Therese Grankvist (born 2 May 1977) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She started recording in 1997 under the Drömhus alias, and goes by Therese since the release of her single "Monkey" in 2002. She may be best known for her internationally successful collaborations with Swedish DJ and producer
StoneBridge, "
Put 'Em High" and "
Take Me Away", released on
Hed Kandi in 2004.
Therese started her own label Vixon Records in 2014.
Early life
Therese Grankvist spent her childhood in
Nässjö, Sweden. She later moved to
Tullinge (near
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
) at the age of 13.
Career
1997–2000: Drömhus and Melodifestivalen
Therese's career started when she called a record company and recorded her singing on their answering machine. When she later met
Dr. Alban, he convinced her to join the new
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 ...
project Drömhus. At first, Drömhus was meant to consist of two men and Therese, but eventually shrank to just Therese and the producers.
In 1997, Drömhus's first single "Du och jag" ("You and I") was released. The big breakthrough, however, came in 1998 with the single "Vill ha dig" ("Want You"), a
cover
Cover or covers may refer to:
Packaging
* Another name for a lid
* Cover (philately), generic term for envelope or package
* Album cover, the front of the packaging
* Book cover or magazine cover
** Book design
** Back cover copy, part of co ...
of a hit by the band
Freestyle
Freestyle may refer to:
Brands
* Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe
* Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile
* Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine
* ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker
* Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...
in the 1980s.
At the
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 ...
, the Swedish national selection for
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 ...
, in 1999, Drömhus competed with the song "Stjärna på himmelen" ("Star in the Sky"). It finished second, thus not qualifying for the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2000, Therese announced that she would leave Drömhus to perform under the mononym Therese instead.
2001–2004: ''Acapulco'' and work with StoneBridge
Therese's first singles, "Monkey" and "I Need Somebody", were released in 2002, in advance of her debut album ''Acapulco'', released early 2003 on Swedish record label Tretiak. It was her first album released under the alias Therese, containing elements of
electronica
Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...
,
house
A house is a single-unit residential building. It may range in complexity from a rudimentary hut to a complex structure of wood, masonry, concrete or other material, outfitted with plumbing, electrical, and heating, ventilation, and air condi ...
and
breakbeat
Breakbeat is a broad type of electronic music that tends to use drum breaks sampled from early recordings of funk, jazz, and R&B. Breakbeats have been used in styles such as hip hop, jungle, drum and bass, big beat, breakbeat hardcore, and UK ...
, and was produced by Klas B Wahl and Swedish DJ and producer
StoneBridge. Late 2003, Therese released the track "Time". It was released on
Robbins Entertainment in the US in 2004.
In 2004, Therese collaborated with StoneBridge on two house tracks, "
Put 'Em High" and "
Take Me Away", both released on record label
Hed Kandi in the UK. Especially "Put 'Em High" was a remarkable success, with the track also featured on Hed Kandi's
greatest hits collection ''Hed Kandi: Ibiza 10 Years'' in 2012.
2005–2009: Multiple non-album releases
In 2005, Therese co-wrote and provided backing vocals for
Dannii Minogue
Danielle Jane Minogue () is an Australian singer, television personality, and actress. She initially gained recognition for her appearances on the television show ''Young Talent Time'' (1982–1988) and for her role as Emma Jackson on th ...
's "
Perfection" which was produced by the
Soul Seekerz
Soul Seekerz (also known under the names Soulseekerz, Soulseekers and The Soul Seekerz) are an English dance music group and remix/production outfit, consisting of DJ/producers Julian Napolitano and Simon Langford.
Biography
Soul Seekerz are ...
.
Grankvist, together with
The Attic, competed with the song "The Arrival" at
Melodifestivalen 2007 on 17 February 2007 for the opportunity to represent Sweden in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2007 in Helsinki, Finland. They ended 7th place in Heat 3, not qualifying for the final of Melodifestivalen.
Therese released a new single, "Feelin' Me", in the UK on
Positiva Records
Positiva Records is a subsidiary of Universal Music Group and concentrates on releasing dance music in the United Kingdom, UK. The record label was set up in 1993 in music, 1993, by Nick Halkes, who previously ran XL Recordings. Its headquar ...
in May 2007. The track was produced by
Digital Dog
Digital Dog are an English remix/production duo consisting of Steve Cornish and Nick Mace. The duo also produce under the aliases Jack Rokka and Elek-Tro Junkies.
Digital Dog's 2007 collaboration with Betty Boo, "Take Off", topped the UK Indie ...
and came with remixes by Thomas Gold and
Armand Van Helden, amongst others. The
B-side
The A-side and B-side are the two sides of phonograph records and cassettes; these terms have often been printed on the labels of two-sided music recordings. The A-side usually features a recording that its artist, producer, or record compan ...
was produced by Thomas Gold, titled "How Do You Wanna?".
On 2 June 2007, Therese, featuring The Attic, performed their single "The Arrival" on
Sommarkrysset, a Swedish TV show that airs in summer. She again appeared on Sommarkrysset in August 2007, together with
Danny Saucedo performing the song "If Only You" from Danny's album.
Furthermore, Grankvist provided vocals for "Another Love" by The Mac Project in 2008 and "Neon Lights" by
Elek-Tro Junkies in 2009. She also released the track "Shed My Skin" on Lifted House/disco:wax in Denmark in 2009.
2010–present: ''Missing Disco'' and Vixon Records
On 28 May 2010, Therese released a new single in Sweden, titled "Drop It Like It's Hot", featuring elements of
electro,
tribal house and
dance-pop
Dance-pop is a popular music subgenre that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit radio. Developing from a ...
. A B-side, "Say It (In the Morning)", and remixes by the
Wideboys
The Wideboys are an English electronic music duo known for club remixes and for their own song "Sambuca", featuring Dennis G on vocals, which reached number 15 in the UK in October 2001. Another top 40 single, "Daddy-O" featuring Shaznay Lewis, ...
and
Alesso
Alessandro Renato Rodolfo Lindblad (born 7 July 1991), better known by his stage name Alesso (), is a Swedish DJ and music producer.
He has worked with numerous artists, including Tove Lo, Theo Hutchcraft, Ryan Tedder, Hailee Steinfeld, Calvi ...
were released as well, with the latter eventually featured on the second album, ''Missing Disco''. In 2011, at the pre-listening party of
Lady Gaga
Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta ( ; born March 28, 1986), known professionally as Lady Gaga, is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. She is known for her image reinventions and musical versatility. Gaga began performing as a teenag ...
's ''
Born This Way'' album in
Stockholm
Stockholm () is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, largest city of Sweden as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in Scandinavia. Approximately 980,000 people liv ...
, Therese performed a
mashup
Mashup may refer to:
* Mashup (culture), the rearrangement of spliced parts of musical pieces as part of a subculture
* Mashup (education), combining various forms of data and media by a teacher or student in an instructional setting
* Mashup (mus ...
of "Drop It Like It's Hot" and Lady Gaga's "
Born This Way".
In 2011, "Remedy" was released as the second single from ''Missing Disco''. It was re-released in the UK in 2014 with new remixes by
Seamus Haji, DANK and Papercha$er, amongst others. This marked the first release on Therese's own label Vixon Records, founded in 2014.
Early 2015, the title track off the album, "Missing Disco", was released as the third single, featuring an extended version as well as remixes by Rich B & Phil Marriott,
Chris Henry, Phonetix and Gordon John. The track and remixes premiered on Therese's
SoundCloud
SoundCloud is an online audio distribution platform and music sharing website that enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is one of the largest music streaming se ...
page.
Originally set for a late 2011 release, ''Missing Disco'' was released on 10 May 2015.
Charitable work
Therese undertakes charity work for two charities.
Charities
theresemusic.net
Discography
;Studio albums
* ''Acapulco'' (2003)
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Grankvist, Therese
English-language singers from Sweden
Melodifestivalen contestants
1977 births
Living people
Swedish dance musicians
Swedish singer-songwriters
People from Nässjö Municipality
21st-century Swedish singers
21st-century Swedish women singers