Biography

Swedish pop group Rongedal broke through to mainstream success in 2008 with their eponymous album debut and the Top Five smash hit "Just a Minute." Founded in 2004 and comprised chiefly of twin brothers Magnus and Henrik Rongedal (born on April 16, 1965, in Molkom, Sweden), the band also includes Lennart Westberg (guitar), Per Dückhow (bass), Johan Lyander (keyboards), and Micke Ajax (drums). Prior to founding Rongedal, Magnus teamed up with Lars Yngve Johansson to found Big Money. Active from 1989 to 1995, the band released two albums, Lost in Hollywood (1992) and Moonraker (1994), and experienced modest success, reaching the Top 30 of the Swedish albums chart with the latter release. From 1995 onward, Magnus performed primarily as a backup vocalist. His credits include albums by numerous artists, among them Army of Lovers, Josefin Nilsson, Emilia, Lion's Share, and Billy Bremner. Henrik also found work as a backup vocalist, for instance singing alongside Magnus in support of Mendez at the 2002 Melodifestivalen. As a songwriting tandem, the brothers made a name for themselves in 2006 when a song they'd co-written, Gregor's "Mi Amor," was selected to compete at that year's Melodifestivalen. The brothers subsequently signed a recording deal with the Lionheart International label and made their commercial debut as Rongedal in 2007 with the single "Hey Won't You." The following year their song "Just a Minute" was selected to compete at the 2008 Melodifestivalen and in turn became a smash hit, reaching the Top Five of the Swedish singles chart. A couple months later the brothers and their band released their full-length album debut, Rongedal, which itself was a big hit, reaching number six on the albums chart and spawning the follow-up single "Who Do You Think You're Foolin'." ~ Jason Birchmeier