Lena Philipsson

Lena Philipsson, a Swedish pop singer and songwriter, forged a vibrant and repeatedly triumphant path through her country's music industry. Her presence on domestic charts remained steady across the closing stretch of the 1980s and the opening stretch of the 1990s. After her profile dipped during the late 1990s, she stepped away from the studio for seven years, only to return in spectacular fashion with the 2004 album Det Gör Ont En Stund På Natten Men Inget På Dan. That release became the strongest commercial performer of her discography, generating three straight Top Ten singles on the Swedish charts, among them the dominant number-one title track.

Born January 19, 1966, in Vetlanda, Sweden, Philipsson first drew national notice through her appearance on the television talent program New Faces in 1982. She issued her debut single, "Boy" b/w "You Open My Eyes," in 1984, yet her trajectory accelerated two years later upon entering Melodifestivalen, the Swedish Eurovision qualifier and Sweden's highest-rated television broadcast. Her submission "Kärleken Är Evig," composed by Per Gessle and Torgny Söderberg, placed second with 42 points and climbed to number three on the Swedish singles chart. The self-titled debut album Kärleken Är Evig followed and registered inside the Top 20. She returned to Melodifestivalen the next year with "Dansa I Neon," finishing fifth yet securing another major hit that endures as one of her signature recordings; multiple Swedish acts have since sampled it, including Philipsson herself on her 2004 release "Lena Anthem."

In 1988 she again reached Melodifestivalen with the ballad "Om Igen," which again landed in second place and once more achieved Top Ten status. The album Talking in Your Sleep, containing a blend of English- and Swedish-language material, marked her first Top Ten album entry. My Name, released in 1989, became her initial full-English-language project and her most successful album up to that moment, attaining double-platinum certification after surpassing 120,000 units sold. The follow-up, A Woman's Gotta Do What a Woman's Gotta Do, adopted a James Bond-inspired concept centered on a fictional secret agent. For that project Philipsson supplied songwriting credits on every track, and the album again performed strongly. Popularity nevertheless declined through the 1990s, and after the weak sales of 1997's Basta Vanna she withdrew from recording for seven years.

She reentered Melodifestivalen as a performer in 2004 for the first time since 1988. Widely viewed as finished, she carried considerable pressure to deliver. The contest itself had evolved, now incorporating a semifinal round and heightened competition. Her entry "Det Gör Ont" was immediately recognized as a classic; aided by a memorable stage moment in which she straddled her microphone stand in the style of Steve Tyler of Aerosmith, she advanced to the final and captured the contest with 232 points. An English-language version titled "It Hurts" represented Sweden at the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest in Turkey, where she placed fifth. "Det Gör Ont" dominated the Swedish charts, holding the top position for seven weeks and logging 37 weeks inside the Top 50, while "It Hurts" independently reached the Top Five despite sharing essentially the same musical content.

Det Gör Ont En Stund På Natten Men Inget På Dan earned gold certification (30,000 copies) within nine days, remained on the Swedish charts for 51 weeks, and ultimately achieved double-platinum status, supplying her strongest sequence of hit singles. Subsequent releases "Lena Anthem" and "Delirium" both entered the Top Ten, and "På Gatan Där Jag Bor" reached the Top Thirty. In 2005 Philipsson issued her tenth studio album, Jag Ångrar Ingenting, which ascended to number one on the Swedish charts, attained platinum certification shortly afterward, and produced two further Top Ten singles in "Unga Pojkar & Äldre Män" and "Han Jobbar I Affär." The 2006 compilation Lena 20 År surveyed two decades of her recording activity.