Icona Pop

Aino Jawo and Caroline Hjelt, lifelong companions who comprise Icona Pop, merge pop with dance through their bold, melody-driven tracks. One of 2012’s standout releases, their single “I Love It” brought the Swedish pair to worldwide notice. Their album This Is... Icona Pop, issued in 2013, likewise performed well, yet afterward Hjelt and Jawo concentrated on standalone tracks and shorter releases that paired them with Charli XCX, Afrojack, Hudson Mohawke, and Patrick Berger. Icona Pop maintained chart presence later in the decade via “Emergency” in 2015 and refreshed their approach with “Next Mistake” in 2018. Entering the 2020s, the duo sustained momentum through numerous singles plus the 2023 album Club Romantech, all showcasing a more refined take on their high-energy style.

Jawo and Hjelt first crossed paths at a Stockholm party in 2009 after attending the same music school; Icona Pop formed shortly thereafter. Early recognition arrived with the 2010 Kitsuné release “Manners,” later interpolated on Chiddy Bang’s “Mind Your Manners,” which climbed to number 19 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart and appeared on the rap duo’s debut Breakfast. That same year Icona Pop issued the Nights Like This EP containing “Manners,” the Knocks collaboration “Sun Goes Down,” and the title track. Following European festival dates and a first U.S. live appearance in 2012, the pair delivered the digital EP The Iconic that September. Its Charli XCX-featured cut “I Love It” became a worldwide success and surfaced in television, film, advertising, and gaming for years afterward. The track earned a 2013 Teen Choice Award nomination for Choice Single and a 2014 Billboard Music Award nod for Top Dance/Electronic Song, ultimately claiming Song of the Year at the 2014 SESAC Pop Awards.

November 2012 brought the self-titled debut album, which reached number 55 on the Swedish Albums Chart. The Iconic received a physical edition in early 2013, while This Is... Icona Pop, their first album aimed at international markets, arrived that September and peaked at number 36 on the Billboard 200; it was also nominated for Best Group Album at the 2014 Scandipop Awards. Subsequent tours found them supporting Katy Perry, Miley Cyrus, and One Direction, during which Icona Pop released Tiësto’s “Let’s Go,” Cobra Starship’s “Never Been in Love,” and their own 2014 single “Get Lost.”

The Emergency EP surfaced in May 2015, its title song topping the Billboard Dance Chart. The following year they dropped “Someone Who Can Dance,” “Brightside,” and the Louis the Child collaboration “Weekend,” while voicing Satin and Chenille in the animated feature Trolls. Further 2017 output included “Girls Girls,” the Peking Duk track “Let You Down,” and the covers EP Så mycket bättre 2017: Tolkningarna, plus a return to their Trolls characters in the holiday special Trolls Holiday. That period also yielded a Scandipop Award for Best Group, repeated in 2018. Additional 2018 collaborations arrived with Avon on “All My Girls,” Sweater Beats on “Faded Away,” and a remix of Tove Lo’s “Bitches” alongside Charli XCX and Elliphant.

The productive run continued in 2019 with R3hab on “This Is How We Party” and Yves V and Afrojack on “We Got That Cool.” Signing to Ultra Music, Icona Pop debuted on the label with July’s “Next Mistake,” whose ’90s-leaning production involved Hudson Mohawke among others. In 2020 they teamed with Hayden James for “Right Time” and with Steve Aoki and Alle Farben for “I Love My Friends.” Big Freedia’s Louder EP contained the Icona Pop features “Pipe That” and the title track. Additional singles that year comprised “Feels in My Body” and the playful Sofi Tukker duet “Spa,” which later received remixes by Lee Foss and James Hype. Hjelt and Jawo again lent their voices to Satin and Chenille for Trolls World Tour. 2021 saw “Off of My Mind” with Vize, “Do It Anyway” with DVBBS, and remixes of Brynn Elliott’s “Tell Me I’m Pretty” and Bennett’s “Buzzed.”

The next year brought the retro-styled “You’re Free” with Ultra Naté and the Cheat Codes single “Payback,” together with a tenth-anniversary edit of “I Love It.” Early 2023 delivered the Galantis collaboration “I Want You,” followed by further singles ahead of September’s Club Romantech. Crafted over three years and tracked in Stockholm during the COVID-19 pandemic, the album incorporated many post-2020 singles alongside new material that paired heartbroken themes with uplifting arrangements.