Carola Häggkvist
Carola Maria Häggkvist (born September 8, 1966 in Hägersten near Stockholm ), known by the stage name Carola, is a Swedish pop singer and songwriter who is one of the most successful singers in her home country with nine number one albums. It is also very popular in Norway . She became known internationally through three participations in the Eurovision Song Contest . With Fångad av en stormvind she won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1991 .
Career
Carola started singing as a child. She took singing lessons and successfully participated in many youth competitions. Subsequently, she was given numerous television appearances. At the time of her big breakthrough in 1983, she attended the Stockholm Music High School "Adolf Fredriks musikklasser". She first became known in Sweden in 1983 with the Schlager Främling , with which she was third in the 1983 Eurovision Song Contest . The English version Love Isn't Love reached number 68 in the singles charts in Germany, while the Dutch version Je ogen hebben geen secret reached number four in the Netherlands. With around one million units sold, the Främling album is still the best-selling album in Sweden. In 1986 she released the English language album Runaway , which was produced by Maurice Gibb .
In 1990 she was second in the Swedish preliminary decision for the Eurovision Song Contest with the title Mitt i ett aventyr . With Fångad av en stormvind she won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1991 a year later. The English version Captured by a Lovestorm was a big hit in Sweden and a small success in the Benelux countries and Austria. Another success brought her a role in the musical The Sound of Music in 1995 , in which she appeared together with Tommy Körberg . In 1999 she released the Christmas album J ul i Betlehem , which became the best-selling album of the year in Sweden. Since then, other successful Christmas albums have been released and the accompanying tours are very successful every year. In 2003, on her 20th stage anniversary, Carola released the album Guld, platina och passion: Det bästa med Carola , which reached number one on the Swedish album charts.
In 2006 she represented Sweden again at the Eurovision Song Contest with her song Invincible . In the national Swedish qualification, she first won one of the preliminary rounds in Gothenburg with the Swedish version of the song, Evighet, and thus moved into the final on March 18 in Stockholm. She was traded as a favorite in advance and received over 437,000 telephone votes, around 70,000 more than the runner-up. So she was able to win the final in front of the BWO group and Andreas Johnson , although the latter got the most points from the jury. On May 18, she came fourth in the semi-finals in Athens (214 points) and qualified for the final round. She finished there on May 20th (170 points). With places three, one and five, she is one of the most successful participants in the history of the Eurovision Song Contest.
In the run-up to the Eurovision Song Contest 2006, Carola made a name for herself through negative comments about homosexuals . Carola, who is considered a devout Christian , attacked the influence of the "homolobby" at the song contest and said in other conversations that homosexuality is "curable". She told a Swedish newspaper, among other things, " If someone prays sincerely enough, he can be redeemed from his homosexuality" . Since the Eurovision Song Contest is very popular among homosexuals, the indignation among the fans about Carola's statement was even greater. She has been referred to as " Donna Summer of the Eurovision Song Contest" . Carola itself always tried in press conferences during the Song Contest, to rebut the allegations and argued that she had that statement as not taken. The anger among fans of the Eurovision Song Contest, however, remained untamed.
Also in May 2006 her album Från nu till evighet was released in Scandinavia , which was able to place in the charts in Finland, Norway and Sweden. In Sweden the CD reached platinum status just two days after its release. In July 2006 Carola embarked on a major tour through Sweden and recorded a duet with Andrea Bocelli called Because We Believe . In August 2006 she was voted the best singer in Sweden by the viewers of the popular television show Folktoppen .
In February and March 2008 Carola again took part in the Swedish Melodifestivalen , with the aim of representing Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest in Belgrade. She sang the title One Love in a duo with Andreas Johnson . Although a direct qualification of the title for the Swedish final was expected, he could not prevail in one of the preliminary rounds against the competition.
In 2011 she released a tribute album to Elvis Presley and Barbra Streisand with Elvis, Barbra & jag .
Two years later, in the finale of the Melodifestival 2013 , she presented a new, modernized dance-pop version by Främling for the 30th anniversary of the title.
In the fall of 2014, Carola took part in the fifth season of Så mycket bättre .
Carola is not to be confused with her Finnish namesake Carola , who was also a famous singer in the 1960s and 1970s and who died in 1997.
Private
During Bible studies in Norway , she met the preacher Runar Søgaard in 1987, whom she later married. The marriage, which did not last long, produced a son.
Participation in the Eurovision Song Contest and preliminary decisions
year | title | country | language | space
Preliminary decision |
space
ESC |
German
Charts |
Swedish
Charts |
Norwegian
Charts |
|
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1983 | Carola | Främling | Sweden | Swedish | 1 | 3 | 68 a | 5 | 1 |
1990 | Carola | Mitt i ett aventyr | Sweden | Swedish | 2 | - | - | 5 | - |
1991 | Carola | Fångad av en stormvind | Sweden | Swedish | 1 | 1 | - | 3 | 6th |
2006 | Carola | Evighet / Invincible | Sweden | Swedish (preliminary decision)
English (ESC final) |
1 | 5 | - | 1 | 8th |
2008 | Johnson & Haggkvist c | One love | Sweden | English | Andra chansen b | - | - | 11 | - |
a The English version, Love Isn't Love , reached the German charts . This version also reached number seven in Belgium.
b One Love had reached third place in the second semifinals and therefore had to "Andra chansen" in the second chance round . There it came to a duel with the duo Nordman, which won this one.
c Both at the Melodifestivalen 2008 and on the single release, Andreas Johnson and Carola Häggkvist were only named by their last name.
Discography
Albums
year | title |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|
SE | NO | |||
1983 | Främling |
SE1 (12 weeks) SE |
NO2 (28 weeks) NO |
|
Julefrid with Carola | - |
NO12 (3 weeks) NO |
EP
|
|
1984 | Footbridge for footbridge |
SE1 (6 weeks) SE |
NO2 (13 weeks) NO |
|
På egna ben |
SE5 (3 weeks) SE |
NO10 (8 weeks) NO |
||
1986 | Runaway |
SE2 (6 weeks) SE |
NO9 (4 weeks) NO |
|
1990 | Much more |
SE16
gold
(5 weeks)SE |
- | |
1991 | Hits |
SE20th
gold
(4 weeks)SE |
- | |
Jul |
SE15th
platinum
(5 weeks)SE |
- | ||
1993 | My tribute |
SE21st
gold
(9 weeks)SE |
- | |
1994 | Personligt |
SE14th
gold
(11 weeks)SE |
- | |
1995 | Sound Of Music |
SE15th
gold
(9 weeks)SE |
- |
with Tommy Körberg
|
1996 | Hits Vol. 2 |
SE50 (2 weeks) SE |
- | |
1997 | Det bästa av Carola |
SE40 (4 weeks) SE |
- | |
1998 | Blott en dag |
SE24 (9 weeks) SE |
NO32 (6 weeks) NO |
|
1999 | Jul i Bethlehem |
SE1 × 2
(49 weeks)SE |
NO6 (8 weeks) NO |
|
2001 | So på min arm - sånger för stora och små |
SE1
gold
(22 weeks)SE |
NO18 (4 weeks) NO |
|
My show |
SE6 (15 weeks) SE |
- | ||
2003 | Guld Platina & Passion - Det Bästa |
SE1 × 4
(66 weeks)SE |
NO5 (7 weeks) NO |
|
2004 | Creed |
SE2
gold
(16 weeks)SE |
- | |
2005 | Disturb from common |
SE1
gold
(24 weeks)SE |
NO16 (4 weeks) NO |
|
Guld platina & passion - det mesta |
SE44 (2 weeks) SE |
- | ||
2006 | Från nu till evighet |
SE1
platinum
(16 weeks)SE |
NO25 (2 weeks) NO |
|
2007 | I denna natt blir världen ny |
SE1
platinum
(10 weeks)SE |
NO12 (7 weeks) NO |
|
2008 | Främling 25 år |
SE2
gold
(7 weeks)SE |
- | |
25 År Som Artist / Aftonbladet |
SE- × 2
|
- | ||
2009 | Christmas in Bethlehem |
SE4th
platinum
(8 weeks)SE |
NO36 (3 weeks) NO |
|
2011 | Elvis, Barbra & Jag |
SE1 (9 weeks) SE |
- | |
2013 | Drömmen om Julen |
SE6th
gold
(14 weeks)SE |
- |
Singles
year | Title album |
Top ranking, total weeks, awardChart placementsChart placements (Year, title, album , rankings, weeks, awards, notes) |
Remarks | |
---|---|---|---|---|
SE | NO | |||
1983 | Främling Främling |
SE5 (4 weeks) SE |
NO1 (9 weeks) NO |
|
Hunger Främling |
SE3 (6 weeks) SE |
NO7 (4 weeks) NO |
||
1984 | Julefried with Carola Julefried with Carola |
SE8 (1 week) SE |
- | |
Tommy Loves Me With Love |
SE10 (5 weeks) SE |
NO9 (1 week) NO |
||
Carola så in the north |
SE16 (1 week) SE |
- | ||
1985 | Don't Tell Me What To Do |
SE19 (1 week) SE |
- | |
1986 | The Runaway Runaway |
SE3 (6 weeks) SE |
- | |
1990 | Mitt i ett aventyr |
SE5 (4 weeks) SE |
- | |
The Girl Who Had Everything Much More |
SE15 (4 weeks) SE |
- | ||
1991 | Fångad av en stormvind |
SE3
gold
(6 weeks)SE |
NO6 (1 week) NO |
|
Jul, Jul strålande Jul Jul |
SE29 (11 weeks) SE |
- |
Chart entry in SE only in 2013
|
|
1993 | Mixade minnen |
SE16 (3 weeks) SE |
- | |
1994 | Det kommer dagar personligt |
SE29 (2 weeks) SE |
- | |
2002 | I Believe In Love My Show |
SE13 (15 weeks) SE |
- | |
2006 | Evighet Från nu till evighet |
SE1
gold
(24 weeks)SE |
NO8 (3 weeks) NO |
|
Invincible Från nu till evighet |
SE29 (4 weeks) SE |
- | ||
2007 | I denna natt blir världen ny |
SE41 (4 weeks) SE |
- | |
2008 | Lucky Star |
SE13 (6 weeks) SE |
- |
Johnson & Häggkvist
|
One love |
SE11 (8 weeks) SE |
- |
Johnson & Häggkvist
|
|
2010 | Det är bara vi |
SE20 (3 weeks) SE |
- | |
2011 | Nu tändas tusen juleljus |
SE29 (18 weeks) SE |
- | |
2014 | Tell Me This Night Is Over |
SE36 (3 weeks) SE |
- | |
Sjung hallelujah (oh prisa gud) |
SE48 (1 week) SE |
- | ||
2016 | Vår dröm om julen |
SE75 (2 weeks) SE |
- | |
2017 | När det lider mot jul (Det strålar en stjärna) |
SE57 (2 weeks) SE |
- | |
Vintersång |
SE68 (2 weeks) SE |
- |
swell
- ^ Carola - Je ogen hebben geen secreten - hitparade.ch. Retrieved May 19, 2020 .
- ^ People - Nordstjernan. Retrieved May 19, 2020 .
- ↑ SWEDISH NATIONAL FINAL 2006. Accessed May 19, 2020 .
- ↑ http://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/article359958.ab
- ↑ Carola: "Jag älskar de homosexuella" - Nyheter - RFSL . November 26, 2012. Archived from the original on March 6, 2014.
- ↑ EUROVISION SONG CONTEST NATIONAL FINALS HOMEPAGE. Retrieved May 19, 2020 .
- ^ Carola - hitparade.ch. Retrieved May 19, 2020 .
- ↑ a b Chart sources: SE NO
- ↑ Awards for music sales: SE
Web links
- official homepage
- Carola Häggkvist at Discogs (English)
- Sweden: Carola at eurovision.de
personal data | |
---|---|
SURNAME | Häggkvist, Carola |
ALTERNATIVE NAMES | Häggkvist, Carola Maria; Carola |
BRIEF DESCRIPTION | Swedish singer |
DATE OF BIRTH | September 8, 1966 |
PLACE OF BIRTH | Hägersten , Sweden |