Erik Tommy Nilsson (born 11 March 1960) is a Swedish singer, songwriter and actor.

Career

In the late 1970s, Nilsson was the singer of Swedish heavy metal band Horizont. The group released two albums but a French producer, Yves Accary, contacted Nilsson and signed him to a French record company. The singer enjoyed his first big hit in France in 1981 with the song "No Way No How". The single sold one million copies and the album 200 000 copies. ''No Way No How'', his first album, included disco tracks and ballads. A follow up LP ''Tommy Nilsson'' was released in 1982 and this time the songs were composed by Tommy Nilsson and Alex R Contanstinos. This was a rock album, recorded in Stockholm and Los Angeles, but it did not sell very well and after two years of travelling between France and the United States, Nilsson decided to go back to Sweden. He first joined another metal band,

Easy Action ''Easy Action'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Alice Cooper, released by Straight Records in March 1970. The title comes from a line from one of the band's favorite films, the musical ''West Side Story''. As with ''Pretties ...

, and recorded one album with them ''That makes One'' . The group eventually split up and Nilsson started a solo career. He represented Sweden in the

Eurovision Song Contest 1989 The Eurovision Song Contest 1989 was the 34th edition of the annual Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Lausanne, Switzerland, following Céline Dion's victory at the with the song "Ne partez pas sans moi". Organised by the European Broad ...

with the ballad ''

En dag Sweden chose their song and singer for the Eurovision Song Contest 1989 in the national preselection ''Melodifestivalen 1989''. With a small marginal, the winner was Tommy Nilsson with the power ballad "En dag", written by Tim Norell, Ola Håkan ...

'' (''One day'') and placed fourth. He has also made several Swedish hits in Sweden; ''Allt som jag känner'' (''Everything that I feel'') (a duet with

Tone Norum Tone Norum (born 18 September 1965) is a Swedish pop singer who gained popularity in the 1980s and 1990s, scoring several chart successes in Sweden. She is the younger sister of John Norum, the guitarist from the rock band Europe. Biography To ...

) in 1987, '' Öppna din dörr'' (''Open your door'') in 1994, ''Dina färger var blå'' (''Your colours were blue'') in 1996, and ''Amelia'' in 2005. In 1988, he was given an award for best Swedish male artist and in 1994 received a gold disc for his album ''En Kvinnas Man''. In 1997, Nilsson co-starred with Mary Wilson of

the Supremes The Supremes were an American girl group and a premier act of Motown Records during the 1960s. Founded as the Primettes in Detroit, Michigan, in 1959, the Supremes were the most commercially successful of Motown's acts and the most successf ...

in "Supreme Soul", the story of a black singer who arrives in Sweden to do a show with a white singer. The show consisted of music, as well as humorous moments that highlighted culture differences between Sweden and the United States of America. In 2001, a compilation of his songs ''En samling 1981-2001'', went platinum in Sweden. Nilsson has also collaborated with Swedish television, dubbed cartoons, and acted in several plays. In 2005, his album ''Tiden före nu'' reached # 2 on the Swedish sales chart just after its release. Nilsson took part in the Swedish national

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 ...

selection again in 2007. He performed the

power ballad A sentimental ballad is an emotional style of music that often deals with romantic and intimate relationships, and to a lesser extent, loneliness, death, war, drug abuse, politics and religion, usually in a poignant but solemn manner.J. ...

'' Jag tror på människan'' (''I believe in man'') in Melodifestivalen 2007's first semi final in

Jönköping Jönköping (, ) is a city in southern Sweden with 112,766 inhabitants (2022). Jönköping is situated on the southern shore of Sweden's second largest lake, Vättern, in the province of Småland. The city is the seat of Jönköping Municipa ...

on 3 February 2007, and qualified for the final round, along with Anna Book. The song placed tenth and last in the final after failing to receive any points from the judges or the televoting audience. Nevertheless, ''Jag tror på människan'' reached #9 on the Svensktoppen. The singer played the part of Captain von Trapp in the musical ''

The Sound of Music ''The Sound of Music'' is a musical with music by Richard Rodgers, lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II, and a book by Howard Lindsay and Russel Crouse. It is based on the 1949 memoir of Maria von Trapp, ''The Story of the Trapp Family Singers''. S ...

'' that ran in Stockholm beginning 29 September 2007, ending with a tour and the last performance in

Örebro Örebro ( , ) is the sixth-largest city in Sweden, the seat of Örebro Municipality, and capital of the Örebro County. It is situated by the Närke Plain, near the lake Hjälmaren, a few kilometers inland along the small river Svartån, and ...

in May 2008. Nilsson has been married to the Swedish actress

Malin Berghagen Malin Birgitta Berghagen (born 11 May 1966; called Berghagen Nilsson when she was married to Tommy Nilsson) is a Swedish actress and singer. She is daughter of Lasse Berghagen and Lill-Babs and half-sister to the TV host Kristin Kaspersen. In ...

. Nilsson is also known for his dubbing work for animated films and series, including '' Bonkers (TV series)'', '' Top Cat'', '' Batman: The Animated Series'', '' The Busy World of Richard Scarry'', the voice of '' Patrick Star'' in ''

SpongeBob SquarePants ''SpongeBob SquarePants'' (or simply ''SpongeBob'') is an American Animated series, animated Television comedy, comedy Television show, television series created by marine science educator and animator Stephen Hillenburg for Nickelodeon. It ...

'', among others. He dubbed

Mel Gibson Mel Columcille Gerard Gibson (born January 3, 1956) is an American actor, film director, and producer. He is best known for his action hero roles, particularly his breakout role as Max Rockatansky in the first three films of the post-apoca ...

's voice of John Smith in ''

Pocahontas Pocahontas (, ; born Amonute, known as Matoaka, 1596 – March 1617) was a Native American woman, belonging to the Powhatan people, notable for her association with the colonial settlement at Jamestown, Virginia. She was the daughter of ...

''. In 2016, he participated in '' Så mycket bättre'', which was broadcast on TV4. He also participated in the Swedish show

Stjärnornas stjärna Stjärnornas stjärna is a Swedish TV-series which is being broadcast on TV4 since 2018. Host is Petra Mede. In the series eight professional singers competes in different music genres and every week one of the singers gets voted off the series ...

in 2018, broadcast on the same channel. Since 2017, he is married to actress Linda Olsson. He is back in the band

since 2019.

Discography

Albums

;Studio albums ;Compilation albums ;Other albums *2010: '' I år är julen min'' (Christmas album)

Singles

;Other singles *1981: "In the Mean Meantimes" / "No Way No How" *1981: "Radio Me" *1987: "My Summer With You" (with Tone Norum) *1990: "Too Many Expectations" *1990: "Looking Through the Eyes of a Child" *1990: "Don't Walk Away" *1991: "Long Lasting Love" *1994: "En kvinnas man" *1994: "Lämnar du mig" *1994: "Marianne" *1996: "Om jag är den du vill ha" *1996: "Å så nära" *1996: "Du är för mig" *1999: "Din skugga på mitt täcke" *2001: "När du är här" *2002: "Nu är tid att leva" (with

Åsa Jinder Åsa Tindra Jinder (born 9 October 1963 in Upplands Väsby, Stockholm County, Sweden is a Swedish nyckelharpa player, composer, producer, songwriter, author and lecturer. She has scored album chart successes in Sweden. She lives in Stockholm. 20 ...

) *2005: "Amelia" *2005: "Allt ditt hjärta är" *2006: "Vi brann" *2016: "Håll mitt hjärta hårt" (with Patrik Isaksson and

Uno Svenningsson Uno Svenningsson (born 1 July 1959 in Hagelstorp, Sweden) is a Swedish pop singer-songwriter and guitarist, who has been active in music since the late 1970s. He was the singer in the pop group " Freda'" in the early 1980s and early 1990s, and ...

as Patrik, Tommy & Uno ( Melodifestivalen 2016) *2016: "My Love Is Not Blind" *2016: "Det sitter i dig"

Citations

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Nilsson, Tommy 1960 births Living people Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Sweden Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 1989 Swedish rock singers Melodifestivalen winners Swedish male singers Swedish-language singers Easy Action (band) members Melodifestivalen contestants of 2016 Melodifestivalen contestants of 2007 Melodifestivalen contestants of 2006 Melodifestivalen contestants of 1989