Jill Anna Maria Johnson (born 24 May 1973) is a Swedish
country
A country is a distinct part of the world, such as a state, nation, or other political entity. It may be a sovereign state or make up one part of a larger state. For example, the country of Japan is an independent, sovereign state, while the ...
and
pop singer, songwriter
and TV-host.
She performed in the
Melodifestivalen 1998
Sweden was present at the Eurovision Song Contest 1998, held in Birmingham, the United Kingdom.
Before Eurovision
Melodifestivalen 1998
Melodifestivalen 1998 was the selection for the 38th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Cont ...
contest, winning with the song "
Kärleken är
"Kärleken är" (; literally " heLove Is"; English title: "Eternal Love") is a Swedish-language ballad about love. It was written by Ingela Forsman, Bobby Ljunggren and , and sung by Swedish pop and country singer Jill Johnson in the Swedish Me ...
" ("Love Is"), and represented Sweden at the
Eurovision Song Contest 1998
The Eurovision Song Contest 1998 was the 43rd edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest, held on 9 May 1998 at the National Indoor Arena in Birmingham, United Kingdom. Organised by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) and host broadcas ...
with that song, which finished 10th with 53 points. In 2003 she entered
Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen (; literally "the Melody Festival") is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song ...
for the second time with "
Crazy in Love
"Crazy in Love" is a song recorded by American singer Beyoncé, featuring a rap verse and ad-libs from her future husband Jay-Z from her debut solo studio album ''Dangerously in Love'' (2003). The song was released as her official debut single a ...
", which finished fourth in the final. She also hosted the final of
Melodifestivalen 2005
Melodifestivalen 2005 was the selection for the 45th song to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest. It was the 44th time that this system of picking a song had been used. Five heats had taken place to select the ten songs for the final, ...
. Johnson is today one of the most successful artists in Sweden, with several Gold and Platinum records and since 2014 even hosted her own Swedish TV-show from
Nashville
Nashville is the capital city of the U.S. state of Tennessee and the seat of Davidson County. With a population of 689,447 at the 2020 U.S. census, Nashville is the most populous city in the state, 21st most-populous city in the U.S., and the ...
, ''
Jills veranda''.
Biography
Johnson is from the small town of
Ängelholm
Ängelholm is a locality and the seat of Ängelholm Municipality in Skåne, Sweden with 39,612 inhabitants in 2010.
History
The old settlement ''Rynestad'' was mentioned around the year 1600.
The city was founded in 1516 as Engelholm by King Chri ...
in the south western part of Sweden, but the surroundings and the media compare her with the biggest stars in the music business. By the age of four, she had decided that she wanted to become an artist, an aspiration towards which she was highly encouraged by her local choir leader. As a 12-year-old, she started off as vocalist in a Country & Western band, Tomboola Band, touring in Norway and Denmark. She signed eventually with EMI-Medley in Denmark and recorded an album, produced by top producer Paul Bruun. The title-track, "Sugar Tree", became a hit in
Denmark
)
, song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast")
, song_type = National and royal anthem
, image_map = EU-Denmark.svg
, map_caption =
, subdivision_type = Sovereign state
, subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark
...
. In 1996, she had her first Swedish hit with "
Kommer tid, kommer vår
Kommer tid, kommer vår is a song with music by Jon van der Bring and lyrics Fredrik Möller. The song is intended to be sung as a vocal duet.
The original recording was done by Jan Johansen and Jill Johnson, and became a major Sveriges Radi ...
", a
duet
A duet is a musical composition for two performers in which the performers have equal importance to the piece, often a composition involving two singers or two pianists. It differs from a harmony, as the performers take turns performing a solo ...
with
Jan Johansen.
In 1998, she performed "Kärleken är" ("Love is") at national contest
Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen (; literally "the Melody Festival") is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Song ...
, winning the Swedish finals and going on to represent Sweden in the
Eurovision Song Contest
The Eurovision Song Contest (), sometimes abbreviated to ESC and often known simply as Eurovision, is an international songwriting competition organised annually by the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), featuring participants representing pr ...
. This established Johnson as one of the prime Swedish artists. The success was followed by the hit album ''När hela världen ser på'' and a successful tour.
In mid-1999, Johnson went to Los Angeles to look for material for her second album. At home, she worked with
Andreas Carlsson
Andreas Carlsson (; born 3 April 1973) is a Swedish music producer and pop songwriter.
Biography
Carlsson was part of the Cheiron Studios team until the studio was closed down in 2000. In January 2001, former Cheiron-members Andreas Carlsson, K ...
(ASCAP Writer of the Year 2000), who is known for several massive hits, the biggest, so far, being
Celine Dion
Céline Marie Claudette Dion ( ; born 30 March 1968) is a Canadian singer. Noted for her powerful and technically skilled vocals, Dion is the best-selling Canadian recording artist, and the best-selling French-language artist of all time. Her ...
's "That's the Way It Is". She also tried out a few local newcomers and the album ''Daughter of Eve'' was released in early 2000. It was very well received and Johnson was compared with some of the world's best artists.
In 2000, she received a Platinum-record in Denmark for the sound-track "Promise To Love" from the Danish block-buster, ''Eneste Ene''. Later that year, Johnson started to collaborate with other songwriters such as Jenny Orenstein, Charlie Stefl, Mary Green
iem Writer of the Year 2001 This resulted in her receiving a publishing contract in Nashville, Tennessee. Consequently, in 2002 Johnson's album entitled ''Good Girl'' came to be with the help of producer Scott Baggett and some of Nashville's top musicians. This album secured Johnson's artistic sound and style and once again she was extremely well received by the press in their reviews where she was described as an artist of international calibre.
In the Swedish finals of the Eurovision Song Contest 2003 she qualified at fourth place (out of 32 entries) but and her song "Crazy in Love" became a hit and received a great deal of radio play and was followed by a successful tour.
Johnson's collective ''Discography'' CD was released in late March 2003. It contains the 20 most popular songs since her debut in 1995. The CD went straight into the sales charts for best selling CDs in Sweden. The single "Crazy in Love" stayed at No 1 in the Swedish Top Charts (Svensktoppen) 12 weeks consecutively and No 2 for 15 weeks. ''Discography'' sold Gold in Sweden and Johnson also got a
Grammis
The Grammis are music awards presented annually to musicians and songwriters in Sweden. The oldest Swedish music awards, they were instituted as a local equivalent of the Grammy Awards given in the United States. The awards ceremony is generall ...
for this album.
The album ''Roots and Wings'' was released in November 2003, recorded and produced by Amir Aly in Sweden and by Scott Baggett in Nashville, Tennessee. ''Roots and Wings'' sold Gold in less than two weeks and Platinum a few months later.
The album ''Being who you are'' was released in Sweden in late March 2005 and sold Gold in only a few weeks.
Johnson was the host of the 2005 Swedish finals of the Eurovision Song Contest in Stockholm. In 2014 she became the hostess of her own Swedish musical TV-series, ''
Jills veranda'', where she brought together and performed with different Swedish and American music personalities in Nashville, the city where she also spends much time working with her own music. In 2014, she was awarded with the Swedish Kristallen-prize for "Female host of the year", due to
Jills veranda. The show aired two following seasons in 2015 and 2017. In 2016 she participated in the popular musical TV-series ''
Så mycket bättre
Så mycket bättre (, "So Much Better") is a Swedish reality television show that airs on TV4. The basic premise is that each artist attempts to do their own version of another artist's well-known songs, with each person getting an episode feat ...
'', which was broadcast on
TV4 TV4 or TV 4 may refer to:
*TV4 (Poland), a private Polish television station
*TV4 (Sweden), a Swedish television network
**TV4 Group, owners of the Swedish television station
*South African Broadcasting Corporation TV4, a channel operated by the st ...
.
In 2019, Jill released the single "Is It Hard Being A Man?" among others which topped the Swedish radio charts. The same year, Jill went on a club tour, "My Remedy Tour", which visited fifteen citites and premiered on the 8th of March in Malmö. On the 18th of August 2019, Jill hosted her own episode in the popular Swedish radio show Sommar i P1.
Johnson will play the role as Camilla in the Swedish TV-series "Udda Veckor", which airs on Discovery+ during the spring of 2021. Jill's participation in the show marks her debut as an actress in a ficitv role.
Discography
Albums
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Christmas albums
Live albums
Extended plays
Singles
Notes
Music videos
References
External links
Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Johnson, Jill
1973 births
Living people
People from Ängelholm Municipality
Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Sweden
Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1998
Swedish country singers
Melodifestivalen contestants
Schlager musicians
21st-century Swedish singers
21st-century Swedish women singers