Agnes (singer)

Released on 28 October 2008, her third album, Dance Love Pop, reached number five in Sweden, 70 in Austria, 38 in France, 45 in Switzerland and 13 in the United Kingdom.

"Release Me" topped the Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs and peaked at three in the United Kingdom, selling over 900,000 copies worldwide.

[3] Agnes also sang in the Vänersborg choir named "Voice",[4] citing legendary American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder as her inspiration.

[4] With 57% of the one million public votes cast during the finale, she defeated Sebastian Karlsson and was crowned as the second Swedish Idol, and the first female to win the competition.

[5] Immediately after winning Idol, Agnes signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and her debut single, "Right Here Right Now (My Heart Belongs to You)" was released.

[6] On 22 August 2006, only eight months after her Idol win, Agnes's third single "Kick Back Relax" premiered on the TV-show "Sommarkrysset".

Like its predecessor, Stronger debuted at number one on the albums chart,[7] and went on to sell over 50,000 copies in Sweden, with it later being certified platinum.

[6] One of the album's tracks, "Love Is All Around" has since been covered by numerous singers on three continents, the most notable being by Australian Idol alumni Ricki Lee Coulter, which peaked at number five in Australia[8] and became one of that country's biggest hits in 2007.

[4] In December, she and her fellow Idol contestant Måns Zelmerlöw joined together for a huge Christmas campaign for clothing store MQ.

[6] In order to promote the company, they duetted on a cover of the Mariah Carey song "All I Want for Christmas Is You", which peaked at number three on the Swedish singles chart and was certified gold for the sale of 10,000 copies.

[4] The same club style would be reflected in Agnes's third studio album, Dance Love Pop, which she had written together with Swedish producer and songwriter Anders Hansson.

[4] In October 2008, it was rumored that Agnes would compete in Melodifestivalen 2009, the competition that would decide Sweden's entry to the Eurovision Song Contest.

The song was written by Anders Hansson, who had previously worked with Agnes on her third studio album, co-writing almost all of the record's tracks, including the first two singles, On and On and "Release Me".

[18] Later that year, "On and On" started to climb the charts in the francophone areas of Europe due to digital downloads from Dance Love Pop.

In February 2010, it was confirmed that Agnes's third French single would be "Sometimes I Forget" and would serve as the follow-up to the massive success of "Release Me" and "On and On", which combined had sold over 160,000 copies in France.

In early 2010, a team consisting of 35 people that, in 2009, was assigned to make Lady Gaga the next star, started to plan Agnes' U.S.

On 19 June 2010, Agnes and Björn Skifs performed at the Wedding of Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, and Daniel Westling.

As a tribute to Victoria, Crown Princess of Sweden, Prince Daniel, Duke of Västergötland engaged Elofsson to compose a song that expresses what people feel when they fall in love.

[44] In a press release from the record company Agnes commented on the album name; "I like how the word 'Veritas' sounds, how it looks and especially what it stands for.

"[45] On 31 August 2012, the song "All I Want Is You" was released as the second single in Sweden and promoted with a performance at Swedish television show Sommarkrysset.

[49] Agnes and singer Darin Zanyar both appeared as the interval act Swedish Pop Voices during the second semifinal of the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö on 16 May.

[52] Seven years after her last release, on 8 May 2019, Agnes revealed on her Instagram page that she would be featured on the posthumous Avicii single "Tough Love".

"Tough Love" was described by DJ Mag as featuring Indian influences in a melodic passage that was inspired by Avicii studying the music of northwest India,[53] which he had played for Pontare and Al Fakir before his death.

The EP sampled the likes of Donna Summer and voices from the 1990 cult documentary film Paris is Burning, and was described in the media as taking a "rawer and darker" musical direction than her previous work.

[56] On 21 August 2020, Agnes announced her upcoming fifth studio album Magic Still Exists, her first in eight years, and released lead single "Fingers Crossed", which she co-wrote with Vargas & Lagola.

An accompanying music video was directed by SWIM CLUB, inspired by Alejandro Jodorowsky's 1973 film The Holy Mountain and Swedish abstract artist Hilma af Klint.

The first song she ever sang on Swedish television was "Varje gång jag ser dig" (Each time I see you), a soul ballad with a strong love lyrics.

Throughout the competition, she continued to impress with her vocals in songs like Flashdance... What a Feeling, I'm So Excited, Young Hearts Run Free, and Can't Take My Eyes Off You.

But after leaving Sony Music and signing on to Roxy, she geared towards the dance and club genre, she was introduced to the songwriter and producer Anders Hansson.

[60] Agnes has often cited strong female soul singers like Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, and Janet Jackson as her inspiration in music.

Agnes in 2006
Agnes performing " Love Love Love " in the Swedish Melodifestivalen 2009