Robyn

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Robyn : biography

12 June 1979 –

In November 2002, Robyn swapped labels at BMG (from RCA to Jive Records) and released the album Don’t Stop the Music in Sweden. Singles "Keep This Fire Burning" and "Don’t Stop the Music" graced playlists in Scandinavia and mainland Europe. The title track (a subsequent single) was later covered by Swedish girl group Play, and the lead single, "Keep This Fire Burning," was covered by British soul singer Beverley Knight. In May 2004, the album Robyn’s Best was released in America. It is essentially a condensed version of her debut album; containing no material from her later releases. In 2006, following her departure from BMG, Det Bästa Med Robyn (The Best of Robyn) was released in Sweden. It included material from her first three albums. Notable omissions from this release were the singles "Don’t Stop the Music" and "Keep This Fire Burning".

2005–08: Konichiwa Records and Robyn

The decade-long relationship between Robyn and her label ceased in 2004. When they reacted negatively to "Who’s That Girl?", which showcased a new electro-pop sound, Robyn decided to release music on her own. In early 2005, she 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. 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 the single "Be Mine!" in March 2005. A month later, her fourth studio album, Robyn, became her first number-one album upon its release in Sweden. Sampling influences from electronica, rap, R&B and new age, Robyn received rave reviews, and gained the singer 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. She gained recognition for co-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, which proved immensely popular in Sweden. Robyn featured on the Basement Jaxx track "Hey U", taken from their album Crazy Itch Radio, released in 2006. The year also marked the release of Christian Falk’s second album, People Say, on which Robyn contributed the tracks "Dream On" and "C.C.C". 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 in April 2007, and contains two new tracks—"With Every Heartbeat" (a collaboration with Kleerup) and "Cobrastyle" (a cover of a 2006 single by Swedish rockers Teddybears)—alongside slightly altered versions of two of the original songs. It was removed from British stores to make way for an August re-release.

The second single from the UK release was "With Every Heartbeat", released in late July and reached number one on the UK singles chart. Robyn was featured on Jo Whiley’s BBC Radio 1 showcase show, Live Lounge, a reflection of her growing popularity in Britain. Follow-up singles "Handle Me", "Be Mine!", "Who’s That Girl?" and "Dream On" were top thirty hits. In Australia, where Robyn reached the top ten of the iTunes Store’s album chart, "With Every Heartbeat" receiving substantial attention on radio and video networks in Australia. Also in 2007, Robyn contributed vocals to Fleshquartet’s single "This One’s for You", from their album Voices of Eden. Konichiwa Records signed an international licensing deal with Universal Music Group to launch and distribute Robyn’s music globally. Releases in the UK are issued under the Island Records label. The Rakamonie EP was released in January 2008 under Cherrytree Records, a subsidiary of Interscope, and the US edition of Robyn was released in April 2008. "With Every Heartbeat", "Handle Me" and "Cobrastyle" were top ten club hits, and the former received airplay at US pop and dance radio stations. Robyn was visible in the US market in 2007 when Britney Spears released the single "Piece of Me", which contains Robyn’s backing vocals. She was also featured on the Fyre Department remix of "Sexual Eruption" by rapper Snoop Dogg. Robyn completed a short US tour to promote Robyn, and was the supporting act for Madonna’s Sticky & Sweet Tour at select European dates in 2008. Retrieved 19 June 2008 from madonna.com news.news