The Cardigans | |
|---|---|
 The Cardigans performing in September 2006 | |
| Background information | |
| Origin | Jönköping,Småland, Sweden |
| Genres | |
| Years active | 1992–2006, 2012–present |
| Labels | MCA,Mercury,Minty Fresh,Stockholm,Universal |
| Members | Lars-Olof Johansson Bengt Lagerberg Nina Persson Magnus Sveningsson |
| Past members | Peter Svensson Mattias Alfheim |
| Website | www |
The Cardigans are a Swedishrock band formed inJönköping, Sweden in 1992.[2] The main lineup of the band consisted of guitaristPeter Svensson, bassistMagnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead singerNina Persson. Post-hiatus shows since 2012 have been withOskar Humlebo on guitar instead of Svensson.[3]
With their debut albumEmmerdale (1994) they gained a solid base in their home country and enjoyed some success abroad, especially in Japan. Their second albumLife (1995) secured them an international reputation. Their popularity rose when their single "Lovefool", from the albumFirst Band on the Moon (1996), was included in thesoundtrack to the 1996 filmRomeo + Juliet.[2] Other singles included "Erase/Rewind" and "My Favourite Game" from the albumGran Turismo (1998). After a two-year hiatus the band returned to recording, and released their fifth albumLong Gone Before Daylight (2003), a mellowercountry-flavoured record. Their latest album, as of July 2024, isSuper Extra Gravity (2005). After a 2006 tour, the band took a five-year break from musical activities before reuniting in 2012. They have sold over 15 million albums worldwide.
Peter Svensson andMagnus Sveningsson,both heavy metal musicians, formed the group on 31 October 1992 inJönköping, Sweden, with drummer Bengt Lagerberg, guitarist Mattias Alfheim and lead singerNina Persson.[4]
Living together in a small apartment, the Cardigans recorded a demo tape with Persson providing lead vocals on only one of the songs towards the end of the track list.A&R man Ola Hermanson heard the demo and signed the band to his Trampolene imprint. While recording their first album in 1993, Alfheim left and was replaced by Lagerberg's friend, Lars-Olof Johansson, who remained in the band ever since.[5]
They released their debut albumEmmerdale in Sweden and Japan in 1994; it was re-released internationally in 1997. The album included the Swedish radio hit "Rise & Shine", which was later voted the best of 1994 in a poll inSlitz magazine.
The remainder of 1994 was spent touring Europe and recordingLife, which was released worldwide in 1995.Life became an international success, selling more than a million copies and achievingplatinum status in Japan. In 1996,Life was released under the labelMinty Fresh in the US, but this release was essentially a compilation of tracks fromEmmerdale andLife.
After their success withLife, the Cardigans signed withMercury Records, under which they releasedFirst Band on the Moon worldwide in 1996. "Lovefool" was a hit worldwide, particularly in the US and Japan, where the album reached platinum status in three weeks. The album also achievedgold sales status in the US. "Lovefool" was shown onMTV in the late 1990s as a music video with clips from the 1996 hit filmRomeo + Juliet starringLeonardo DiCaprio andClaire Danes. It was also featured in the filmCruel Intentions (1999).
In 1997, the band played themselves in an episode ofBeverly Hills, 90210 as the featured entertainment at their college graduation party, hosted byKelly Taylor's dad. The band performed "Lovefool" and "Been It." Their song "Carnival" was featured in the 1997 filmAustin Powers: International Man of Mystery. The band was also asked to submit the theme song for theJames Bond filmTomorrow Never Dies but rejected the request due to exhaustion that would be exacerbated by the potential added workload; Persson has called her decision to turn down the offer "one of my biggest mistakes."[6]
1998'sGran Turismo was followed by a long hiatus during which the band members pursued solo side projects. The same year they also released acompilation album of rareB-sides,The Other Side of the Moon as a Japan-only release. The video of the song "My Favourite Game" was censored by MTV for showing reckless driving. Despite this, it went on to become their second global hit song. "My Favourite Game" was featured on the soundtrack of thePlayStation video gameGran Turismo 2 in the intro movie on CD1. That year also saw their song "Deuce" appearing onThe X-Files: The Album. Their song "Erase/Rewind" was featured in the 1999 filmsNever Been Kissed andThe Thirteenth Floor. In 2018, German author Thorsten Nagelschmidt published a book titledDer Abfall der Herzen, a reference to the band's song "Junk of the Hearts" featured onGran Turismo.
In 1999, the Cardigans recorded a duet cover ofTalking Heads' "Burning Down the House" withTom Jones for his albumReload.[2]
The Cardigans returned in 2002 to recordLong Gone Before Daylight (2003), a collection of songs mainly written by Persson and Svensson.Long Gone Before Daylight became one of the best selling albums in Sweden in 2003.[citation needed] After a two-year hiatus from their last album, it was released in Japan on 19 March 2003 and in Europe on 24 March 2003. Later it was also released in Canada (22 April 2003) and the United States (25 May 2004).
The album differs from the band's earlier works. Their familiar "happy" pop sound takes on a change to pop songs with more of an American country music influence. It is a much darker album than their previous works, and quieter thanGran Turismo. Indeed, even lead singerNina Persson dyed her once light blonde hair to jet black, reflecting the band's change of mood.[7] The album was produced by Per Sunding after the group's regular producer Tore Johanssen stepped down, feeling himself unable to provide the country sound the group wanted.
Criticism was generally mixed. Some found the change of direction welcome, and felt the band had matured, making songs that were even better than other experienced country-pop styled artists. Others missed the old pop sound, and accused the band of possibly being ashamed of their former "happy" pop sound. The first single of the album, "For What It's Worth" was released on 17 February 2003. The second single was "You're the Storm" released on 2 June 2003. The third and final single was "Live and Learn" released on 3 December 2003. In the summer of 2004, the Cardigans toured withLiz Phair,Katy Rose andCharlotte Martin on the Chicks With Attitude tour.
On 28 April 2005, the band'siTunes Originals album was released through iTunes. On 19 October 2005, the band released their sixth albumSuper Extra Gravity to generally favourable reviews.[8]Super Extra Gravity went straight to the No. 1 spot on the Swedish album chart and was certified gold (sales over 40,000).[citation needed] After the band finished promotional activities in Autumn 2006, the band entered an extended hiatus and devoted themselves to other projects.[citation needed]
In 2012, the Cardigans received a lucrative offer fromHultsfred Festival to perform the albumGran Turismo in full.[9] After initial hesitation, the band decided to accept the offer "as it felt like a good way of tearing us out of our strange new everyday life," according to Persson.[10] Peter Svensson declined to participate, although he had no objection to the band touring without him. They recruited singer-songwriterOskar Humlebo to fill in for Svensson, and asked their agent to seek more shows for them to play.[9] Ultimately, the band made their live comeback with shows in Lund and Copenhagen ahead of Hultsfred, before playing in Poland, Finland, Russia, Indonesia, Taiwan and Japan, with a scheduled concert in Israel cancelled by the promoter.[11] Most of these shows involved performingGran Turismo in full, followed by an assortment of hits from their other albums.
Still with Humlebo in place of Svensson, the band played career-spanning sets when touring resumed during late 2013 with shows in Japan, China and Russia, followed by more dates in 2015 which took them to South Korea, Europe and Latin America. In interviews promoting her 2014 solo albumAnimal Heart, Persson suggested that the success of their most recent live dates opened the possibility for future Cardigans recordings, though there were no firm plans. "It's really fun to do greatest hits things, since there's nothing else, but I think if we continue having this much fun we would like to make another record, because we like to create new things," said Persson.[12] The band's only scheduled show for 2016 was atQstock (Oulu,Finland) on 29 July.[13] In 2017, they performed in Stockholm, in Turku, and at the Yammatovo 3 festival in Croatia.
In June 2018, the band announced their only live shows of the year: a four-date UK tour in December to celebrate the 20th anniversary ofGran Turismo in which they would perform the album in full again.[14] In an interview to promote the tour, Persson stated, "There won't be any more Cardigans records, I'm pretty sure. But we'll keep doing little tours and shows as long as it's fun, as long as we can do it well and feel that it's something that's current to us."[15]
In May 2023, Nina Persson confirmed Peter Svensson would never rejoin the band, and that as a result there would be no new Cardigans albums. The idea of making new music without Svensson was overruled too.[16] The band keeps on touring sporadically.[17]
On 6 September 2024, the band released the two-volume B-sides compilationThe Rest of the Best.
During the band's first breakNina Persson released an album asA Camp, and Peter Svensson and Bengt Lagerberg worked on the project Paus with help from Joakim Berg fromKent, and Magnus Sveningsson recorded asRighteous Boy.
In 2006, Sveningsson restarted their old labelTrampolene and became anA&R for it. The first signing was the Swedish popbandThe Animal Five, which was a minor success in Sweden and Germany.
Lagerberg and Johansson formed the group Brothers Of End, releasing a debut albumThe End in 2009, and a second albumMount Inside in 2011. A third album,Shakers Love, was released in 2014, and Nina Persson appeared on the track "Heat".
In November 2006, Persson featured onThe Cake Sale, an album set up byOxfam Ireland. It contained nine tracks from some of Ireland's leading artists. Proceeds from the album went to thefair trade campaign.
Persson also appeared on theManic Street Preachers' albumSend Away the Tigers (May 2007), providing guest vocals on the UK Chart No. 2 single "Your Love Alone Is Not Enough".[18] She shared vocals with Manics frontmanJames Dean Bradfield, who also appeared on stage with the band at theGlastonbury Festival 2007, and who has rated Peter Svensson as his second favourite guitarist.[19]
In the band's break of 2007, Persson recorded the second A Camp albumColonia,[20] which was released in early 2009. A Camp supported the US release ofColonia with a tour, which began in New York City on 26 May and completed on 15 June in Los Angeles.[21][22]
In 2010, Persson appeared on Danger Mouse & Sparklehorse's collaboration (Dark Night of the Soul) singing "Daddy's Gone" (withMark Linkous).[23]
Persson released the albumAnimal Heart under her own name in 2014.
Current members
Current touring members
Former members
Former touring members
Studio albums
BMI Pop Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | "Lovefool" | Award-Winning Song | Won |
Billboard Music Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "Lovefool" | Top Hot 100 Airplay Track | Nominated |
Billboard Music Video Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | "Lovefool" | Pop/Rock Clip of the Year | Nominated |
Brit Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Themselves | Best International Group | Nominated |
Danish Music Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | Gran Turismo | Foreign Album of the Year | Won |
Denmark GAFFA Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | "My Favourite Game" | Best Foreign Video | Nominated | [28] |
| Best Foreign Hit | Nominated | |||
| 1999 | "Burning Down the House"(withTom Jones) | Nominated | ||
| 2005 | Nina Persson | Best Foreign Female Act | Nominated |
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1995 | Themselves | Best Pop Group | Nominated |
| 1997 | Won | ||
| Best Artist | Nominated | ||
| First Band on the Moon | Best Album | ||
| "Lovefool" | Best Song | ||
| 1999 | Themselves | Best Pop Group | Won |
| Best Artist | Nominated | ||
| Gran Turismo | Best Album | Won | |
| "My Favourite Game" | Best Song | Nominated | |
| Best Music Video | |||
| 2004 | Long Gone Before Daylight | Best Album | Won |
| Themselves | Best Rock Group | ||
| 2006 | Nominated |
MTV Europe Music Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Themselves | Best New Act | Nominated |
| 1997 | "Lovefool" | Best Song | |
| 1999 | Themselves | Best Group | |
| Best Rock | |||
| Best Nordic Act | |||
| 2003 |
Musikexportpriset
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1997 | Themselves | Music Export Award | Won | [29] |
Rockbjornen
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | Themselves | Best Swedish Band | Won |
Smash Hits Poll Winners Party
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1996 | Themselves | Best International Band | Nominated | [30] |
TMF Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | "My Favourite Game" | Best Video International | Won |
Žebřík Music Awards
| Year | Nominee / work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1998 | "My Favourite Game" | Best International Video | Nominated | [31] |
| International | |
|---|---|
| National | |
| Artists | |
