Eric Saade isn’t a name anyone knows here in America but in his native Sweden, he’s kind of a big deal. You see, on May 12th, Eric Saade will compete for Sweden in the second semi-final for Eurovision and has his whole country rooting for him – and he’s only 20. WOW. They keep getting younger and younger, but he’s Swedish and we all know that good pop comes out of Sweden.
If you can believe it, Saade started out even younger, writing music at the age of 13 and signing his first record deal at the age of 15! Then, in 2007 Saade entered a competition looking to create a new Swedish boy band, ultimately winning a spot in the band What’s Up!. In 2008 the band went on tour and hit the studio, recording the Swedish-language version of the Camp Rock theme song. Saade and his band mates also dubbed voices for the American actors for the film’s Swedish release. Later that year the boys released their debut album, Pose, taking it to #40 on the Swedish Albums chart. The album spawned only two singles – “Go Girl” and “If I Told You,” seeing the former go all the way to #5. In 2009 Eric left the group and went solo. Three years and BAM. Superstar! Impressive!
Later signing a record deal with Swedish label Roxy Recordings (Agnes, Erik Hassle), Saade released his debut solo single, “Sleepless,” which peaked at #44 on the Swedish Singles chart. It wasn’t until his second single, “Manboy” that Saade really hit his stride. The single went straight to the top of the charts, becoming his biggest hit to date. The song served as Saade’s first attempt at representing Sweden in Eurovision. Unfortunately “Manboy” only placed third in the national final, seeing Anna Bergendahl‘s boring ballad “This Is My Life” winning the coveted spot instead. No matter. Saade’s debut solo album, Masquerade came out in Spring of 2010 and peaked at #2 on the charts. Not a bad consolation prize.
Back to Eurovision – it looks like Saade’s persistence paid off. If he makes it through to the next round, after the semi-final, he’ll go on to the final in Düsseldorf. Check out the video for Eric Saade’s incredibly infectious dance/pop anthem, “Popular,” below. Released in March, the song was written by Fredik Kempe and topped the Swedish Singles chart for four weeks in a row, achieving Platinum status with over 40,000 unites sold. Wishing you the best Eric! Go do Sweden proud!