Lene Nystrøm Rasted | |
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Lene Nystrøm Rasted performing in July 2008
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Background information | |
Birth name | Lene Grawford Nystrøm |
Also known as | Lene |
Born |
Tønsberg, Norway |
2 October 1973
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 was the lead vocalist of the Danish-Norwegian dance-pop group Aqua.
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.
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.
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.