Erik Hassle

Kaj Erik Persson Hassle (born 26 August 1988) is a Swedish pop singer and songwriter.

He signed a deal with the Swedish music company TEN Music Group in 2007, becoming their first signed artist.

The label would later be credited with reviving Swedish pop music.

His career started in 2008 with his first single, "Hurtful", which eventually reached No. 11 in Sweden and peaked at No. 2 in Denmark.

His most successful single to date, "No Words", reached the Top 10 of the Global and U.S. Spotify Viral Chart and achieved Gold certification in both Sweden and Denmark.

He was one of the finalists in the talent contest Metro Music Challenge in 2008.

He wrote music and self-produced videos, spreading them online via X5 Music, YouTube and Myspace.

Hassle released his first single, "Hurtful", in September 2008.

It would become a sleeper hit over the years, eventually reaching No. 11 in his native Sweden and peaking at No. 2 in Denmark.

Hassle, who signed to Island Records in 2009, has released four albums, most recently Innocence Lost in January 2017.

Aside from solo work, he has cowritten a number of songs for other singers, including Shakira and Rihanna's "Can't Remember to Forget You".

He won a Danish Gaffa award and two Swedish awards, a Grammis and a P3 Guld.

Saluted as "the new, young Robbie Williams" upon his international debut, Hassle has been described as "a voice steeped in simmering sultry soul, a funked-up sense of international swagger, and unbridled lyrical honesty."

Hassle was born in Salem Municipality, Stockholm.

He was raised in the village of Bie near Katrineholm, where local musicians gathered in his parents' village theater.

He grew up listening to Swedish punk and American soul and realised his love of music early after listening to Wilson Pickett.

He was introduced to British New Wave at Rytmus, the musical secondary school in Stockholm attended by Robyn and Tove Lo (whom he would later support on her North American tour ), where he met his manager at the age of 17.

In March 2009, when he did not have an album out yet, Hassle signed for Island Records in London for worldwide rights excluding North America and Sweden, where the Swedish label Roxy Recordings had already signed Hassle for two albums.

The Guardian picked up the story, calling him "the Stockholm wunderkind," comparing him to Frankmusik, Keane and Ross Copperman, and wondering if he was "the new, young Robbie Williams."

In August, he published his album Hassle, which debuted at No. 2 and stayed in the Swedish charts for 10 weeks.

He immediately released his second single, "Don't Bring Flowers", which peaked at No. 25 in Sweden.

Together with Ellie Goulding, Hassle released an acoustic version of Robyn's "Be Mine!".

Popjustice placed it at No. 11 of its top albums of 2009.

In late 2009 he embarked on touring outside of Sweden and released "Hurtful" in the UK on 2 February 2010.

It debuted at No. 59 and fell off the charts the following week.

He reworked and re-released his debut album as Pieces in the UK.

It failed to chart in the UK Albums Chart.

The album's lack of success was later described as "the greatest pop injustice of the last several years."

On 19 January 2010, Hassle appeared at the Danish X Factor finals and the P3 Guld gala, where he was awarded the prize for "Newcomer of the Year 2009".

He won the Newcomer Prize at the Swedish Grammis in the same year.

Finally, he won the 2010 Danish Gaffa Prize for the International Newcomer of the Year.

He toured with Mika, Broods, and MØ.

In May 2010, "Hurtful" was picked as Single of the Week in iTunes Store.

In August, Hassle released an extended play (EP) entitled The Hassle Sessions: Volume One, consisting of cover songs.

His English version of the single "Alors on danse" by Stromae was made available through Spotify.

The mini-album Mariefred Sessions was the result of a collaboration between Erik Hassle and Joakim Berg and Martin Sköld from the Swedish band Kent.

Mariefred Sessions was released in Sweden on 23 March 2011.

Hassle moved to Los Angeles in 2013.

Hassle was a co-writer for Shakira's single "Can't Remember to Forget You" featuring Rihanna.

It released worldwide in January 2014 and reached top ten charts in various countries such as Spain, France, Germany, and Switzerland.