Lene Grawford Nystrøm (born 2 October 1973) is a Norwegian musician and singer-songwriter who is the female lead vocalist of the Danish-Norwegian
Eurodance
Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. This ...
group
Aqua
Aqua is the Latin word for water. It is used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to:
Arts
* Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color
Business
* Aqua (skyscraper), an 82-story residential skysc ...
.
Life and career
1973–1994: Early life
Nystrøm was born in
Tønsberg
Tønsberg , historically Tunsberg, is a city and municipality in Vestfold og Telemark county, eastern Norway, located around south-southwest of Oslo on the western coast of the Oslofjord near its mouth onto the Skagerrak. The administrative ce ...
, Norway.
When she was a teenager, she became interested in performing. She began modeling and also worked as a
bartender
A bartender (also known as a barkeep, barman, barmaid, or a mixologist) is a person who formulates and serves alcoholic or soft drink beverages behind the bar, usually in a licensed establishment as well as in restaurants and nightclubs, but a ...
. From 1990 to 1993, she appeared on the Norwegian game show ''
Casino
A casino is a facility for certain types of gambling. Casinos are often built near or combined with hotels, resorts, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships, and other tourist attractions. Some casinos are also known for hosting live entertai ...
'' which aired on
TVNorge
TVNorge (literally "TVNorway"; originally abbreviated TVN, now just abbreviated N in the logos) is a Norwegian television channel owned by Warner Bros. Discovery EMEA.
History
TVNorge went on the air on 5 December 1988 and was the first adver ...
.
1994–2001: Aqua and ''Aquarium''
In 1994, Nystrøm was working as a singer on the Norwegian cruise ship
MS ''Peter Wessel'' and was spotted by musician
René Dif
René Dif (born 17 October 1967) is a Danish musician, singer-songwriter, DJ and actor, best known as the male lead vocalist of the Danish-Norwegian eurodance group Aqua.
Biography
1967–1994: Early years and private life
Dif was born in Cop ...
.
He recruited her as lead singer for the music group
Joyspeed, later renamed
Aqua
Aqua is the Latin word for water. It is used in many words which relate to water, such as aquatic life. In English, it may also refer to:
Arts
* Aqua (color), a greenish-blue color
Business
* Aqua (skyscraper), an 82-story residential skysc ...
. The group consisted of vocalists Nystrøm, Dif along with
Søren Rasted
Søren Nystrøm Rasted (born Søren Rasted on 13 June 1969) is a Danish musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He plays keyboards, guitar and sings backing vocals. He is a member of the Danish-Norwegian Eurodance group Aqua.
Musical ...
and
Claus Norreen
Claus Norreen (born 5 June 1970) is a Danish musician, songwriter and record producer known for being a part of the band Aqua, which sold around 33 million records. He left the band in September 2016 to take on other musical ventures.
Biography ...
. In 2001, the band split up.
2002–2006: Solo career and ''Play With Me''
After the breakup of Aqua, Nystrøm continued as a soloist. In 2003, she released her first album ''
Play with Me''. It marked a change in her musical style, from the bubblegum sound of Aqua to a more
R&B-influenced style. It reached number 30 on Denmark's
Hitlisten
Hitlisten, also known as Tracklisten, is a Danish top 40 record chart that is updated every Thursday midnight on the website hitlisten.nu. The weekly Danish singles chart Track Top-40 combines the 40 best-selling tracks from legal music downloads ...
chart
and 74 on Norway's
VG-lista
VG-lista is a Norwegian record chart. It is presented weekly in the newspaper '' VG''. It is considered the primary Norwegian record chart, charting albums and singles from countries and continents around the world. The data are collected by Nie ...
chart. The album single "Virgin Superstar" was given some radio airplay, but did not chart and was not released. Her debut single "
It's Your Duty" was released on 8 September. It peaked at number 3 on Denmark's Hitlisten chart and number 9 on Norway's VG-lista chart.
In 2004, she released the second single "Pretty Young Thing", a cover of
Stella Soleil
Stella Katsoudas (born November 3, 1971) is a Greek-American pop and rock singer better known for stage names Stella Soleil and Sister Soleil as well as having been frontwoman for Dirty Little Rabbits. Katsoudas most recently released the 2015 ...
, which did not chart. She released a third and fourth single as limited vinyl promos of a cover version of "
Here We Go", which was originally performed by
Moonbaby, and "Scream" to DJs and radio stations. The song "We Wanna Party", which Nystrøm recorded and co-wrote with
Xenomania
Xenomania is an English songwriting and production team founded by Brian Higgins and based in Kent, England. Formed by Higgins with his Creative Director Miranda Cooper and Business Director Sarah Stennett of First Access Entertainment, Xenoman ...
, appeared on
Girls Aloud
Girls Aloud were an pop girl group that was created through the ITV talent show '' Popstars: The Rivals'' in 2002. The group comprised singers Cheryl, Nadine Coyle, Sarah Harding, Nicola Roberts and Kimberley Walsh. The group achieved a str ...
's 2008 album ''
Out of Control''. Nystrøm and Xenomania co-wrote two more Girls Aloud songs, the tracks "
No Good Advice
"No Good Advice" is a song by British-Irish girl group Girls Aloud, taken from their debut album, '' Sound of the Underground'' (2003). The song was written by Aqua's Lene Nystrøm Rasted, Miranda Cooper, Brian Higgins and his production team Xe ...
" and "You Freak Me Out", which appeared on the Girls Aloud debut album ''
Sound of the Underground''. "No Good Advice" became a breakout hit for the group. In 2005, Nystrøm provided guest vocals on the
LazyB single "I Love N.Y." and as part of charity project Giv Til Asien on the single
Hvor små vi er
"Hvor små vi er" is a 2005 Danish charity single performed by a group of Danish artists (singers, actors and musicians) under the name Giv Til Asien (translated as Give to Asia). A small number of artists from other European countries also parti ...
, which peaked at number 1 at Danish single charts.
2007 – present: Aqua reunion
On 26 October 2007, Nystrøm reunited with the other members of Aqua, and solicited opportunities for a single summer concert tour. After fielding offers by record companies 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
...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
United States
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
, and
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and North ...
, they settled with an eight concert tour in Denmark as part of the 2008
Grøn Koncert
Grøn Koncert (literally "Green Concert") is an annually recurring series of Danish one-day music festivals. Taking place in July, the concerts are performed by a selection of bands who tour around Denmark for about ten days. The concerts have bee ...
festival. After the big success of the summer concert, Nystrøm continued with work with Aqua and released a new track, "
Back to the 80's", on 25 May 2009. They released their
greatest hits
A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...
album on 15 June, which featured the track, along with sixteen remastered tracks and three other new songs, "My Mamma Said", "Spin Me a Christmas" and "Live Fast, Die Young". From May to August, they toured
Scandinavia
Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion#Europe, subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, ...
and performed at several gigs in
Germany
Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...
, the UK, and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
.
The greatest hits CD was released in North America and many European countries on 22 September, and in the UK on 29 September. In 2009, Nystrøm had a major role in the 2009 film ''
Deliver Us from Evil'' under Danish director
Ole Bornedal
Ole Bornedal (born 26 May 1959) is a Danish film director, actor and producer.
Bornedal was born in Nørresundby, Denmark. He wrote and directed '' Nattevagten'' (''Nightwatch'', 1994), a thriller about a law student who works in a morgue as ...
. On 14 March 2011, Aqua released the single "
How R U Doin?
"How R U Doin?" is a song by Danish-Norwegian pop group Aqua from their third studio album, '' Megalomania''. It was released as the album's lead single on 14 March 2011. The song peaked at number four in Denmark, becoming the group's tenth top-ten ...
". They released the album ''
Megalomania
Megalomania is an obsession with power and wealth, and a passion for grand schemes.
Megalomania or megalomaniac may also refer to:
Psychology
* Narcissistic personality disorder
* Grandiose delusions
* Omnipotence (psychoanalysis), a stage of ...
'', on 3 October. She is one of the judges for ''
Voice – Danmarks største stemme
''Voice – Danmarks største stemme'' is a Danish reality singing competition, based on the original Dutch television program ''The Voice of Holland''. It started on November 26, 2011, and is currently airing on TV2. One of the important premis ...
'' (Denmark's version of ''
The Voice
The Voice may refer to:
Fictional entities
* The Voice or Presence, a fictional representation of God in DC Comics
* The Voice (''Dune''), a fictional ability in the ''Dune'' universe
* The Voice, a character in the American TV series ''Cleo ...
'') which aired from November 2011 to February 2012 and also a judge in The Voice of Norway. Nystrøm acted in the movie ''
Varg Veum
Varg Veum is the central character in a series of crime novels, written by the Norwegian author Gunnar Staalesen, about a private detective who lives in Bergen, on the west coast of Norway. The books have been translated into several languages, ...
'' – Cold Hearts (2012 film) as Varg Veum's girlfriend, whose profession was that of a social worker.
Personal life
Nystrøm was in a relationship with fellow Aqua band member
René Dif
René Dif (born 17 October 1967) is a Danish musician, singer-songwriter, DJ and actor, best known as the male lead vocalist of the Danish-Norwegian eurodance group Aqua.
Biography
1967–1994: Early years and private life
Dif was born in Cop ...
, who invited her to join the band in 1994. They were in a relationship for three years, before they broke up.
On 25 August 2001, Nystrøm married fellow Aqua band member
Søren Rasted
Søren Nystrøm Rasted (born Søren Rasted on 13 June 1969) is a Danish musician, singer, songwriter and record producer. He plays keyboards, guitar and sings backing vocals. He is a member of the Danish-Norwegian Eurodance group Aqua.
Musical ...
, with the ceremony being held in
Las Vegas
Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...
. In 2004 the couple moved to Denmark from London. Together, they have a daughter, India, and a son Billy. The couple divorced on 27 April 2017 after fifteen years of marriage.
Discography
Studio albums
Singles
As lead artist
As featured artist
Promotional singles
Other appearances
Filmography
Films
Series
Music videos
Commercials
TV appearances
* 2000: "Danish Grammy Awards 2000"
* 2000: "Harald Schmidt Show" – "Show No. 791 – Harald Und Die Windsors"
* 2003: "Boogie Århus Lisen" – 13 September 2003
* 2003: "Stjerne for en aften – Vinderen" – Episode 1.2
* 2003: "Først & sist med Fredrik Skavland" – Episode 10.2
* 2003: "Senkveld med Thomas og Harald" – 3 October 2003
* 2003: "Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003"
* 2003: "God kveld Norge" – 27 September 2003
* 2003: "God kveld Norge" – 22 November 2003
* 2005: "Hele Historien"
* 2005: "Nordic Music Awards 2005 – Countdown" – (Host)
* 2006: "Go' aften Danmark" – 10 December 2006
* 2007: "Miss Africa Danmark 2007" – (Opening Speech)
* 2007: "DR1's Grand Danois Awards 2007"
* 2008: "Reimers" – Episode 1.3 – 10 October 2008
* 2008: "21st European Film Awards 2008"
* 2009: "Bornedal og det onde – bag kameraet"
* 2010: "Det nye talkshow" – 12 November 2010
* 2010: "Litt av et liv" – 17 November 2010
* 2011: "Skavlan" – 28 January 2011
* 2011: "Familien fra Bryggen" – Episode 1.1
* 2012: "Voice – Danmarks største stemme" – 8 Episodes
References
External links
{{DEFAULTSORT:Nystrom, Lene
1973 births
Aqua (band) members
English-language singers from Norway
Living people
Musicians from Tønsberg
Norwegian dance musicians
Norwegian expatriates in Denmark
Norwegian expatriates in the United Kingdom
Norwegian women singers
Norwegian film actresses
Norwegian pop singers
People from Re, Norway