Alcazar (band)
| Alcazar | |
|---|---|
 Alcazar 2008 at the Rix FM Festival in Norrköping |
|
| General information | |
| Genre (s) | Dance , pop |
| founding | 1999 |
| resolution | 2018 |
| Website | http://www.alcazarofficial.com/ |
| Last occupation | |
| Andreas Lundstedt | |
| Tess Merkel | |
| Lina Hedlund | |
| former members | |
| Annika Kjærgaard | |
| Magnus Carlsson | |
Alcazar was a Swedish pop group .
The band was initiated in 1999 by the Swedish artist Alexander Bard , who became famous with Army of Lovers and Vacuum . The three other members were Andreas Lundstedt , Tess Merkel and Annikafiore Kjaergaard (née Johansson).
Band history
With their first single Shine On they landed a hit in their homeland. The trio made their European breakthrough with their third single Crying at the Discoteque in the summer of 2001, which is largely based on the hit Spacer by Sheila B. Devotion from 1979.
Both songs can be found on the debut album Casino . Later pressings of the CD also contain a cover version of the Human League classic Don't You Want Me , which was released as a single in spring 2002.
In December 2002, Magnus Carlsson joined the band. Together with him, the second album Alcazarized was created , which was released in Sweden in 2003 and in the rest of Europe in an international version in summer 2004.
In autumn 2004, they reached with their single This Is the World We Live In the German single charts, a mashup , the samples of number-one hits Upside Down by Diana Ross in 1980 and the refrain of Genesis -Hits Land of Confusion from the year 1986 mixed.
In 2003 and 2005 Alcazar took part in the Swedish preliminary decision for the Eurovision Song Contest . They took second place with Not a Sinner and Nor a Saint (2003) and third place with Alcastar (2005).
In 2006, the band member took Andreas Lundstedt as part of the casted group Six4one for Switzerland at Euro Vision Song Contest in part. In 2007 he sang in the Swedish preliminary round for the Eurovision Song Contest, but failed with his title Move in the first preliminary round. Band member Magnus Carlsson started in the third preliminary round of the Melodifestivalen 2007 on February 17, 2007 with his title Live Forever and also failed.
In February 2008 the group formed anew, from the original line-up only Andreas Lundstedt and Tess Merkel were there as group members. The Swedish singer Lina Hedlund was new . The single Keep On Rockin was released on February 4, 2008 exclusively in Sweden.
On February 7th, 2009 Alcazar took part in a new formation in the first preliminary round of the Melodifestivalen , the Swedish preliminary round for the Eurovision Song Contest, and directly reached the final with the title Stay the Night . At Melodifestivalen 2010, her title Headlines was eliminated in the Andra Chansen round against Jessica Andersson.
In June 2011 it was announced on the website that the band will take a break from August 2011 and no further appearances are planned.
In February 2013 Alcazar appeared in the framework program of the semi-finals of the Melodifestivalen on Swedish television.
In March 2014 Alcazar took part in the Melodifestivalen and reached 3rd place in the final with Blame it on the Disco . At the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 , they were allowed to read the Swedish points award in the final.
In 2018 they announced their breakup after a farewell tour.
Discography
Studio albums
| year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 DE
|
 AT
|
 CH
|
 UK
|
 SE
|
|||
| 2000 | Casino |
DE34 (5 weeks) DE |
- | - | - |
SE40 (6 weeks) SE |
First published: October 18, 2000
|
| 2003 | Alcazarized |
DE46 (3 weeks) DE |
- |
CH43 (4 weeks) CH |
- |
SE2 (15 weeks) SE |
First published: May 8, 2003
|
| 2009 | Disco Defenders | - | - | - | - |
SE4 (18 weeks) SE |
First published: March 6, 2009
|
Web links
- Alcazar on MusicBrainz (English)