Most Successful Swedish Artists of All Time

Uppmärksamhet!!!

With the new European wave that has been taking over the contemporary charts, I have decided to venture into the continent to find out who else have been successful throughout the years. This will be the first part of a series of lists which will see who has been contributing to the industry from these countries. The initial European wave came back in the 1970s when certain artists from Germany, Sweden and Denmark contributed to the development of Disco. Then there was a tsunami during the early 1990s when Eurodance took over the mainstream by storm. This died down and in the late 2000s Europop resurfaced aligning with the mainstream genres of Pop, Techno, Dancepop and Reggae. And now once again Europe has risen and this time they move in directly through mainstream Pop. 

With the advent of Zara Larsson, Sweden has been clearly marked on the mainstream music map and her path was marked by the successes of Swedish House Mafia, Avicii and Tove Lo who in turn have been extremely successful in the 2010s. However, while this wave is quite significant you cannot discount the success of those who achieved their success when there was no such wave in the industry, for instance, the Ace of Base, the Cardigans, Eagle Eye Cherry and A*Teens were stand alone successes during their respective eras.

The music of Sweden shares the tradition of Nordic folk dance music with its neighboring countries in northern Europe, including polka, schottische, waltz, polska and mazurka. Swedish music has also included more modern and pop influences. On a per capita basis, Sweden is one of the world's most successful exporters of popular music. Sweden's success in music began with ABBA, the winners of the Eurovision Song Contest of 1974. They were the first group to come from a non-English speaking country to experience such a magnitude of success in English speaking countries, and is all the most successful group to ever take part in Eurovision and they went on to become one of the best selling groups in the world. With its 6 wins Sweden is the second most successful country in the Eurovision Contest after Ireland who has 7 wins. So without further ado here are the 40 most successful Swedish artists of all time. 

1. ABBA
   
2. Roxette
   
3. Ace of Base
   
4. Avicii
   
5. Europe
   
6. The Cardigans
   
7. Robyn
   
8. Basshunter
   
9. Neneh Cherry
   
10. Rednex
    
11. Swedish House Mafia
    
12. Zara Larsson
    
13. Tove Lo
    
14. Dr.Alban
    
15. A* Teens
    
16. Icona Pop
    
17. Alesso
    
18. Lykke Li
    
19. Crazy Frog
    
20. Steve Angello
    
21. Eric Prydz
    
22. Loreen
    
23. Agnes
    
24. Meja
    
25. Alcazar
    
26. Axwell
    
27. Sebastian Ingrosso
    
28. Eagle Eye Cherry
    
29. John Martin
    
30. Darin Zanyar
    
31. Måns Zelmerlöw
    
32. The Hives
    
33. Emilia
    
34. Blue Swede
    
35. September
    
36. Andreas Johnson
    
37. The Knife
    
38. Bosson
    
39. Play
    
40. Buju Banton 
    

Till the next beat...

Avslappnad!!!

Best Reggae Fusion Hits of All Time

Attention!!!

We are all a bit Rastafari at heart. We may not be Rastafarian to the point of doctrinal values but as far as the attitude and practices go, most of us adhere to their carefree ways of life. Reggae was born in the trenches of Jamaica. Jamaican musicians, many of them Rastas, soon blended traditional Jamaican folk music and drumming with American R&B, and jazz into ska, that later developed into reggae under the influence of soul. During the 60s and 70s, Reggae entered the mainstream music industry and flourished until pop and alternative rock took over in the 80s and the 90s. 

While Reggae has never been at the helm of the music industry, nevertheless it has always had a presence through various forms. One such form is Reggae Fusion. Reggae Fusion is a fusion genre of Reggae that mixes Reggae or Dancehall with other genres, such as pop, rock, R&B, jazz & drum and bass. While Reggae Fusion was experimented in the 80s, it was in the 90s that the first wave of Reggae Fusion stormed the charts and this commenced in Europe. Eurodance fused with Reggae produced smash hits which became increasingly popular leading acts such as Mr.President, Dr. Alban, E-Rotic and Vengaboys to fuse their styles with Reggae as well. 

Ace of Base takes the crown as well as second place because they were instrumental in laying the foundation for Reggae Fusion with their first global hit All That She Wants which was followed by the massive hit The sign. I believe the next wave of Reggae Fusion is upon us with the likes of OMI, MAGIC! and R.City gaining international success. So here are the 75 of the Greatest Reggae Fusion Hits of All Time:

1. Ace of Base – All that she wants
2. Ace of Base – The sign
3. OMI – Cheerleader (Felix Jaehn Remix)
4. MAGIC! – Rude
5. Shaggy ft. Rikrok – It wasn’t me
6. Sean Paul – Get busy
7. Snow – Informer
8. Jessie J ft. B.o.B. – Price tag
9. Ini Kamoze – Here comes the hotstepper
10. Sean Kingston – Beautiful girls
11. Diana King – Shy guy
12. No Doubt ft. Bounty Killer – Hey baby
13. Shaggy ft. Rayvon – Angel
14. Iyaz – Replay
15. Akon – Don’t matter
16. Travie McCoy ft. Bruno Mars – Billionaire
17. Gwen Stefani – Rich girl
18. R.City ft. Adam Levine – Locked away
19. Lily Allen – Smile
20. Alexandra Burke ft. Elephant Man – Start without you
21. Vengaboys – We’re going to Ibiza
22. No Doubt ft. Lady Saw – Underneath it all
23. Nina Sky ft. Jabba – Move ya body
24. Ace of Base – Don’t turn around
25. Inner Circle – Sweat (A la, la, la, la long)
26. Sugar Ray – Fly
27. Shaggy ft. Rayvon – In the summertime
28. Paris Hilton – Stars are blind
29. K’Naan – Wavin’ flag
30. Heavy D & the Boyz – Now that we found love
31. Sean Paul – Gimme the light
32. Mohombi – Bumpy ride
33. Aswad – Shine
34. Vitamin C ft. Lady Saw – Smile
35. Mr. President – Coco jamboo
36. Sean Kingston & Justin Bieber – Eenie meenie
37. Dr. Alban – It’s my life
38. Bridgit Mendler – Ready or not
39. Wayne Wonder – No letting go
40. Michael Franti & Spearhead ft. Cherine Anderson – Say hey (I love you)
41. Sean Paul – She doesn’t mind
42. All Saints – Rock steady
43. T-Spoon – Sex on the beach
44. Ace of Base – Living in danger
45. Alexandra Stan – Lemonade
46. Che’Nelle ft. Baby Cham – I fell in love with the DJ
47. Gyptian – Hold you
48. Sean Kingston – Take you there
49. Cover Drive – Explode
50. Iyaz – Solo
51. Bob Sinclar & Cutee B ft. Gary Pine & Dollarman – Sound of freedom
52. Santana ft. Sean Paul & Joss Stone – Cry baby cry
53. Vengaboys – Uncle John from Jamaica
54. Suggs ft. Louichie Lou & Michie One – Cecilia
55. Bruno Mars – Count on me
56. Diana King – I say a little prayer
57. Sean Kingston – Me love
58. Sean Paul – We be burnin’
59. No Doubt – Settle down
60. Rihanna – Man down
61. Beenie Man ft. Mya – Girls dem sugar
62. Sean Kingston – Letting go (Dutty love)
63. Wayne Wonder – Bounce along
64. Ace of Base – Happy nation
65. Diana King – L-l-lies
66. ENUR ft. Natasja – Calabria 2007
67. Yasmin ft. Shy FX & Ms.Dynamite – Light up (the world)
68. Shaggy ft. Eve – Girls just want to have fun
69. Gwen Stefani – Baby don’t lie
70. Bridgit Mendler – Hurricane
71. Snoop Lion ft. Miley Cyrus – Ashtrays and heartbreaks
72. 311 – Amber
73. MAGIC! – Let your hair down
74. Bruno Mars ft. Damian Marley – Liquor store blues
75. Tami Chynn ft. Akon – Frozen 

Till the next beat...

At Ease!!!

Best Mixed Bands of All Time

Attention!!!

We all know about the boy bands and the girl groups which have stormed the mainstream pop industry. But there are also mixed bands, an assorted motley of boys and girls which have formed bands as well. Most of them have their designated lead singer but the others also play significant roles in the group. Some of these bands have become extremely successful and popular and among these is ABBA which is one of the best selling bands of all time followed by Fleetwood Mac and Black Eyed Peas. Most of these bands have also lead the way for solo careers for their lead vocalists such as will.i.am, Fergie, Stevie Nicks, Gwen Stefani, Wyclef Jean and Lauryn Hill. So here are the best 30 mixed bands of all time:

1. ABBA
   
2. Fleetwood Mac
   
3. Black Eyed Peas
   
4. Ace of Base
   
5. Boney M.
   
6. Blondie
   
7. No Doubt
   
8. The Human League
   
9. Heart
   
10. S Club 7
    
11. Aqua
    
12. Lady Antebellum
    
13. Fugees
    
14. Steps
    
15. The Pretenders
    
16. The Corrs
    
17. Vengaboys
    
18. The B-52s
    
19. Liberty X
    
20. The Mamas & the Papas
    
21. The Velvet Underground
    
22. Little Big Town
    
23. Talking Heads
    
24. A* Teens
    
25. Cover Drive
    
26. The Band Perry
    
27. N-Dubz
    
28. Alcazar
    
29. ATC
    
30. Scandal'us
    

Till the next ensemble...

At Ease!!!