Linn Berggren

Born

1970-10-31

Birthplace

Gothenburg, Västra Götalands län, Sweden

Biography

Malin Sofia Katarina Berggren (born 31 October 1970) is a Swedish singer-songwriter, best known as a former member of the pop music band Ace of Base. Having been interested and involved in music since her childhood, she formed the band in 1987, along with her sister Jenny, her brother Jonas and their friend Ulf Ekberg. Before forming Ace of Base, Malin sang in her church's choir. She was born in Gothenburg, Sweden. When Ace of Base was signed to Danish label Mega Records in 1990, Malin, or Linn as she became known, chose to put her teaching career on hold. In 1997, Linn said: "I wanted to sing; I never wanted to be a singer". That year, she began to fade out of the spotlight, leading to her last public appearance in 2002. According to her brother Jonas, Linn has been living a peaceful life since then. During the promotion for Ace of Base's first album, Linn was the principal lead vocalist for the majority of the singles and was generally the focus in the videos, although on some singles ("The Sign", "Waiting for Magic") and album tracks Jenny and Linn shared leads. Linn had a somewhat minor role in the composition of Happy Nation and The Sign, only having co-writing credits on one track on a re-release of the former. She was influential in the development of "All That She Wants", demanding that the track be changed from major key to minor. In 1994, a German girl invaded the Berggren family home, targeting Linn. Linn was not present, but the girl attacked Jenny and her mother with a knife. This incident had a large impact on Linn. During the release of the group's second album, The Bridge, the focus in both vocals and media became more equal with her younger sister, Jenny. Linn had a larger role in the composition of The Bridge and wrote and produced several songs for the album. Following the completion of the album, it was reported that Linn developed unspecified recurrent vocal problems. Beginning in late 1995, Linn began to express discomfort in how successful the band had become, explaining in an interview "this business, I don't want to be in it for too long." She later remarked in a 1996 interview: "All this wasn't my plan. For me, this is too big, especially with the success in America. It doesn't look like it, but it costs a lot of energy to push yourself to success on this level. We have to push forward, but I just can't, I want to push backwards." She also explained her fear of flying, remarking "when the plane goes down, my heart skips a beat and I can't breathe, talk, speak or move." The band went on 179 flights for music promotion in 1995, which made Linn disenchanted with touring. In the same interview, she alluded to her plans for the future: "I've been thinking about travelling by train or car and doing very little promotion." In the midst of promotion in Asia for The Bridge in the spring of 1996, Linn left prematurely, leaving the rest of the band members to continue in her absence. Her final performance with the band as a frontwoman was of "Beautiful Life" at the World Music Awards in May 1996. ... Source: Article "Linn Berggren" from Wikipedia in English, licensed under CC-BY-SA 3.0.