Since 1999 Perrelli has released seven albums and multiple singles. She once again wonMelodifestivalen in 2008 and represented Sweden in theEurovision Song Contest 2008 with her song "Hero". She is one of Sweden's most popular female singers, often performing at Sweden's top shows. Throughout her career, she has worked with different types of music, ranging fromdansband andschlager, via modern pop, to soulfulballads andjazz melodies.
Born inHovmantorp, in the southern Swedish province ofSmåland, at the age of thirteen Nilsson joined a localdansband, Bengt Ingvars,[2] which became "Bengt Ingvars med Charlotte".[2] After finishing her compulsory school education, she moved fromHovmantorp to the neighbouring town ofVäxjö where she attended the High School of Performing Arts.[3] She also became the lead singer of a band named Kendix.[4]
In 1994, Nilsson started singing with the well-established dansbandAnders Engbergs. After two albums, she left them and joined the highly successfulWizex in 1997.[4] Larger venues and professional management increased the band's reputation. In 1998, the band was nominated for a SwedishGrammis (Grammy) for the albumMot nya mål, and the albumTusen och en natt that went gold.[5]
From 1997 to 1998 Nilsson starred as the instructor Millan Svensson in the Swedish soap operaVita lögner.[6]
Following her Eurovision success, Nilsson toured Europe and the Middle East, promoting her winning song. She also started working on her first solo album,Charlotte.[10] Later that year, she was voted Sweden's sexiest woman by the magazineCafé. She later released "I Write You a Lovesong", together with debut albumCharlotte, which was well received. She did not appear at theEurovision Song Contest 2000 due to a dispute withSveriges Television.[11]
In 2001 Nilsson released her second album,Miss Jealousy, a pop/rock album which included the top-20 hit single "You Got Me Going Crazy", written byMårten Sandén,Johan Åberg andPaul Rein[12] as well as the radio hit "Light of My Life". Following the release, she promoted the album throughout Europe and New Zealand.[13][14]
Nilsson hosted the first semi-final ofMelodifestivalen 2003 withMark Levengood andLena Philipsson.[15] In April 2003 she performed inJesus Christ Superstar in Stockholm. In September she released a new single, "Broken Heart", which was followed up by the albumGone Too Long in June 2004. The album contained songs such as "Gone Too Long", "Flashdance" and "Million Miles Away".[16] Charlotte Nilsson changed her name to Charlotte Perrelli afterher 2003 marriage, and has retained the surname since her 2009 divorce.[17]
After the success in Melodifestivalen 2003, Perrelli was once again asked to hostMelodifestivalen 2004.[18] Perrelli,Peter Settman andOla Lindholm ended up hosting the entire tour together. After the festival, SwedishTV4 offered her own show on the channel,[18]Super Troupers, a talent-show for kids.[19]
In mid-2004 she released her, until then, most successful album,Gone Too Long, which included songs by some of Sweden's top producers, includingJörgen Elofsson.[20] The album topped the Swedish top for weeks and contained hits such as "A Million Miles Away" and "Gone Too Long". In the summer, she joinedRobert Wells,Jill Johnson and others on the Rhapsody in Rock-tour in mid-2004.[21] In the spring of 2005, she was a judge onInför Eurovision, a TV show which previewed that year's Eurovision songs.[22]
In 2006, she released the albumI din röst, in honour of the famous jazz singerMonica Zetterlund, which covered Zetterlund's most famous songs, along with some personal favorites and the soul ballad "I din röst", the title song written by Perrelli for the album.[23] The album was successful, and she performed many of the songs in Sweden's top shows such asAllsång på Skansen andNationaldagen. She also co-hosted the TV showTillsammans för världens barn in October, where she also performed "The Greatest Love of All".[24]
In May 2007 Perrelli was the Swedish expert in theNordic preview show panel discussion about theEurovision Song Contest.[25] In mid-2007 Perrelli toured Sweden withDiggiloo. She was joined by singers such asLinda Bengtzing,Lasse Holm,Molly Sandén,Lotta Engberg andJan Johansen.[26] During the summer she released the love ballad "Som du" which she performed at the popular showSommarkrysset.[27] During the autumn she released the single disco song "Jag är tillbaks" which she performed at the showBabban & Co.[28]
On 15 March 2008, Perrelli performed at theStockholm Globe Arena and wonMelodifestivalen 2008 again with her song "Hero",[29] which topped the charts in Sweden for several weeks and became the most sold single of 2008 for a Swedish artist.[30] She went on to represent Sweden in theEurovision Song Contest 2008 in Belgrade, Serbia, where she advanced to the finals. Preparing for Eurovision, she went out on a big tour, performing at popular TV shows in 17 nations, in order to promote the song.[30]
On 14 April, Perrelli filmed the music video for "Hero" on location inStockholm.[29] She also released her album titledHero, which went on to go platinum in Sweden.[31] Despite being one of the favourites to win Eurovision,[32] it finished 18th out of 25 entries in the final, with 47 points in total. The song "Bullet" was subsequently released as a single, performing moderately on the Swedish charts.[33][34]
Perrelli started rehearsals for Rhapsody in Rock along with Wells, with whom she toured with during that summer. Perrelli and Wells performed a concert inBeijing, China during the2008 Summer Olympics.[34] In August, it was revealed that Perrelli had signed a record deal with a Chinese record label; as a result, her albumHero was released in China.[34]
During the autumn, she worked on her Christmas albumRimfrostjul, which was released in November 2008.[35] She also performed on several of Sweden's top TV shows, such asSommarkrysset,Victoriadagen andNationaldagen. On 31 October 2008 Perrelli was a guest judge and coach for the remaining contestants onIdol 2008. In November and December, she promoted her Christmas album and toured Sweden.[36] In the beginning of 2009, she travelled to Beijing to perform in a series of TV shows. She worked as a judge on the Swedish showTalang 2009.[37]
At the Schlager pride in Stockholm in July 2009, she announced that she would release a new album in 2010; however, this was later put forward to 2012.[38] Perrelli recorded a new single for theSwedish Royal Wedding in June 2010 together with pop singerMagnus Carlsson titled "Mitt livs gemål", which was very well received and performed throughout Sweden.[39] In August, she released a fitness book titledKan du Kan jag. In December 2010, she toured Swedish churches with her material fromRimfrostjul. Perrelli continued as a judge onTalang 2010[40] andTalang 2011.[40] During the summer, she toured with Diggiloo once more. In November 2011, she confirmed that she would playEva Peron in the Swedish version of the musicalEvita at theMalmö Opera.[41] As a result, she releasedDon't cry for me Argentina as a single.
She participated inMelodifestivalen 2012 with the entry "The Girl" byFredrik Kempe in a bid to represent Sweden at theEurovision Song Contest 2012 inBaku, Azerbaijan.[42] In the fourth semi-final of the show, she came in fifth, and failed to qualify to the final.[43] Nonetheless, she released her seventh album titledThe Girl, which contained eight new tracks, including "Little Braveheart", a duet with Belgian singerKate Ryan.[44] Other hits includeJust not tonight andNo More Black & Blue. She also released her own perfume and shimmering lotion called The Girl.[45]
In the summer of 2012, she once again toured withDiggiloo. After this, she released her second fitness book.[46][47] In 2013, she released her second Christmas album titledMin barndoms jul and toured extensively in Scandinavia.
In 2015, she released the songBröllopsvalsen which she performed at numerous events. The song is a tribute to her husband. She also released a book about pregnancy.
In 2017, she released the music album in Swedish titledMitt liv.[48] She also toured with Diggiloo during the summers of 2014, 2015, 2017 and 2018.[49] In 2018, she appeared onSå mycket bättre which is broadcast on TV4.[50] She released her autobiography in October 2018 titledFlickan från Småland, which was also the name of her 2019 tour of Sweden.[51]
In August 2003 inOscar's Church, Charlotte Nilsson marriedStockholm-based Swedish–Italianrestaurateur Nicola Ingrosso, her partner since 1996.[57] Their two sons were born in 2004 and 2005.[57] Much of Ingrosso's family refused to attend the wedding amid a dispute that prompted Nicola and Charlotte to change their surnames to Perrelli, hismother's maiden name.[57][17] Nicola's brothers areEmilio, whose ex-wifePernilla Wahlgren and sonBenjamin are also singers; and Vito, whose sonSebastian is a member ofSwedish House Mafia. After speculation in Swedish media that the couple were experiencing relationship issues, Perrelli and Ingrosso officially announced their separation in June 2008.[57][58] On 24 September 2009, the couple filed for divorce.[59]
Since 2012, Perrelli has been in a relationship with Anders Jensen. Perrelli gave birth to the couple's first child on 30 July 2013. In October 2018, she gave birth to her fourth child.[60]
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