Marko Kristian "Markoolio" Lehtosalo (born 1 January 1975 in

Lahti Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...

Finland Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...

) is a Swedish-Finnish multi-platinum selling recording artist, singer, musician, songwriter, actor, and comedian. His stage name Markoolio is a

portmanteau A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsCoolio Artis Leon Ivey Jr. (August 1, 1963 – September 28, 2022), known professionally as Coolio, was an American rapper. First rising to fame as a member of the gangsta rap group WC and the Maad Circle, Coolio achieved mainstream success as a solo ...

Biography

At the age of six months, Lehtosalo migrated from Finland to Sweden where he grew up completing primary and secondary school in the small Stockholm suburb of Orminge. Following the completion of his compulsory military service as a coastal ranger sniper in Ekenäs, Finland, he returned to Sweden. There, he was allegedly discovered by producers when rapping on a commuter train in Stockholm; however, this story has been revealed to be a fabrication. Markoolio is known in particular for his humorous songs dealing with partying, drinking, and girls such as "Sommar och sol" ("Summer and sun"), "

Vi drar till fjällen Vi drar till fjällen (Swedish language, Swedish for "We're headin' for the mountains") is a song written by Daniel Bäckström, Stefan Enberg. Markoolio, Marko Kristian Lehtosalo and Hans Schumacher, released as a single on 1 March 1998. The song ...

" ("We're headin' for the mountains") and "Sola och bada i Piña Colada" ("Sunbathing and swimming in Piña Colada"); his songs mocking contemporary life and phenomena such as "Åka Pendeltåg" ("Riding the commuter train") and "Värsta schlagern" ("The goddam' Schlager ong); and songs relating to his native Finland such as "Drömmen om Finland" (The dream of Finland) and "Jag orkar inte mer" (I can't take it anymore). Markoolio has released nine studio albums, hosted and participated in numerous television and radio programs, and won several prizes and awards such as Male Artist of the Year at the Swedish Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2007. He is also the owner of a nightclub and the board member of British company Netgames Holdings which he reportedly owns 3.3 percent of. Markoolio was one of the hosts for Talang 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 2009. He also played the titular character of Doktor Mugg and starred as Tyke Mörbult in

Hem till Midgård Hem till Midgård ("Home to Midgard") is a Swedish sit-com which ran on TV4 in Sweden during 2003. The name is a pun of the classic Swedish TV-series ''Hem till byn'' as well as ''Emmerdale'' which is known as ''Hem till gården'' (''Home to the far ...

. Markoolio was formerly a contestant on

Let's Dance 2013 ''Let's Dance 2013'' was the eight season of the Swedish '' Let's Dance'' series on TV4. It premiered on 29 March 2013. Couples Scoring chart Average chart Average dance chart References External linksOfficial website of Let's Dance (S ...

, a contest he subsequently won. On 19 November 2013, Markoolio tried to disrupt the

Portugal national football team The Portugal national football team ( pt, Seleção Portuguesa de Futebol) has represented Portugal in international men's Association football, football competition since 1921. The national team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federat ...

ahead of the second leg of their World Cup play-off with Sweden. He started a "private concert" at 7:15 a.m. in front of the Portuguese team's hotel.

Discography

Albums

Singles

Notes

References

External links

Markoolio
official site *
Markoolio Biography at Yahoo.comMarkoolio Biography at last.fm
{{Authority control 1975 births Living people People from Lahti Swedish songwriters Swedish-language singers Melodifestivalen contestants Swedish people of Finnish descent 21st-century Swedish singers 21st-century Swedish male singers