Therese

Swedish dance-pop singer Therese Grankvist first appeared in Nassjo in 1977. Her family later settled in Tullinge near Stockholm, where she enrolled at the Bjorkhaga Performing Arts School. Messages left on the phones of several label executives earned her a chance to cut demos for Sony Music. A random encounter with producer Dr. Alban led him to recommend her as lead singer for the dance act Drömhus, a partnership that delivered the albums Drömmar and Langtan plus a Top Ten reading of Freestyle’s “Vill Ha Dig.” She declared her exit from the group in 2000, then issued her first solo album, Acapulco, three years afterward. In 2004 her voice powered Stonebridge’s “Put ‘Em High,” one of the year’s biggest European dance tracks, and its successor “Take Me Away,” landing her a contract with the prominent Hed Kandi label. An extensive promotional tour followed, featuring headline appearances at the Miami Winter Music Conference and Sydney Mardi Gras, after which she released her debut U.K. solo single, the electro-tinged “Feelin’ Me,” and guested on Steve Mac’s “Another Love.” Therese competed in Melodifestivalen on two occasions, first with Drömhus and later with glam pop band the Attic, and she played Josefin in the 2000 film Hjarta Av Sten. Reports indicated she had signed with Universal Records and begun work on a second album.