Alcazar (band)

Alcazar is a Swedish pop group who had a string of hit singles during the early 2000s decade and are continuing successfully today.

Biography

The group was created in 1998 with three members: Andreas Lundstedt, Tess Merkel, and Annikafiore Kjaergaard. Their first single, Shine On, was successful in Sweden but it was with their second release, Crying At The Discoteque (which heavily sampled from Sheila B. Devotion's 1979 hit, Spacer), that they achieved success across Europe. Both singles appeared on their debut album Casino. Later editions of Casino contained a cover of the Human League's hit Don't You Want Me, which also served as the album's third single.

In December 2002, Magnus Carlsson joined the group. The second album Alcazarized was released in Sweden in 2003 and became a big hit. It got an international release in 2004.

In Autumn 2004 Alcazar released This Is The World We Live In. The track samples Diana Ross's 1980 number one Upside Down and uses lyrics from Genesis' 1986 single Land Of Confusion. Their follow-up single was entitled Physical. They released the album Dancefloor Deluxe in Sweden in August 2004. In the winter of 2004 they released the Christmas single Here I Am. Alcazar enjoyed considerable success in 2004 in their home country Sweden. This Is The World We Live In, Physical, Dancefloor Deluxe and Here I Am all achieved solid sales.

2005 saw the release of their single "Start The Fire". During the making of its music video, Annikafiore had an accident in which she broke her leg.

Alcazar are currently taking a break from releasing music as a band and will soon launch solo careers. Andreas should appear in Eurovision 2006, as a member of six4one, a multi-national band founded for the sole purpose of representing Switzerland at the contest. Whilst Magnus is taking part in the Swedish Melodifestivalen.

Melodifestivalen

Alcazar have twice taken part in the Melodifestivalen, the competition that selects Sweden's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2003 Not A Sinner, Nor A Saint came third overall. But it became the biggest hit of all the songs in Melodifestivalen 2003. It became Alcazar's first #1 single in Sweden and did sell gold. In 2005 Alcastar failed to qualify for the final automatically, but eventually made it through after a second chance semi-final. However, the group again had to settle for third in the final, which was won by Martin Stenmarck's song Las Vegas. But the song became a hit and only needed three days in stores to became Alcazar's second #1 single in Sweden.

Discography

Albums

Casino — 2000
Alcazarized —2003
A Tribute to ABBA — 2004
Dancefloor Deluxe — 2004

Singles

Shine On — 1999
Ritmo del Amor — 2000
Crying at the Discoteque — 2001
Sexual Guarantee — 2001
Don´t You Want Me — 2002
Not a Sinner nor a Saint — 2003
Ménage à trois - 2003
Someday - 2003
Love Life - 2003
This is the World We Live in - 2004
Physical - 2004
Here I Am - 2004
Alcastar - 2005
Start the Fire - 2005

External links

Swedish musical groups | Melodifestivalen