Eric Saade facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Eric Saade
Saade presenting Melodifestivalen 2019
Background information
Birth name	Eric Khaled Saade
Born	(1990-10-29) 29 October 1990 (age 34) Kattarp, Helsingborg, Sweden
Genres	Pop dance-pop
Occupation(s)	Singer songwriter television personality model
Years active	2005–present
Labels	Roxy Recordings Warner Music Sweden

Eric Khaled Saade (born 29 October 1990) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. He was part of a boy band called What's Up! for two years. In February 2009, he left the band to start his own solo music career. Eric Saade represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. His song was "Popular", and he finished in third place.

Early life

Eric Saade was born in Kattarp, a small village in Helsingborg Municipality, Sweden. His mother is Swedish, and his father is Palestinian from Lebanon. His parents divorced when he was four years old, and he lived with his mother. Eric is the second of eight brothers and sisters.

He started singing after watching Michael Jackson on TV. Other singers who inspired him include Robbie Williams, Bryan Adams, the Backstreet Boys, and Justin Timberlake.

Career

2007: What's Up! boy band

In 2007, Eric Saade helped start the Swedish boy band What's Up!. The band also included Robin Stjernberg, Ludwig "hejLudde" Keijser, and Johan Yngvesson. They were chosen after a competition with hundreds of people trying out. Fifteen finalists, including Eric, competed at the Ericsson Globe. The four winners became the first members of the band.

What's Up! started touring Sweden in the spring of 2008. They released an album called In Pose, which was on the Swedish Albums Chart for one week. The album had two hit songs: "Go Girl!" and "If I Told You Once". The band also recorded the Swedish version of the theme song for Disney's Camp Rock. They also voiced characters in the Swedish Disney Channel trailer. When Eric Saade left the band to go solo, Johannes Magnusson took his place.

2008-2009: Starting a solo career

Because of his work with Camp Rock, Eric Saade hosted a TV show inspired by the movie. He also hosted a national competition called Julia's Shooting Stars. In August 2009, Eric signed with a Swedish record label called Roxy Recordings. In December, he released his first solo song, "Sleepless". The song reached #44 in Sweden. Its music video came out in January 2010.

Eric Saade performing "Manboy" at Melodifestivalen 2010

In February 2010, Eric sang "Manboy" at the second semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2010. This contest chooses Sweden's song for the Eurovision Song Contest. He won his semi-final and finished third overall in the competition. "Manboy" was released in March 2010 in Sweden. It became a #1 hit on the Swedish charts. The song's music video also came out that month. An acoustic version was released in May, and the song became platinum in Sweden by June.

2010: Becoming famous in Sweden

Eric Saade on his Masquerade Tour

In January 2010, Eric Saade won a Scandipop Award for "Brightest New Hope for 2010". In March, he won an Artistic Award at the Marcel Bezençon Awards for "Manboy". Eric released his first solo album, Masquerade, in May 2010. The album reached #2 in Sweden and became gold. Eric started his first solo tour, called the Masquerade Tour. He performed 24 shows in Sweden from June to September 2010. Eric was also the Swedish spokesperson for the Eurovision Song Contest 2010.

The third song from his first album was "Break of Dawn". It was released in June 2010 and reached #45 on the Swedish charts. Its music video also came out that month. A remix called "Le Family Remix" was released in July.

In August 2010, Eric Saade was nominated for three Rockbjörnen Awards. These included Best Swedish Male Live Artist and Best Swedish Song of the Year for "Manboy". That year, Eric also released the songs "Masquerade" and "It's Gonna Rain". The music video for "Masquerade" came out in August, and the video for "It's Gonna Rain" came out in October.

2011: Eurovision Song Contest success

In February 2011, Eric Saade entered Melodifestivalen 2011 for the second time. He made it to the final and won with the song "Popular". The song's music video premiered in April.

In May 2011, Eric competed in the Eurovision Song Contest 2011. He finished third in the competition. This was Sweden's best result since 1999. "Popular" was released in Sweden in February 2011 and became a #1 hit. By July, it had sold over 40,000 copies in Sweden, earning double platinum status. The song was also released in many other countries, including Finland, Norway, Australia, and the UK. It reached #17 in Finland and #48 in Germany.

Saade, Vols. 1 and 2

In January 2011, Eric Saade was nominated for six Scandipop Awards. He won "Best Album from a New Artist" for Masquerade and "Best Male". He was also nominated for a Song of the Year Grammis for "Manboy". He released the first song from his second album, "Still Loving It".

Eric won a Press Award for "Popular" at the Marcel Bezençon Awards. In April, he was nominated for a Nickelodeon Kids' Choice Award as Sweden's Favorite Star. In May, it was announced that Eric would release two new albums: Saade Vol. 1 and Saade Vol. 2. The first album was released in Sweden and Norway in June. It topped the Swedish chart and became platinum by July. It also reached #16 in Finland.

In June, Eric won two ESC Radio Awards for "Popular": Best Male Artist and Best Song.

The second song from Saade Vol. 1 was "Hearts in the Air", a duet with J-Son. Its music video was released in June in Sweden and Norway. It reached #2 in Sweden and became gold.

Eric Saade performing at a Made of Pop Concert

Eric Saade in 2011

Eric toured again from June to November with his "Made of Pop Concert". The tour included 24 concerts in Sweden and one in France. On 14 July, he performed for the Swedish crown princess Victoria and the royal family.

In July, he was nominated for two You Choice Awards for "Popular": Best Male Video and Best Newcomer. He was also nominated for two Rockbjörnen Awards: Best Male Artist Live and Best Swedish Song ("Popular").

In November 2011, Eric Saade released the song "Hotter Than Fire", a duet with Dev. The song reached #5 in Sweden. Its music video was released in December. Saade Vol. 2 was also released in November. It reached #1 in Sweden and #46 in Finland. Eric was the most-searched Swedish celebrity on Google that year.

Both Saade Vol. 1 and Saade Vol. 2 were released in the United Kingdom on 9 June 2014. They became available on the UK iTunes store, along with his first album Masquerade.

2012: Forgive Me album

Eric Saade was nominated for six Scandipop Awards in 2012. He won "Reader's Favourite of 2011", "Best Male", and "Best Male Album" for Saade Vol. 1. He was also nominated for a Best Song Grammis for "Popular". In March and April, Eric went on his third Swedish tour, "Pop Explosion Concert 2012", which had 15 concerts. In June, he released a new song with Norwegian singer Tone Damli called "Imagine". Its music video came out a few weeks later.

He released two new songs in October: "Miss Unknown" and "Marching (In the Name of Love)". Eric said he wanted to mix new influences like R&B and Hip hop into his pop music. A DVD of Eric's Pop Explosion Concert 2012 was released in November. The music video for "Marching (In the Name of Love)" was released on 7 December, and "Miss Unknown" on 12 December.

In April 2013, Eric announced his next album's title, Forgive Me. He released its first song, "Coming Home". Eric's team described the song as an urban-pop, summer song. He also said the album was mainly inspired by Justin Timberlake, Robbie Williams, and Michael Jackson.

During the final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2013 in Malmö, Sweden, Eric Saade was a co-host in the "green room".

2015–18: Melodifestivalen return and EPs

Eric Saade took part in Melodifestivalen 2015 with the song "Sting". He hoped to represent Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2015. He performed the song live during the first semi-final on 7 February 2015. He came in first that day and qualified for the Finals on 14 March 2015. In the final, Eric placed fifth after the votes were counted. On 22 May 2015, Eric released his new song "Girl From Sweden".

Eric released his extended play (EP) Saade on 24 June 2016. The first song from Saade was "Colors", released on 18 March 2016. On 27 May 2016, the song "Wide Awake" featuring Gustaf Norén was released as the second song from the EP.

On 25 May 2017, Eric Saade released his new song "Another Week". In late 2017, Eric participated in the TV show Så mycket bättre. In December 2017, he released an EP called "Så mycket bättre 2017 – Tolkningarna", which included 8 cover songs.

On 19 October 2018, Eric Saade released a song called "Så jävla fel". The song "Vill ha mer" featuring Parham was released on 16 November 2018.

2019–present: New album and Melodifestivalen

On 26 October 2018, SVT announced that Eric Saade would host all six shows of Melodifestivalen 2019. He hosted alongside Sarah Dawn Finer, Marika Carlsson, and Kodjo Akolor. Eric was also the Swedish spokesperson again for the Eurovision Song Contest 2019.

On 14 June 2019, Eric Saade released the song "Skit för varandra". Eric's fifth studio album, Det svarta fåret, was released in June 2020. It did not enter any major music charts. The album had one top-forty hit song, "Postcard", which featured Swedish DJ, Anis Don Demina.

In December 2020, it was announced that Eric Saade would participate in Melodifestivalen 2021 with his first original English song in four years, "Every Minute". He qualified for the final, which was held on 13 March 2021. He came in second place behind Tusse. On 5 March 2022, Eric Saade appeared in the first heat of Melodifestivalen 2022. He performed a mix of his Melodifestivalen songs: "Manboy", "Popular", "Sting", and "Every Minute". He was also given a place in the Melodifestivalen Hall of Fame.

He competed as a celebrity dancer in Let's Dance 2022, a show broadcast by TV4, and he won the competition.

Eric Saade was part of the opening act of the first semi-final of the Eurovision Song Contest 2024 in Malmö. He performed alongside Eleni Foureira and Chanel. Eric performed wearing a black-and-white keffiyeh on his arm. He later explained that he got the scarf from his dad as a boy to remember his family's background. He said he didn't know it would be called a "political symbol" and that he just wanted to be inclusive.

Personal life

Eric Saade dated singer Molly Sandén from 2007 to 2012. In 2015, he started dating Nicole Falciani, and they got engaged on 1 January 2019. On 15 May 2020, they decided to end their relationship. In 2020, he began dating Hanna Schönberg.

Discography

Studio albums

• Masquerade (2010)
• Saade Vol. 1 (2011)
• Saade Vol. 2 (2011)
• Forgive Me (2013)
• Det svarta fåret (2020)

Tours

• Masquerade Tour (2010)
• Made of Pop Concert (2011)
• Pop Explosion Concert (2012)
• Coming Home Tour (2013)
• Stripped Live Tour (2015)

Awards and nominations

Dubbing

See also

In Spanish: Eric Saade para niños