Ruling the pop charts

Sarah Taryam, Arts Editor

If you look at the music charts over the past few years, or indeed the past few decades, you will notice the large amount of singers, song-writers, producers and DJs that hail from Scandinavian countries. This week we take a look at the world of Scandipop and find out just why it is so popular and successful.

One could say that Scandimania began way back in 1972 when the pop group ABBA was formed in Sweden. The two men, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and two women, Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad went on to become one of the biggest pop groups ever. Their greatest hits compilation “Gold” became the first record to spend 1,000 weeks in the UK’s album chart. Did you know that their name is an acronym of the first letters of their first names arranged as a palindrome?

When it comes to DJs, some of the best in the world come from Scandinavian countries. Take the late Avicii as an example. Avicii, real name Tim Bergling, began posting his remixes of popular songs on music forums at the age of 16. This eventually led to him bagging a record deal. After a phenomenal career with hit songs such as “Wake Me Up” and “Hey Brother,” Avicii retired from touring in 2016 due to mental health problems. Sadly he passed away in 2018 leaving behind a music legacy that will play on forever.

In other news this week, turn to our Health pages to read about children and vegetarianism. An increasing amount of children are choosing to become vegetarian which can become a concern for parents who worry if their child is getting all the right nutrients to grow healthy and strong.