ROBYN FACTS:
Genre: Pop, R&B
Hometown: Stockholm, Sweden
Albums: Robyn Is Here (1995); My Truth (1999); Don't Stop the Music (2002); Robyn (2005); Body Talk Pt. 1 (2010); Body Talk Pt. 2 (2010); Body Talk (2010)
Awards: 2 Grammy Nominations
Hits: "Do You Know (What It Takes)," "Show Me Love," "Dancing on My Own,"
Other: Music featred on an episode of Gossip Girl.
Though she may be largely remembered as the Swedish songstress who graced airwaves in the mid 1990s, Robyn has managed to have successful career past being a one-hit wonder. After nearly 20 years in the music industry, she continues to be a popular act in her native Sweden and across the globe.
Robyn got her start in the early 1990s at the young age of 12 when she recorded the theme song for a local television show, and later performed her first self-written song on the same program. It was not much later that she was discovered by recording executives, and despite being just 16-years-old, she began to work on her debut album.
Her first record, Robyn is Here, was released in the United States in 1997, and received widespread praise from critics for being a breath of fresh air compared to pop music at the time. All of the music was self-written, and the album contained what is widely considered to be her biggest hit, "Show Me Love." The tune broke into the top 10 on the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S., and also performed well in numerous other countries. The follow-up track, "Do You Know (What it Takes)," was also a hit.
Despite the international acclaim of her debut album, Robyn's next several releases did not reach the United States. Still, she remained one of the biggest stars in her homeland, and her third album, 2002's Don't Stop the Music, peaked at number two in Sweden. It featured a pair of popular singles, and her self-titled follow-up in 2005 became her fourth number one album in the country.
By the latter half of the decade, Robyn was making a push to become relevant once again in the United States, and by 2010 she certainly accomplished that goal. In June of that year, she released Body Talk Pt. 1, which was well received by critics and performed fairly well on the charts. Later that year she dropped Body Talk Pt. 2, and by November, Robyn released the third installment of the Body Talk series, capping an impressive comeback in the states.
With a greater presence in the U.S., Robyn even appeared on a number of television shows including Gossip Girl, where she performed an acoustic version of one of her more recent hits. At just 31-years-old, Robyn is far from finished, and if her recent resurgence is any indication, she is here to stay.