Maria Magdalena Philipsson (born 19 January 1966), known by her stage name Lena Philipsson, is a Swedish singer, songwriter and media personality.[1] She represented Sweden in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing fifth. As of 2024, Philipsson is the female lead vocalist of the Swedish duo Roxette.[2]
Philipsson was born in Vetlanda, Sweden. She participated in the Swedish New Faces in 1982. Her career started with the single Boy/You Open My Eyes in 1984 and with her entries at Melodifestivalen in 1986, 1987 and 1988. In 1987, she released the song 'Aquarius 99', a duet with the Russian composer Igor Nikolaev. In 1989, she had great success with the album My Name, which included top hits "Standing in My Rain", "Why," and "Leave a Light". In 1991, she recorded a concept album and show about a female secret agent, 'Agent 006'. In the early 1990s, her fame increased in Sweden, and she continued to release albums until 1997. In 2001, she had a stage comeback; the Lena Philipsson Show was sold out for two and a half years around Sweden. In 2004, she returned after a seven-year hiatus from the album charts.[3]
In 2004, she entered Melodifestivalen for the fourth time as a solo artist, with "Det gör ont". She made it through the semifinal process and emerged as the winner on 20 March 2004, going on to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004 with the translated English language version "It Hurts". The song, composed by Thomas Eriksson, combined up-tempo and disco themes. Philipsson's stage appearance caused much controversy in the Swedish press and media because her performance, in a short fuchsia pink dress and high heels, consisted of dancing with the microphone stand in a fashion similar to Aerosmith's Steven Tyler.[citation needed]
Despite being the third favourite to win the competition, she finished in joint 5th place. The album, Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan, went gold in nine days, with "Det gör ont" as its lead single.[citation needed] It also spawned the singles "Delirium", "Lena Anthem" and "På gatan där jag bor".[citation needed]
The Swedish radio show Tracks voted her best female artist, best Swedish artist, and artist of the year for 2004, and "Det gör ont" was voted best song.[citation needed]
Philipsson onstage in 2004
She released her new album Jag ångrar ingenting in 2005. After one day in the Swedish shops, it had sold over 30,000 copies. A one-hour TV special featuring new songs as well as old hits and some interviews aired in November the same year.[citation needed] In January 2006, Philipsson announced she was to host the 2006 Melodifestivalen. Because Melodifestivalen is a family show, her appearance as host was met with some controversy due to numerous jokes considered inappropriate for the audience.[citation needed]
In early 2007, she released her new version of her greatest hits, "Lena 20 år". The album included hits from all her albums except "Fantasy." Also included was a new song "Jag måste skynda mig på".[citation needed] Lena and Orup set up their own show on China Teatern in Stockholm at the same time as the album release. The show was a critical and public success. Over 113,000 saw it in 2007, and there was a new premiere of the show in Gothenburg in early 2008.[citation needed] After its success in Stockholm and Gothenburg, the show Lena+Orup went on tour across Sweden late 2008. At the same time, Lena and Orup recorded a duet album called "Dubbel", released in November.[citation needed]
Although she sewed her own stage clothes during her early career, she has said that she no longer has the time. In the early 1990s, she was one of three pop stars who were portrayed on stamps in Sweden; the others were Roxette and Jerry Williams. In the 1980s, she sang a duet on TV with American singer Michael Bolton.[citation needed]
On 2 May 2024, Roxette founder Per Gessle announced Philipsson as the band's new female vocalist, replacing the late Marie Fredriksson. The band is scheduled to tour South Africa & Australia in February-March 2025.[2]
Melodifestivalen
Philipsson has participated in Melodifestivalen, the Swedish pre-selection for the Eurovision Song Contest six times: four times as a performer and twice as a songwriter.
Shirley Natasja Clamp is a British-Swedish pop singer. She has achieved four Top 10 singles in Sweden including a Number 1 with "Med hjärtat fyllt av ljus" in 2009, and three Top 10 albums. She has competed seven times in Melodifestivalen between 2003 and 2022, reaching the final twice where she finished second in 2004 and fourth in 2005.
Jag ångrar ingenting is the tenth studio album from Swedish pop singer Lena Philipsson, released in 2005. Introduced with the singles "Unga pojkar och äldre män" and "Han jobbar i affär", the album was released on October 26. On the Swedish Albums Chart, it debuted at number three, repeating that position at the next week and rising up to number two during the third. The album was certified in Platinum on December 13, 2005.
Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan is a studio album by Swedish pop singer Lena Philipsson, led by the first single and number one hit "Det gör ont", which won Melodifestivalen 2004. The album was released on 4 August 2004, debuting at No. 1 in Sweden, and not falling until a few weeks thereafter. In 2005, more than 120,000 copies of the album had been sold, granting it a double-platinum certification.
Dansa i neon was released on 15 May 1987 and is an album from Swedish pop singer Lena Philipsson. The album peaked at number 19 at the Swedish Albums Chart.
Lasse Stefanz is a Swedish dansband formed in Kristianstad in 1967. The band was popular during the 1980s. The band was formed by Hans Sigfridsson, Lars Sigfridsson and Olle Jönsson. Later members are Christer Ericsson, Anders Pettersson and Gunnar Nilsson. Olle Jönsson is the singer, as well as the ex-drummer. Lasse Stefanz had hits with songs as "Oh, Julie" (1982) and released albums as Peppelinos Bar (1988). 1989-1990, Lasse Stefanz and Christina Lindberg had a Svensktoppen hit with the song "De sista ljuva åren". In 1989, Lasse Stefanz was awarded a Grammis for "Dansband of the year".
Hans Thomas Eriksson, known by his stage name Orup, is a Swedish singer, songwriter and musician who enjoyed major success in his native country and Scandinavia in the late 1980s and early 1990s with songs like "Jag blir hellre jagad av vargar", "Regn hos mej", "M.B.", "Då står pojkarna på rad", "Magaluf", and "Stockholm". Orup has also written several songs for other performers. He wrote the winning song of Melodifestivalen 2004, "Det gör ont" performed by Lena Philipsson. He was one of the judges on X Factor in 2012. Orup also took part in season 5 of the Swedish TV-show Så mycket bättre, broadcast on TV4.
100% Lena was released in 2002 and is a compilation album by Swedish pop singer Lena Philipsson.
Sweden was represented by Lena Philipsson and the song "It Hurts", which won the song selection Melodifestivalen 2004 under the title "Det gör ont".
Hitlåtar med Lena Philipsson 1985–1987 is a 1988 compilation album from Swedish pop singer Lena Philipsson.
Hennes bästa was released on 8 June 1998 and is a compilation album from Swedish pop singer Lena Philipsson.
Lena 20 år is a compilation album released on 24 January 2007 from the Swedish pop singer Lena Philipsson. It peaked at number two on the Swedish Albums Chart.
Lena Philipsson is a 1994 compilation album from Swedish pop singer Lena Philipsson.
Boy is a 1987 compilation album from Swedish pop singer Lena Philipsson.
Lena Philipsson Collection, is a 2001 compilation album by Swedish pop singer Lena Philipsson. It peaked at #13 at the Swedish album chart.
"It Hurts" is a song recorded by Swedish singer Lena Philipsson. It was written by Thomas "Orup" Eriksson and produced by Anders Hansson for Philipsson's studio album Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan (2004). It is the best known as the winning song of Melodifestivalen 2004, where it was performed in Swedish as "Det gör ont", and as Sweden's entry at the Eurovision Song Contest 2004, where it finished in fifth place with 170 points.
"Dansa i neon" is a Swedish language song, sung by Swedish pop singer Lena Philipsson and finishing 5th at the Swedish Melodifestivalen 1987. "Dance in the Neon Light" is an English version of the Swedish language song. Dansa i neon was written by Tim Norell, Peo Thyrén and Ola Håkansson, and was first meant to have been performed by Lili & Susie. Ola Håkansson proposed that, but Sveriges Television said no.
"På gatan där jag bor" is a song by Swedish singer Lena Philipsson from her studio album Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan (2004). Written by Orup and produced by Johan Åberg, "På gatan där jag bor" was released as the album's fourth and final single on 5 January 2005 through Columbia and Sony Music.
"Lena Anthem" is a song by Swedish singer Lena Philipsson from her ninth studio album Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan (2004). It was released as the album's third single on 11 October 2004 through Columbia and Sony Music. Written by Thomas "Orup" Eriksson and produced by Anders Hansson, "Lena Anthem" is a disco song with synthesizer instrumentation and interpolations of Philipsson's 1987 single "Dansa i neon". Lyrically, the song contains exaggerated and tongue-in-cheek statements that proclaim her greater than her rivals.
"Delirium" is a song by Swedish singer Lena Philipsson from her ninth studio album Det gör ont en stund på natten men inget på dan (2004). It was released as the album's second single on 7 July 2004 through Columbia and Sony Music. Written by Thomas "Orup" Eriksson and produced by Anders Hansson, "Delirium" is a disco and power pop song with synthesizer and guitar instrumentation and schlager influences.
"Unga pojkar & äldre män" is a song by Swedish singer Lena Philipsson from her tenth studio album Jag ångrar ingenting (2005). Written by Orup and produced by Anders Hansson, the song was released as the album's lead single on 21 September 2005 through Columbia and Sony BMG. It peaked at number four on the Sverigetopplistan singles chart.
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