The Real Group is an a cappella group from Sweden. Members are Clara Fornander, Joanné Pastor Nugas, Johannes Rückert Becker, Axel Berntzon and Daniele Dees. The group's members compose and arrange most of their songs. They sing in English and Swedish and cite American vocalist Bobby McFerrin as an inspiration.[1][2]
The Real Group has performed more than 2000 concerts worldwide.[3] In 2002 The Real Group performed at the opening ceremony of the FIFA World Cup in Seoul, South Korea to an audience of 60,000. On 22 December 1993, to celebrate the fiftieth birthday of Queen Silvia of Sweden, The Real Group backed up former ABBA member Anni-Frid Lyngstad in a performance of the ABBA hit "Dancing Queen", using an a cappella arrangement that was released on the album Varför får man inte bara vara som man är.
The Real Group was formed in 1984 when its members were students at the Royal College of Music in Stockholm. All of them attended Adolf Fredrik's Music School.[4]Margareta Bengtson was the soprano in the group at its inception, but she left to work on solo albums in 2006. Johanna Nyström filled her spot for some time until Emma Nilsdotter replaced her in 2008 and had her first appearance with the group in Kremlin Palace.[5] Johanna Nyström also filled in for both Margareta Bengtson and Katarina Henryson when they were on maternity leave or otherwise away. Morten Vinther Sørensen joined the group in 2010 to replace Peder Karlsson, who shifted his focus to develop The Real Academy. In 2015 Jānis Strazdiņš joined the group as the bass after Anders Jalkéus retired for health reasons.
On 19 January 2016 the Real Group announced that Lisa Östergren would replace Katarina Henryson.[6]
Vocal ranges of previous members
Margareta Bengtson: F3-G5
Johanna Nyström
Peder Karlsson: E2-C5
Anders Jalkéus
Katarina Henryson: D3-C5
Discography
Date of release
Title
Notes
1987
Debut
Thirteen tracks, three in Swedish and the rest in English. Recorded around two microphones onto 2-track tape, where the singers adjusted balance by controlling their distance from the microphone.[7][8] (Caprice)
1989
Nothing But the Real Group
Twelve tracks, all in English (Caprice)
1991
Röster
Twelve tracks, all in Swedish (Caprice)
1994
Varför får man inte bara vara som man är?
Fourteen tracks, most in Swedish, including a cover of Abba's Dancing Queen with Anni-Frid Lyngstad (Gazell)
1994
Unreal!
(Town Crier)
1996
Ori:ginal
Twelve tracks, all in Swedish
1996
Get:real
March 19, 1996
Live in Stockholm
Released in Sweden under the title jazz:live. Ten tracks in English, one in Swedish, one with no lyrics. All tracks are live performances in concert. (Town Crier)
1997
En riktig jul
Title translates: A Real Christmas. Thirteen tracks, all in Swedish
1998
One for All
Sixteen tracks, one in Swedish, accompanied by Toots Thielemans on harmonica.
2000
Commonly Unique
Thirteen tracks, all English
2001
Allt Det Bästa
Title translates: All The Best. Twenty tracks, in a mix of Swedish and English.
2002
Stämning
Twenty-two tracks, all in Swedish. Swedish folk songs, all choral in their musical style. The performances were recorded without overdubbing and were directed Eric Ericson. (EMI)
2003
Julen er her
Norwegian title translates: Christmas is here. Fifteen tracks: three in English, nine in Swedish, two in Norwegian, one with no lyrics. Four tracks are live performances in concert. Includes a video clip of a live performance of "Clown of the Jungle", an a cappella arrangement of the soundtrack to a Disney short film by the same name.[9]
June 12, 2003
The Real Thing
Thirteen tracks: 5 in Swedish, rest in English. Two tracks were previously unreleased, a re-recorded version of "Dancing Queen" and "Song from the Snow" created for a Korean movie. (Dreambeat)
2005
In the Middle of Life
Thirteen tracks: twelve in English and one with no lyrics. The Korean-market version contains two additional tracks in English. (FMC)
June 25, 2008
Håll musiken i gång
Nine tracks, all in Swedish, three previously released. This album is a tribute to Swedish entertainer Povel Ramel, a fan of The Real Group and vice versa. The Real Group received Ramel's Karamelodiktstipendiet, a scholarship funded by Ramel, in 2002. The last track, "Konditori Forgätmigej", was written by Anders Edenroth in Povel's style. Margareta Bengtson joined the group in studio to record this album. (EMI)
September 16, 2009
The Real Album
Twelve tracks: ten in English and two with no lyrics. (Lionheart)
2012
The World for Christmas
Thirteen tracks: seven in English, four in Swedish, and two with no lyrics. It contains "The World for Christmas" composed and arranged by Anders Edenroth. (Universal)
2013
Live in Japan
Fifteen tracks: ten in English, five with no lyrics. Recorded live in April 2013 at the Billboard Jazz Club in Osaka and Tokyo. Two songs, "Catching the Big Fish" and "Lucky Luke", were composed by Morten Vinther Sørensen.
December 1, 2017
Elements
16 tracks: thirteen in English, two in Swedish, and one in Latvian.
September 4th, 2018
Friendship
11 tracks; joint production with Kicks & Sticks, the Hessen State Youth Orchestra.
Awards and honors
Contemporary A Cappella Recording Awards (CARAs):
1995: Best Contemporary Cover: "Dancing Queen" from Varför får man inte bara vara som man är
1995: Best Jazz Song: "Flight of the Foo-Birds" from Varför får man inte bara vara som man är
1996: Best Female Vocalist: Margareta Bengtson
1997: Live Album of the Year: Live in Stockholm
1997: Best Original Pop Song: "Jag Vill Va Med Dig"
^"A history of TRG recordings". Archived group website content. Archived from the original on August 19, 2010. Retrieved April 18, 2017.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
^The Disney short film Clown of the Jungle is typically broadcast on Swedish television on Christmas Eve, hence its appearance in this Christmas album.
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