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Espen Lind

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Espen Lind
Background information
Born (1971-05-13) 13 May 1971 (age 53)
OriginTromsø, Norway
Genres
Occupations
  • Record producer
  • songwriter
  • singer
Years active1995–present
LabelsUniversal

Espen Lind (born 13 May 1971) is a Norwegian record producer, songwriter, singer, and multi-instrumentalist. He is one half of the production team Espionage, and together with his long time partner Amund Bjorklund he has written and/or produced songs for artists like Taylor Swift, Beyoncé, Train, Jennifer Hudson, Emeli Sande and Selena Gomez. Espen has also been a mentor on the Norwegian version of The Voice.

Solo records

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Espen Lind released his first solo album, Mmm...Prepare To Be Swayed, in 1995 under the moniker, 'Sway'. Only released in Norway, it received mixed reviews and sold approximately 5,000 copies. His commercial breakthrough came in 1997 with the single "When Susannah Cries" which was a hit in several European and Latin American countries, including Norway where it was number one for six weeks. His second album Red went on to sell more than 100,000 copies in Norway, and 350,000 copies worldwide, earning Lind three Norwegian Grammy awards (Spellemannprisen) in 1998, including Artist of the Year.

2000 saw Lind releasing his third album, This Is Pop Music, and the singles "Black Sunday" and "Life Is Good". The album also contains a duet, "Where the Lost Ones Go," with Norwegian singer Sissel Kyrkjebø. The album reached gold status in Norway but was generally perceived to be a commercial disappointment compared to its predecessor. After a 3-year break Lind released a new single, "Unloved," in December 2004, followed by the album April, in January 2005.

In 2006 Lind, together with fellow Norwegian artists Kurt Nilsen (World Idol winner), Alejandro Fuentes and Askil Holm released the concert album Hallelujah Live, featuring songs from the foursome's solo records as well as several songs by other artists, most notably a cover version of Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah".

Lind released a new single, "Scared Of Heights," in May 2008. His fifth album titled Army Of One was released on 23 June 2008.

In January 2009 he received the award "Årets Spelleman" (artist of the year) at the Norwegian Grammy Awards.

Writing and producing

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Espen Lind performing in Norway

During the past few years Espen Lind has done a lot of writing and producing, most notably as co-writer of "Irreplaceable" by Beyoncé and "Drive By" and "Hey, Soul Sister" by Train. Together with writing partner Amund Bjørklund in the production team Espionage he has also written and/or produced songs for artists Lionel Richie, Ne-Yo, Chris Brown and Leona Lewis. Morten Harket covered Lind's "Scared of Heights" for his album Out of My Hands.

Selected credits

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Discography

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The following is a discography of albums and singles released by Norwegian music artist Espen Lind.

Albums

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Statistics Singles
Mmm... Prepare To Be Swayed
  • "Yum Yum Gimme Some"
  • "Blast Yer Brain"
Red
  • Released as Sway
  • Released: 20 May 1997
  • Peak chart positions:
  • Label: Universal
Red
This Is Pop Music
April
  • "Unloved"
  • "Look Like Her"
  • "Million Miles Away"
Hallelujah – Live
Army of One
  • "Scared of Heights"
  • "Sweet Love"
Hallelujah – Live Volume 2

Singles

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Year Title Chart positions Album
NOR
[1][4]
AUT
[5]
BEL (VL)
[5]
BEL (WA)
[5]
FRA
[5]
GER
[6]
NL
[7]
SWE
[5]
SWI
[5]
UK
[8]
1995 "Yum Yum Gimme Some" (as Sway) 17 Mmm... Prepare To Be Swayed
"American Love" (as Sway) N/A Red
1997 "Baby You're So Cool" (as Sway) N/A
"When Susannah Cries" (as Sway) 1
"When Susannah Cries" [new release] 1 10 2 21 41 9 10 34 5 185 Red [new version]
"Lucky For You" N/A 82
1998 "American Love" N/A
2000 "Black Sunday" 4 This Is Pop Music
2001 "Where the Lost Ones Go" (with Sissel Kyrkjebø) N/A 90
2002 "Life Is Good" N/A 99
2004 "Unloved" 1 April
2005 "Look Like Her" N/A
"Million Miles Away" N/A
2006 "Hallelujah" (with Kurt Nilsen, Askil Holm and Alejandro Fuentes) 1 Hallelujah – Live
"The Boys Of Summer" (with Kurt Nilsen, Askil Holm and Alejandro Fuentes) 12
2008 "Scared of Heights" 1 Army of One
"Sweet Love" N/A
2009 "With or Without You" (with Kurt Nilsen, Askil Holm and Alejandro Fuentes) 1 Hallelujah – Live Volume 2

References

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  1. ^ a b "Sway – VG-lista. Offisielle hitlister fra og med 1958". Archived from the original on 26 November 2005. Retrieved 30 May 2011.
  2. ^ Espen Lind – Red – norwegiancharts.com
  3. ^ charts.de – Albums – Espen Lind[dead link]
  4. ^ a b c d e f norwegiancharts.com – Discography Espen Lind
  5. ^ a b c d e f Espen Lind – When Susannah Cries – Charts
  6. ^ charts.de – Singles – Espen Lind[dead link]
  7. ^ dutchcharts.nl – Espen Lind – When Susannah Cries
  8. ^ Chart Log UK1994–2010 – DJ Steve L. – LZ Love – Espen Lind
[edit]
Awards
Preceded by Recipient of the best Pop solo artist Spellemannprisen
1997
Succeeded by
Preceded by
No Artist of the year award
Recipient of the Artist of the year Spellemannprisen
1997
Succeeded by
Preceded by Recipient of the Spellemannprisen
as This year's Spellemann

2008
Succeeded by