Carola Häggkvist
Carola Häggkvist (born in Stockholm on September 8, 1966) is a Swedish singer and for a while a member of the Livets Ord congregation.
Career
She appeared on television for the first time after winning a talent show in 1977. A couple of years later promotor Bert Karlsson discovered her and she was offered to take part in Melodifestivalen 1982, the national preselection for the Eurovision Song Contest, but she turned down the offer. In 1983 she recorded the album Stand by with Carola Häggkvist with the Swedish metal band Standby. However, in 1983, she decided to participate in Melodifestivalen with Främling, winning the contest with full points from all juries. This was her big breakthrough. A few months later she represented Sweden in Eurovision in Munich, and 6.1 million Swedish television viewers, 84 % of the population, followed the competition - a record that still has not been broken. She once again performed the song at the 50th anniversary Eurovision concert in Copenhagen, Denmark.
Her debut Främling sold one million copies, a Swedish sales record that will probably never be broken. Främling was also recorded in English, German and Dutch, after having ended up in third place at the Eurovision Song Contest. During 1983 and 1984 Carola released three albums with Mariann, the record company of Bert Karlsson, and they all sold very well.
In 1985 Carola started to collaborate with the Bee Gees. She recorded an album, Runaway, with songs written by Maurice and Robin Gibb and produced by Maurice. The record sold double platinum when released in Sweden the following year. After this album Carola left the pop scene for a while, embarking on a church tour together with Per-Erik Hallin, subsequently releasing the live album Carola & Per-Erik Hallin i Rättviks kyrka.
In Melodifestivalen 1990, Carola made a surprising comeback with Mitt i ett äventyr and ended up in second place. She released a new album, Much more. The following year she went for revenge, winning Melodifestivalen with Fångad av en stormvind. In the Eurovision Song Contest 1991 in Rome she practically tied with Amina from France. The rules at this point stated that if two or more entries ended up in a tie, they were to be separated by counting which of the entries had been awarded most amounts of twelves, but since both countries had been awarded the same amounts of twelves, the entries were separated by counting awarded 10's. This were to Swedens favour and an extatic Carola, cheered on by her team, did a short victory dance on the table, before entering the stage a second time. Later that year she recorded a Christmas album in Swedish – Jul.
Carola was the first Scandinavian pop artist to go to China, where she also released an album in 1992. After her tenth anniversary as an artist in 1993 she changed her focus and recorded a gospel album, My tribute, which was released in Scandinavia and 12 other countries. It also made her Gospel Artist of the Year in the Netherlands 1994. She continued to release albums. 1994's Personligt indicated a course change towards a rock sound. This was the first album with songs written by Carola herself.
In 1995 Carola made her debut as a musical actress, with the role of Maria in The Sound of Music, playing against Tommy Körberg. 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. In 2002 she returned to the stage, making a short appearance as Fantine in Les Misérables in London.
In 1998 she left the pop mainstream road again, recording an album with psalms written by Lina Sandell, Blott en dag, and in 2001 an album with children's songs Sov på min arm. Later in 2001 she returned to pop with the album My show.
In 2003, Carola celebrated her 20-year anniversary as a recording artist. She has released a compilation, Guld, platina & passion – det bästa med Carola and a boxed set of four CD:s (Guld, platina & passion – det mesta med Carola) and topped the Swedish charts with her song När löven faller, which was originally written for Melodifestivalen 2003 but got disqualified.
In 2003, Carola released Christmas album on 2 CD's "Jul I Betlehem- Jubileumsutgåvan".
Christmas album is followed by religious album "Credo" 2004 and pop-religious album "Störst av allt" 2005.
All in all, Carola has released 15 original albums and is one of the most well known artists in Sweden, where most people can sing the chorus of Främling.
In November 2005, Carola confirmed that she would participate in Melodifestivalen again, after a fifteen year absence. In the Gothenburg semi-final, held on March 11th 2006, she performed "Invincible", written by Thomas G:son, Bobby Ljunggren and Henrik Wikström. She performed the song in swedish, with the title "Evighet", and qualified to the final in first place. Her performance involved wind machines, dancers with flags and fireworks. Carola also won in the final round and will represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest in Athens.
Private life and media attention
Her status as a national celebrity has made her more or less constantly followed by the tabloid press. She has often talked about her Christian faith, and she has been critizised for making critical remarks on the acceptance of homosexuality in Sweden. She alienated many homosexual fans, as well as heterosexual, by alleging that homosexuality can be cured through prayer. She has been a member of the controversial and evangelical ex-prosperity-gospel congregation Livets Ord. She was married to Runar Søgaard, a controversial Norwegian Christian preacher, with whom she has a son, Amadeus, named after Mozart. After the divorce she flaunted her single status by wearing a top saying LEDIG – "Available" in Swedish – on national television. Her conservative Christian beliefs, coupled with her reputation as something of a diva, tend to bemuse, and for many even irritate, the generally secular and down-to-earth Swedes.
In the summer of 2005, she made headlines after ripping up a plant with its roots and throwing it at the audience during a televised appearance at Allsång på Skansen.
See also
External links
- Carola - Official site
- Carola International - Site in English for the international fans