Håkan Hellström

Håkan Hellström, born on April 2, 1974 in Gothenburg, is a Swedish singer and songwriter known for his lively stage presence and heartfelt performances. He started his music career as a member of the bands Broder Daniel and Honey Is Cool before launching his solo career in 2000 with the album "Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg" (Feel No Sorrow for Me, Gothenburg). Hellström has since gained significant popularity and critical acclaim. Hellström has occasionally faced criticism for singing off-key, although some music critics have described his voice as sensitive, strained, unique, and captivating. He has released a total of nine studio albums, with eight of them reaching the number one position on the Swedish Albums Chart. Before pursuing a solo career, Hellström played drums for Broder Daniel from 1988 to 1994 and briefly joined Honey Is Cool, featuring Karin Dreijer from The Knife and Fever Ray. In 1997, he reunited with Broder Daniel, this time as a bass player. After the release of their album "Broder Daniel Forever" in 1998, the band members took a hiatus. In 1999, Hellström assembled a backing band composed of members from Soundtrack of Our Lives, Weeping Willows, and Broder Daniel to record a demo tape. Despite not having written songs for his previous bands, Hellström had been quietly working on Swedish-language songs. Following the completion of the demo, he received numerous record deal offers and eventually signed with Virgin under the condition that the album be recorded immediately. Hellström made his debut performance as a solo artist on May 26, 2000, at Restaurang Trädgårn in Gothenburg, where he opened for Caesar's. He gained wider recognition with the hit single "Känn ingen sorg för mig Göteborg," and the accompanying debut album received both commercial success and critical acclaim. His musical style drew influences from various artists, including The Smiths, The Jam, Morrissey, Eldkvarn, The Stone Roses, Bruce Springsteen, and Remmy Ongala. In 2002, Hellström released his second album, "Det är Så Jag Säger Det," which incorporated influences from Brazilian samba and Swedish folk singers Evert Taube and Cornelis Vreeswijk. In 2003, he departed from Broder Daniel to focus on his solo career. Subsequently, he released albums such as "Ett Kolikbarns Bekännelser" in 2005 and "Nåt Gammalt, Nåt Nytt, Nåt Lånat, Nåt Blått," which featured tracks that didn't make it onto previous records. Despite taking a step back from the music industry after the birth of his son in 2006, Hellström continued to perform and release albums, including "För Sent För Edelweiss" (2008), "2 Steg Från Paradise" (2010), and "Det Kommer Aldrig Va över för Mig" (2013), the latter achieving triple-platinum status in Sweden. In 2014, Hellström performed for a record-breaking audience of 70,000 at Gothenburg's Ullevi Stadium. His album "Du Gamla du Fria" reached number one in Sweden and enjoyed success in Norway as well. In 2016, he set a new attendance record at Ullevi Stadium with 70,144 people. Hellström's album "Rampljus Vol.1" also reached the number one spot, followed by "Rampljus" featuring new tracks. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.