = Carola Häggkvist

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Img_capt = Carola performing in 2006
Background = solo_singer
Birth_name = Carola Maria Häggkvist
Alias =
Born = birth date and age|1966|9|8
Origin =Stockholm, Sweden
Genre = Pop, gospel
Occupation = Singer, songwriter
Years_active = 1983–present
Label = Universal Records
Associated_acts = Andreas Johnson
URL = [http://www.carola.com/ Carola.com]

Carola Maria Häggkvist (born 8 September 1966), better known as simply Carola, is a Swedish singer and occasional songwriter. She has been among Sweden's most popular performers since the early 1980s, and has released albums ranging from pop and disco to hymns and folk music.Eurovision.tv. [http://web.archive.org/web/20060422195739/www.eurovision.tv/english/398.htm Carola will represent Sweden again] . Retrieved on 29 February 2008.] Her debut album, "Främling", sold around one million copies and remains the biggest-selling album in Swedish music history.Carola International. [http://www.carolainternational.com/history/index.html History - Biography] . Retrieved on 29 February 2008.] She has also worked as a songwriter. During her 25-years long career, she has recorded many top-selling albums and singles and is of many referred to as Sweden's most prominent female singer. Some of her biggest hits include "Främling" from 1983, "Tommy tycker om mig" from 1984, "Fångad av en stormvind" from 1991, "All the reasons to live" from 1992, "I believe in love" from 2001, "Genom Allt" from 2005 and "Evighet" from 2006.

Häggkvist has represented Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest on three occasions: in 1983, finishing third; in 1991, winning the contest outright; and in 2006, finishing fifth.

Biography

Early life

Carola Maria Häggkvist was born on 8 September 1966 at Södersjukhuset in Stockholm. She grew up in Norsborg, south of the Swedish capital. At the age of eight, she began to perform at Stockholm's Miniteatern; she also attended Adolf Fredriks' stage school.Åsa Hagenblad (7 September 2006). [http://sydsvenskan.se/nojen/article182409.ece Carola: "Känns som att fylla kvinna"] . "Sydsvenskan". Retrieved on 29 February 2008.] In 1977, Häggkvist won a talent competition and appeared on television for the first time, on "Sveriges magasin", performing "Krokodilbarnets klagan".Gylleneskor.se. [http://gylleneskor.se/artikel/carola-vi-aelskar-dig-heja-sverige Carola vi älskar dig - Heja Sverige!] . Retrieved on 29 February 2008.]

1981–1989: Early career and "Främling"

In 1981, Swedish music promoter Bert Karlsson met Häggkvist after she performed on television series "Hylands hörna", and offered her the chance to take part in "Melodifestivalen", the Swedish selection for the Eurovision Song Contest in 1982. She turned down the offer. Songwriter Lasse Holm offered Häggkvist two of his songs for Melodifestivalen 1983, "Mona Lisa" and "Främling" ("Stranger"). "Främling" was chosen, and with it Häggkvist won the right to represent Sweden at that year's Eurovision Song Contest, in Munich. The song scored eight points, the highest possible mark, from all eleven juries. Häggkvist represented Sweden at Eurovision Song Contest 1983 on 23 April. She finished third in front of 6.1 million Swedish television viewers, 84% of the country's population. This is still a record in Sweden.

"Främling" became the title track to Häggkvist's debut album, which sold over one million copies, making it the biggest selling album in Swedish history.Tara Moshizi (26 February 2008). [http://noje.malmolund.city.se/art/2302/carola_hyllades_av_kndiseliten/ Carola hyllades av kändiseliten] . "Malmö Lund City". Retrieved on 29 February 2008.] After Eurovision, Häggkvist embarked on a tour of European television programmes, promoting "Främling", and performing in it several languages: in English as "Love Isn't Love", in German as "Fremder", and in Dutch as "Je ogen hebben geen geheimen". The album contained hits like "Mickey", "Liv", "Gloria" and "Tokyo". In December 1983, she released her first Christmas album: "Julefrid med Carola". which sold in 200,000 copies. In 1984, Häggkvist release two top-selling pop/rock albums which together sold over 1 million copies. "Tommy tycker om mig" became a huge hit in Sweden, together with "Hunger". She later travelled to Japan and recorded a single in Japanese. In 1985, Bee Gees collaborated with her on the album "Runaway", which was written by the Gibb brothers and produced by Maurice Gibb. The record sold double platinum when released in Sweden the following year. "The Runaway", "Brand New Heart", "Spread your wings" and "Radiate" became massive hits in Scandinavia. In 1987, Häggkvist embarked on a church tour with pianist Per-Erik Hallin. After this followed a career hiatus for the singer.

1990–1991: New image and independence: Eurovision victory

In 1990, she returned to Melodifestivalen, with "Mitt i ett äventyr" ("With you in an adventure"). The song finished second in the festival, failing to earn Häggkvist the right to represent Sweden at Eurovision. Edin-Ådahl won the event.Leif Thorsson. "Melodifestivalen genom tiderna" (1999, second edition 2006). Stockholm: Premium Publishing AB. ISBN 91-89136-29-2.] Her comeback album was released titled "Much More", which went gold. However, Häggkvist and songwriter Stephan Berg had already begun planning another attempt at Eurovision.

In 1991, she returned to Melodifestivalen with "Fångad av en stormvind" ("Captured by a stormwind"). The song won the festival by thirty-two points and became the Swedish entry for the Eurovision Song Contest in Rome. British bookmakers considered Häggkvist second favourite to win the contest. [Terry Wogan. "Eurovision Song Contest 1991", BBC One commentary feed. Originally broadcast on 4 May 1991.] On the night, with one voting jury left to announce their scores, three countries remained in contention to win the contest: Sweden, with 146 points; Israel, with 139; and France, with 134. Neither Israel nor Sweden won any points from the Italian jury, but France won twelve, leaving Sweden and France tied for first place with 146 at the conclusion of the voting. Sweden won the contest after a count-back, having received five ten-point scores during the voting, versus France's two. [Eurovision.tv. [http://www.eurovision.tv/index/main?page=66&event=307#event_info_307 Eurovision Song Contest 1991] . Retrieved on 1 March 2008.] "Fångad av en stormvind" became a huge hit in Europe, and was followed by a compilation album, "Hits", and a Christmas album, "Jul". After her victory she released an international version of "Much More" and went on an enormous promotion tour throughout Europe. Her album spawned several hits, among them "I'll live" and "All the reasons to live".

1992–2004: Albums, tours and musicals: Establishment as a singer

Häggkvist was the first Scandinavian pop artist to perform in China—in front of an estimated 600 million television viewers; she also released an album in China in 1992. After the tenth anniversary of her breakthrough in 1993, she recorded a gospel album, "My Tribute", which was released in sixteen countries, making her gospel artist of the year in the Netherlands in 1994. The alhum contain the hit-single "My Tribute", one of Häggkvists most well-known songs. In 1994, Häggkvist released a rock-themed album, "Personligt" ("Personally"), marking her debut as a songwriter and sold gold. "Så länge jag lever", "Sanna Vänner" and "Guld i dina ögon" became hits and receIved a great amount of radio airplay.

In 1995, Häggkvist made her debut as a musical actress, playing Maria in "The Sound of Music"; Tommy Körberg was the male lead. She played the role in 325 performances and won the prestigious "Guldmasken" ("Golden Mask") award. Three years later, she sang the theme song in the Norwegian musical "Sophie's World" which was released on the album "Songs from Sophie's World". Also in 1998, Häggkvist played the voice of Mirjam, in the Swedish version of "The Prince of Egypt". In 2002, she made a short appearance as Fantine in "Les Misérables" in London and five Scandinavian cities.

In November 1997, Häggkvist released another compilation album, "De bästa av Carola" ("The Best of Carola"), and with it several new singles like "Dreamer". [Carola International. [http://www.carolainternational.com/history/1997.html 1993] and "Just the way you are", which topped the charts for several weeks. Retrieved on 1 March 2008.] Following this came an album of tracks penned by Lina Sandell: "Blott en dag" ("Just One Day").The album received excellent reviews and revealed Carola's passion for hymns. In 1999, another Christmas album was released: "Jul i Betlehem" ("Christmas in Bethlehem"). The album sold 600,000 units throughout Scandinavia, including 350,000 in Sweden.. and became the biggest selling album of 1999. She also co-wrote the ballad "Himlen i min famn" which remains a popular chistmas song, often performed at different chistmas concerts. In the summer of 1999, she toured in the "Rhapsody in Rock".

In 2001, she released "Sov på min arm", an album based on christian hymns, gospel melodies and intimate ballads. It became one of the most sold albums in Scandinavia that year. In 2002, she release the pop/country album "My Show" which received great reviews. The album, which marked Häggkvist's return to the pop scene, contained several hits such as "The Light", "I believe in love", which also topped the Estonian and Brazilian charts, and "A Kiss Goodbye". Even though the album only peaked at number 6 on the Swedish album chart, it sold in 100,000 copies by the end of the year. In the summer, Häggkvist embarked on a huge and luxurious Scandinavien tour.

In 2003, Häggkvist submitted a song, "Autumn Leaf", for Melodifestivalen 2003. Having performed the demo, she was required to perform the song when it qualified for the competition. Häggkvist decided against, and the song was disqualified from the competition. [Sietse Bakker (17 December 2002). [http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/1055 Carola's Autumn Leaf exits] . ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on 18 March 2008.] "Autumn Leaf" appeared on Häggkvist's next album, "Guld, platina & passion", in Swedish as "När löven faller" ("When the leaves fall"). The ballad became an enormous hit. "Guld, platina & passion" topped the Swedish charts for over a year and sold in over 300,000 copies. She also recorded her favorite Elvis Presly songs, "Walk a mile in my shoes" and "If I can dream". The following year, Häggkvist released a religious album, "Credo", which she described as "an expression of my love for God". [Lisa Jannerling (27 July 2005). [http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesliv/article302647.ab Gud fick mig att kasta blomman] . Aftonbladet.se. Retrieved on 18 March 2008.] . The album peaked at spot 2 on the Swedish album chart. This was followed by "Störst av allt", which Dan Backman of "Svenska Dagbladet" wrote featured "spiritually aimed music…revolving around belonging, love, death and eternity". [Dan Backman (13 May 2005). [http://www.svd.se/kulturnoje/musik/artikel_30903.svd Störst av allt] . SvD.se. Retrieved on 18 March 2008.] . "Genom Allt" became a huge radio hit in Sweden and the soul ballad "Allt kommer bli bra mamma", a dedication to her dead mother, became popular within religious events.

2005–present: Return to contest

Having performed as part of the interval act at Melodifestivalen 2005, [ [http://www.st.nu/noje/melodifestivalen.php?action=visa_artikel&id=454291 Martin showade hem segern] . "Sundsvalls Tidning" (13 May 2005). Retrieved on 18 March 2008.] Häggkvist confirmed that she would return to the competition in 2006. She performed "Evighet" ("Eternity"), written by Bobby Ljunggren, Henrik Wikström and , which she described as a "true winning song".The song qualified from the semifinal in Gothenburg on 11 March 2006, [ [http://www.svd.se/kulturnoje/nyheter/artikel_298486.svd Carola och Kjellman till Globen] . SvD.se. Retrieved on 18 March 2008.] and was widely tipped to win the festival outright as the final at the Stockholm Globe Arena approached. [Sietse Bakker (18 March 2006). [http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/5802 Carola will not sing in dress rehearsal] . ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on 18 March 2008.] Despite finishing second with the regional juries to Andreas Johnson, "Evighet" won the competition with 232 points. [Peter Tai Christiansen (18 March 2006). [http://svt.se/svt/jsp/Crosslink.jsp?d=47345&a=559248 Carola härifrån till evigheten - och Aten] . SVT.se. Retrieved on 18 March 2008.] . Prior to the contest, Carola visited 12 countries where she promoted her song. "Invincible" received a large amount of air play on the radios in these countries. The song qualified from the semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens, in English as "Invincible". Although favourite to win the contest, Häggkvist finished fifth out of twenty-four with 170 points, Sweden's best result since their latest victory in 1999. [BBC News (21 May 2006). [http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/4998186.stm Finnish monsters rock Eurovision] . Retrieved on 19 March 2008.]

Following Melodifestivalen, Häggkvist released a pop album, "Från nu till evighet" ("From Now to Eternity"). Lennart Wrigholm reviewed the album for "Musiklandet"; he criticised the amount of new material on the album: "Has this old lady really got such a workload that she cannot put more than ten new tracks on her album?" and wrote that the inclusion of the English version of "Evighet" as a bonus track was "an insult to the potential buyer". [Lennart Wrigholm (11 June 2006). [http://www.musiklandet.se/ml/index.nsf/1?Open&a=sk&id=799932087BDA3EEDC125717D00468CBD Från Nu Till Evighet: Mycket Väsen För Lite Ull.....] . Retrieved on 19 March 2008.] On the other hand, "Expressen"'s Anders Nunstedt wrote that on "Jag ger allt" ("I Give it All") "the title does not lie" and that "Vem kan älska mig" ("Who can Love Me") features a "brilliant refrain". [Anders Nunstedt (27 April 2006). [http://www.expressen.se/1.347717 Anders Nunstedt betygsätter "Från nu till evighet" - låt för låt] . Expressen.se. Retrieved on 19 March 2008.] The album topped the Swedish sales chart, and sold in approximately 100,000 copies by the end of the year. "Stanna eller gå", a Latino inspired pop song, became a radio hit during the summer. Following the album's release, Häggkvist toured Sweden and received outstanding reviews. [Alexander Borodin (13 June 2006). [http://www.gylleneskor.se/artikel/det-haer-aer-carolas-stora-sommarturne Det här är Carolas stora sommarturné] . Gylleneskor.se. Retrieved on 19 March 2008.] During the autumn, Häggkvist had problems with her voice but nonetheless recorded a duet with "Andrea Boccelli" titled "Because we believe".

In late 2007, Häggkvist released another Christmas album, "I denna natt blir världen ny" ("There is a New World This Night"), a sequel to "Jul i Betlehem". The album featured songs in Swedish and English, and was recorded in Jerusalem in June 2007. [Leif Råberg (12 November 2007). [http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/9607 Carola releases new Christmas album] . ESCtoday.com. Retrieved on 19 March 2008.] Stefan Malmqvist of "Svenska Dagbladet" wrote that, like in previous Christmas albums, Häggkvist is "a saccharine version of herself" when singing Christmas carols. [Stefan Malmqvist (14 November 2007). [http://www.svd.se/kulturnoje/musik/artikel_593563.svd I denna natt blev världen ny – Jul i Betlehem II] . SvD.se. Retrieved on 19 March 2008.] The album was reported to have sold in 90,000 copies. Included on the album was the gospel song "Go and tell it on the mountain". After the release she toured Scandinavia.

Carola entered Melodifestivalen 2008 as part of the duo "Johnson & Häggkvist" with Andreas Johnson. Their first single was called "Lucky Star" which became popular on the radio. In the melodifestival in February, they sang "One Love", written by Carola, Johnson and Peter Kvint. [ESCtoday.com (15 January 2008). [http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/10130 Carola & Andreas unite] . Retrieved on 16 January 2008.] They were the early favourites to win the whole show, taking part in the second qualifier. They qualified for the Second Chance round, missing out on an automatic final spot. Though widely tipped to qualify for the final after all, they didn't even proceed from the first voting round in the Second Chance programme. [ [http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/10546 Eurovision Song Contest Serbia 2008 | News - Media reactions in Sweden day after 2nd semi ] ]

Personal life and media attention

Her status as one of the most popular national celebrities of her country made her more or less constantly followed by the tabloid press. She has often talked about her Christian faith and much of the focus has been around her membership in the church "Livets Ord". Some people have criticized her for objecting to giving homosexuals more rights in Sweden, something she has denied saying.

She has been a member of the evangelical congregation Livets Ord. She was married to Runar Søgaard, a Norwegian Christian preacher, with whom she has a son, Amadeus, which means "Loves God". Her parents both passed away in 2004.

Homosexuality controversy

In an interview in 2002 for the Swedish gay magazine "QX", she alienated many gay and some heterosexual fans by alleging that she knows homosexual persons who have become heterosexual through prayers. She also said that homosexuality would always remain "unnatural" to her. [ [http://www.qx.se/info/senaste_numret.php?id=20 QX.se - Info ] ]

Four years later, her comment caught up with her when she participated in the Swedish national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest in March 2006. During a press conference a journalist tried to ask her if she still had the same opinion. According to the Swedish newspaper Expressen, Carola didn't answer the question because her advisors told her to keep quiet because answering questions about her stance on homosexuality could cost her the trip to Athens and could also cause a lot of embarrassment and negative media attention. [ [http://www.gaylinkcontent.com/storydetail.cfm?storyid=2514 eurosong,Homophobic,Homophobia,music,sweden - GayLinkContent.com - Homophobic Carola to Eurosong in Athens - Sweden - Stockholm ] ]

Rickard Engfors, who is gay and Carola's co-operating partner during the Melodifestivalen and Eurovision Song Contest 2006, said the following in the Swedish newspaper Expressen on March 15, 2006:

During an exclusive interview for one of the Eurovision-related websites before the 2006 contest, Carola was also questioned about this, and stated that she "would love for every gay person to feel that she loves them" and that she does not think that "being gay is a sickness". She went on to criticize the tabloids for misinterpreting her original words and making an issue out of it. Later in the interview, she also commented on one of her supporting dancers being gay and his boyfriend being "great". [ [http://www.esctoday.com/news/read/6096 Eurovision Song Contest Serbia 2008 | News - Exclusive: Carola (Sweden) speaks out! ] ]

Discography

References

External links

* [http://www.carola.com/ Official site]

Persondata
NAME = Haggkvist, Carola
ALTERNATIVE NAMES = Carola; Sørgaard, Carola
SHORT DESCRIPTION = Swedish singer, winner of the 1991 Eurovision Song Contest
DATE OF BIRTH = 8 September 1966
PLACE OF BIRTH = Stockholm, Sweden
DATE OF DEATH =
PLACE OF DEATH =