Icona Pop ( /aɪˈkɒnə pɒp/) are a Swedish electropop duo that formed in 2009, with electro house, punk and indie pop music influences. The two members Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo, who grew up in Stockholm, create music "you can both laugh and cry to at the same time". They signed to TEN Music Group in 2009. Their biggest hit to date has been "I Love It".
The duo received international attention following their debut single "Manners", released by Neon Gold on French label Kitsuné and the extended play album Nights Like This on English Mercury Records. Since September 2012, the duo have been based in the United States, in Los Angeles and New York City.
Career
Beginning
Caroline Hjelt (born 8 November 1987) and Aino Jawo (born 7 July 1986, of a Finnish mother and Gambian father) attended the same music school in Stockholm, but met by chance at a party in February 2009 and formed the duo. Four weeks later, they had written songs for their very first performance as a duo. Two years later, the duo described their music as "classical pop melodies with drums and synths". Both Hjelt and Jawo are feminists and wanted to fight for gender equality in the music industry.
The press, including NME, The Guardian, Rolling Stone and Pitchfork Media, have praised the duo. The Guardian described the debut single "Manners" as "effortlessly cool". The duo has worked in the studio with producers including Style of Eye, Patrik Berger (Robyn), Elof Loelv (Niki & The Dove) and Starsmith.
In fall 2012, the duo released an extended play Iconic in the US and the album Icona Pop in Sweden. The duo have performed in Sweden, the US, the UK, Germany, Italy, Canada, and Hong Kong and have also been interviewed by Swedish and foreign press.
2012-13: Breakthrough with I Love It and This Is... Icona Pop
Main articles: Icona Pop (album) and This Is... Icona PopIn the summer of 2012, they took part in a number of festivals including electro music festival Summerburst in Gothenburg and also appeared at the Stockholm Stadium, at the start of an international festival and broadcast via Sveriges Television (SVT).
"I Love It", a pre-release of their self-titled debut album Icona Pop charted on Sverigetopplistan, the official Swedish singles chart. The song was also featured in the 2012 video game Need for Speed: Most Wanted, in a German television commercial for Coca-Cola Light in January 2013, the theme song to the American reality-television series Snooki & JWoww, and in an episode of the American comedy-drama television series Girls and the popular vampire-teen drama television series The Vampire Diaries. The second single "Ready for the Weekend" was released on 11 September 2012. Both tracks appear on their second extended-play album, released on 16 October 2012. "I Love It" was also used in the advert for the Samsung Galaxy S4.
Their EP Iconic EP reached a peak height of 21 on the U.S. iTunes dance chart. In 2013, they embarked on a tour of the United States with Passion Pit and Matt & Kim. In January 2013, "I Love It" was featured in the third episode of the second season of Girls, an HBO show created by Lena Dunham. In March 2013, the duo was named one of Fuse television's 30 must-see artists at the South by Southwest festival. In March 2013, "I Love It" was featured in the sixteenth episode of the fourth season, named "Bring It On", of The Vampire Diaries. On 26 March 2013, "I Love It" was performed on the week 2 results show of Dancing with the Stars. On 3 May 2013, the duo performed "I Love It" on the late-night talk show, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon and on the Good Morning America morning news/entertainment show. On 6 May 2013, "I Love It" was featured in the FOX musical-comedy series, Glee. The song was performed by the "New Directions" in Glee's twenty-second and final episode of season four, "All or Nothing". This song is featured in a 2013 ShoeDazzle commercial. On 19 May 2013 the duo performed "I Love It" on the Billboard Music Awards, wearing custom light up garments by designer Geoffrey Mac. The song also is featured in a commercial for the WNBA's upcoming season that was aired during the 4th quarter of Game 7 of the Heat-Pacers Eastern Conference Championship game on 3 June 2013. It was also featured in a commercial during the Spurs-Heat game on 9 June 2013.
On 4 June 2013, the duo released their new single "Girlfriend". Icona Pop revealed in one interview that they recorded their international album with all new songs. The duo said that "the new album isn't just going to be sixteen tracks like 'I Love It'" and that they are trying new genres and sounds. In July 2013, Icona Pop received two Teen Choice awards for Choice Music Breakout Group and Choice Single: Group. On July 28, 2013, "All Night" was released as the official third single from the album. It gained moderate success in European charts.
On 4 August 2013, the duo visited Montreal, where they participated in the annual Osheaga Festival.
2014-present: Get Lost, Emergency and opening acts
On June 23, 2014 the duo released a new single called "Get Lost" which gained less international attention. In the same period, the duo also performed as the opening act for Katy Perry and Miley Cyrus tours. They also collaborated with Tiesto for the song "Let's Go" and with Cobra Starship for the single "Never Been In Love" which became a successful hit in Italy. On 26 May 2015, the duo released the single "Emergency", a collaboration with Erik Hassle. The song peaked a few weeks later on the Billboard Dance Chart, making their second single to top that chart after All Night. The song was also featured in the video game FIFA 16. In July the EP Emergency was released. It includes the critically acclaimed First Time and the smash-hit Clap Snap. The duo was announced as an opening act for the North American leg of One Direction's "On the Road Again" tour in 2015. On February 23rd, 2016, Icona Pop performed a new single, "Someone Who Can Dance" at the Grammis in Stockholm.
Discography
Main article: Icona Pop discography- Icona Pop (2012)
- This Is... Icona Pop (2013)
Tours
- As solo supporting act
- Marina and the Diamonds's The Lonely Hearts Club Tour
- Miley Cyrus' Bangerz World Tour
- Katy Perry's Prismatic World Tour
- One Direction's On the Road Again Tour
Awards
- Teen Choice Awards
| Year | Nominated Work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | "I Love It" (with Charli XCX) | Choice Single: Group | Nominated |
| 2015 | Icona Pop | Choice Music Group: Female | Nominated |
- Billboard Music Awards
| Year | Nominated Work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "I Love It" (with Charli XCX) | Top Dance/Electronic Song | Nominated |
- MTV Europe Music Awards
| Year | Nominated Work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | Icona Pop | Best Swedish Act | Nominated |
- iHeartRadio Music Awards
| Year | Nominated Work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "I Love It" (with Charli XCX) | Best Lyrics | Nominated |
- SESAC Pop Awards
| Year | Nominated Work | Award | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2014 | "I Love It" (with Charli XCX) | Songwriter of the Year | Won |
| Song of the Year | Won |
- Grammis Award
| Year | Nominated Work | Award | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | I Love It | Song Of The Year | Nominated | |
| Icona Pop | Newcomer Of The Year | Won | ||
| Icona Pop | Electronic/Dance Of The Year | Nominated | ||
| 2014 | Icona Pop | Artist Of The Year | Nominated | |
| Electronic/Dance Of The Year | Won |
- Other Awards
| Award | Nominated Work | Category | Result | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaffa | Icona Pop | Swedish Breakthrough of the Year | Won | |
| P3 Gold | I Love It | Song Of The Year | Won | |
| Elle Gala | Icona Pop | Best Dressed Duo | Won |
[ Source: Wikipedia ]