Lili & Susie

Lili & Susie, who performed under the name Lili & Sussie until 1990, formed a Swedish pop duo whose string of successes began in 1987 with the number-one breakthrough single “Oh Mama.” The sisters Lili Päivärinta, born Inga-Lill Päivärinta on January 5, 1966, and Susie Päivärinta, born Susanne Päivärinta on May 10, 1964, both hail from Stockholm’s Södermalm district. Their self-titled debut album arrived on EMI in 1985; although the Swedish-language effort achieved only modest results, it generated several singles and set the stage for the 1987 breakthrough. “Oh Mama,” the duo’s biggest success, held the top spot on the Swedish singles chart and remained in the Top Five for six weeks, while the accompanying album Dance Romance also reached the Top Ten.

Further chart progress followed in 1988 with the Top Ten album Anytime and its Top Ten single “We Were Only Dancing,” along with three additional Top 20 entries that year: “Bara Du Och Jag,” “Enkel Resa,” and “Jag Drömmer On En Jul Hemma.” At the peak of their popularity, Lili & Susie entered the 1989 Melodifestivalen and finished in a tie for fifth place with “Okey Okey.” Their fourth album, The Sisters, delivered two strong 1990 singles—the Top Five “What’s the Colour of Love” and the Top Ten “Boyfriend.”

By contrast, the fifth album No Sugar Added in 1993 brought a steep commercial decline; none of its singles cracked the Top Ten and the project itself missed the Top 40. The sisters therefore ended their partnership, issuing the 1994 retrospective The Collection 85-93 as a farewell. Occasional reunions in later years yielded little further impact. Each pursued solo work, Lili with Djurens Ö in 2001 and Susie with In the Sun in 2005. In 2009 they returned to the singles chart for the first time in more than fifteen years, reaching the Top Ten with the comeback track “Show Me Heaven,” which coincided with the new greatest-hits package Nu Och Då: Det Bästa med Lili & Susie.