b. Robin Miriam Carlsson, 12 June 1979, Stockholm, Sweden. This Swedish pop singer achieved great commercial success in her homeland and also a brief period of fame in the USA. Carlsson first performed as a member of a travelling theatre group founded by her parents. She began writing songs when she was 11 as a form of self-expression to heal the pain of her parents' recent divorce, and was still at school when she launched a music career. She landed a recording contract with BMG Sweden who put her in the studio with leading producers/writers including Denniz Pop and Max Martin. Robyn enjoyed an instant Swedish hit in 1995 with the melodic urban pop track "Do You Really Want Me". Her debut album was re-released in America in 1997, and generated two Top 10 pop hits with "Do You Know (What It Takes)" and "Show Me Love".
The follow-up albums, My Truth and Don't Stop The Music, failed to maintain the artist's commercial presence stateside, but confirmed her popularity in her native Sweden with a string of hit singles. Carlsson then bought herself out of her BMG contract and, in 2004, established her own record label, Konichiwa. Her fourth album Robyn proved very popular in Sweden, reaching the top of the charts and spawning the hit single "Be Mine". In 2006 she appeared on the Basement Jaxx track "Hey U", taken from the UK dance act's Crazy Itch Radio. A revised version of Robyn was released in the UK the following summer. One of several new tracks to be featured, "With Every Heartbeat", provided the singer with a surprise UK chart-topper in August.
