Lene Nystrøm

Lene Nystrøm Rasted
Lene Nystrøm Rasted performing in July 2008
Background information
Birth name	Lene Grawford Nystrøm
Also known as	Lene
Born	(1973-10-02) 2 October 1973 Tønsberg, Norway
Genres	Pop, dance-pop, eurodance, Europop, R&B
Occupation(s)	Singer, songwriter
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	1990- current
Labels	Polydor (2002–2004)
Associated acts	Aqua

Lene Nystrøm Rasted (born Lene Grawford Nystrøm on 2 October 1973), better known by her stage name Lene, is a Norwegian singer-songwriter who is the lead vocalist of the Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua.

Life and career

1973–94: Early life

Nystrøm-Rasted was born on 2 October 1973 in Tønsberg, Norway. When she was a teenager, she became interested in performing. She began modeling and also worked as a bartender. From 1990–93, she appeared on the Norwegian game show Casino which aired on TVNorge.

1994–01: Aqua and "Aquarium"

Lene with René Dif (as Ken) in the video Barbie Girl

Main article: Aqua (band)

In 1994, Nystrøm-Rasted was working as a singer on the Norwegian cruise ship MS Peter Wessel and was spotted by musician René Dif. He recruited her as lead singer for the music group Joyspeed, later renamed Aqua. The group consisted of vocalists Nystrøm-Rasted, Dif along with Søren Rasted and Claus Norreen. In 2001, the band split up.

2002–06: Solo career and "Play With Me"

After the breakup of Aqua, Nystrøm-Rasted continued as a soloist. In 2003, she released her first album Play with Me. It marked a change in her musical style, from the bubblegum sound of Aqua to a more R&B-influenced style. It reached number 30 on Denmark's Hitlisten chart and 74 on Norway's VG-lista chart. The album single "Virgin Superstar" was given some radio airplay, but did not chart and was not released. Her debut single "It's Your Duty" was released on 8 September. It peaked at number 3 on Denmark's Hitlisten chart and number 9 on Norway's VG-lista chart.

In 2004, she released the second single "Pretty Young Thing", a cover of Stella Soleil, which did not chart. She released a third and fourth single as limited vinyl promos of a cover version of "Here We Go", which was originally performed by Moonbaby, and "Scream" to DJs and radio stations. The song "We Wanna Party", which Lene recorded and co-wrote with Xenomania, appeared on Girls Aloud's 2008 album Out of Control. Nystrøm-Rasted and Xenomania co-wrote two more Girls Aloud songs, the tracks "No Good Advice" and "You Freak Me Out", which appeared on the Girls Aloud debut album Sound of the Underground. "No Good Advice" became a breakout hit for the group. In 2005, Nystrøm-Rasted provided guest vocals on the LazyB single "I Love N.Y." and as part of charity project Giv Til Asien on the single Hvor små vi er, which peaked at number 1 at Danish single charts.

2007–Present: Aqua Reunion

On 26 October 2007, Nystrøm-Rasted reunited with the other members of Aqua, and solicited opportunities for a single summer concert tour. After fielding offers by record companies in Denmark, Canada, United States, and United Kingdom, they settled with an eight concert tour in Denmark as part of the 2008 Grøn Koncert festival. After the big success of the summer concert, Nystrøm-Rasted continued with work with Aqua and released a new track, "Back to the 80's", on 25 May 2009. They released their greatest hits album on 15 June, which featured the track, along with sixteen remastered tracks and three other new songs, "My Mamma Said", "Spin Me a Christmas" and "Live Fast, Die Young". From May to August, they toured Scandinavia and performed at several gigs in Germany, the UK, and France.

The greatest hits CD was released in North America and many European countries on 22 September, and in the UK on 29 September. In 2009, Nystrøm-Rasted had a major role in the 2009 film Deliver Us from Evil under Danish director Ole Bornedal. On 14 March 2011, Aqua released the single "How R U Doin?". They released the album Megalomania, on 3 October. She is one of the judges for Voice – Danmarks største stemme (Denmark's version of The Voice) which aired from November 2011 to February 2012 and also a judge in The Voice of Norway. Lene was acting in the movie Varg Veum - Cold Hearts (2012 film) as the girl friend of Veum and a social worker.

Personal life

On 25 August 2001, Lene married Søren Rasted. The ceremony was held in Las Vegas. The couple moved from London to Denmark in 2004. They have two children.

Discography

with Aqua

Main article: Aqua discography

Studio albums

Year	Album details	Peak chart positions		Certifications
		DEN	NOR
2003	Play with Me Released: 2003 Label: Polydor Formats: CD	30	74
"—" denotes albums that did not chart or were not released.

Singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions		Album
		DEN	NOR
2003	"It's Your Duty"	3	9	Play With Me
2004	"Pretty Young Thing"	—	—
"—" denotes singles that did not chart or were not released.

Singles (As featured artist)

Year	Title	Peak chart positions				Album
		DEN	NOR	SWE	GER
2005	"Hvor små vi er" (as part of Giv Til Asien)	1	—	—	—	N/A
2008	"Vi ka alt vi to" (Hej Matematik feat. Lene)	—	—	—	—	Vi Burde Ses Noget Mere
2012	"2012 (Shift happens)" (LazyB feat. Lene)	—	—	—	—	N/A
"—" denotes singles that did not chart or were not released.

Promotional singles

Year	Title	Peak chart positions				Album
		DEN	NOR	SWE	GER
2004	"Here We Go"	—	—	—	—	Play With Me
	"Scream"	—	—	—	—
"—" denotes promotional singles that did not chart or were not released.

Other appearances

Title	Year	Other artist(s)	Album
"Two Directions"	1992	N/A	Something Special: Melodier av Tom Hansen
"I Love N.Y."	2005	LazyB	Lazyboy TV

Filmography

Films

Film	Year	Director	Character	Description
Fri os fra det onde	2009	Ole Bornedal	Pernille	Lene's film debut. Internationally released as "Deliver us from evil".
Svik		Håkon Gundersen	Eva Karlsen	Internationally released as "Betrayal". Lene sang three exclusive recorded songs in German, called "Wenn der Krieg gewonnen ist", "Die französische Sängerin" and "Tigerin und Vögellein", which are yet unreleased.
G-Force		Hoyt Yeatman	Juarez	Lene's first voice role, where she dubbed Penélope Cruz as the female guinea pig, FBI Special Agent, in Norwegian. Alternative title "Spy Animal: G-Force".
Varg Veum - Skriften på veggen	2010	Stefan Faldbakken	Karin Bjørge	First movie of the second series. Lene plays the girlfriend of Trond Espen Seim's character Varg Veum. Internationally broadcast as "The Wolve - The writing on the wall". German title is "Der Wolf - Das Geschriebene an der Wand".
Varg Veum - Svarte får	2011			Second movie of the second series. Internationally broadcast as "The Wolve - Black sheep".
Varg Veum - Dødens drabanter		Stephan Apelgren		Third movie of the second series. Internationally broadcast as "The Wolve - Consorts of death".
Klassefesten		Niels Nørløv Hansen	Eva	Supporting role.
Varg Veum - I mørket er alle ulver grå		Stephan Apelgren	Karin Bjørge	Fourth movie of the second series. Internationally broadcast as "The Wolve - At night all wolves are grey".
Varg Veum - De døde har det godt	2012			Fifth movie of the second series. Internationally broadcast as "The Wolve - The dead has it easy".
Varg Veum - Kalde hjerter				Sixth and final movie of the second series. Internationally broadcast as "The Wolve - Cold hearts"

Series

Television show	Year	Character	Description
Lulu & Leon	2009	Alexandra von Linden	Subtitled "Bankrøverens Kone". Season 1, Episodes 3-5 ("Hvad der ligger i kortene", "Naboens kone" and "Faldne kvinder").

Music videos

Year	Title	Artist	Director(s)	Notes
2003	"It's Your Duty"	Lene	Harvey & Carolyn for Alchemy Films	In her solo debut video, Lene plays a sexy seducer in four different dominant roles: a massagist, an executive woman, a dancer and a dominatrix.
2004	"Pretty Young Thing"	Lene	Harvey & Carolyn for Alchemy Films	Lene changes her clothes and poses in a photo session for magazine articles and covers.
2005	"Hvor små vi er"	Giv Til Asien	Poul Krebs & Remee	A charity single performed by a big number of Danish artists (singers, actors and musicians) under the name Giv Til Asien (translated as Give to Asia). A small number of artists from other European countries also joined in. The single with lyrics by Remee and music by Nicolai Seebach and Rasmus Seebach, was released in aid of various charities for tsunami relief as a result the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
	"I Love N.Y."	LazyB feat. Lene	Søren Rasted for Ding Dong Productions	The LazyB video features street interviews and footage in New York City, and can be found on the Danish Limited Edition of the Lazyboy TV DVD. Lene doesn't appear in the music video.
2008	"Walkmand"	Hej Matematik	Various	The video footage is from Hej Matematik's 2008 tour. It features a cameo appearance of Lene. You can see her at 0:13 and 1:03.
2012	"2012 (Shift happens)"	LazyB feat. Lene	Alan Smithee	Lene doesn't appear in the music video but provides vocals for this video.
2014	"Ik Ordinær"	Hej Matematik feat. Jesper Binzer	Søren Rasted for Ding Dong Productions	Self produced music video from Hej Matematik featuring Jesper Binzer, lead singer from the Danish band "D.A.D.". Lene makes a cameo appearance. You can see her at 1:02 and 1:28.

Commercials

Company/product	Year	Director	Description
Synsam	2011	N/A	Lene wears sexy clothes, driving around, wearing glasses and is laying sexy on the beach and at the water. Then Lene is standing at the bar, a hot boy behind her is coming out of the water, when Lene's caught his attention. So they put their glasses on and smile at each other.

TV appearances

• 2000: "Danish Grammy Awards 2000"
• 2000: "Harald Schmidt Show" - "Show #791 - Harald Und Die Windsors"
• 2003: "Boogie Århus Lisen" - September 13, 2003
• 2003: "Stjerne for en aften - Vinderen" - Episode 1.2
• 2003: "Først & sist med Fredrik Skavland" - Episode 10.2
• 2003: "Senkveld med Thomas og Harald" - October 3, 2003
• 2003: "Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2003"
• 2003: "God kveld Norge" - September 27, 2003
• 2003: "God kveld Norge" - November 22, 2003
• 2005: "Hele Historien"
• 2005: "Nordic Music Awards 2005 - Countdown" - (Host)
• 2006: "Go' aften Danmark" - December 10, 2006
• 2007: "Miss Africa Danmark 2007" - (Opening Speech)
• 2007: "DR1's Grand Danois Awards 2007"
• 2008: "Reimers" - Episode 1.3 - October 10, 2008
• 2008: "21st European Film Awards 2008"
• 2009: "Bornedal og det onde - bag kameraet"
• 2010: "Det nye talkshow" - November 12, 2010
• 2010: "Litt av et liv" - November 17, 2010
• 2011: "Skavlan" - January 28, 2011
• 2011: "Familien fra Bryggen" - Episode 1.1
• 2012: "Voice - Danmarks største stemme" - 8 Episodes