1. Kaj Erik Persson Hassle was born on 26 August 1988 and is a Swedish pop singer and songwriter.
21 Facts About Erik Hassle
1. 2.
Erik Hassle's career started in 2008 with his first single, "Hurtful", which eventually reached No 11 in Sweden and peaked at No 2 in Denmark.
3.
Erik Hassle won a Danish Gaffa award and two Swedish awards, a Grammis and a P3 Guld.
4.
Erik Hassle was raised in the village of Bie near Katrineholm, where local musicians gathered in his parents' village theater.
5.
Erik Hassle grew up listening to Swedish punk and American soul and realised his love of music early after listening to Wilson Pickett.
6.
Erik Hassle was introduced to British New Wave at Rytmus, the musical secondary school in Stockholm attended by Robyn and Tove Lo, where he met his manager at the age of 17.
7.
Erik Hassle signed a deal with the Swedish music company TEN Music Group in 2007, becoming their first signed artist.
8.
Erik Hassle was one of the finalists in the talent contest Metro Music Challenge in 2008.
9.
Erik Hassle wrote music and self-produced videos, spreading them online via X5 Music, YouTube and Myspace.
10.
In March 2009, when he did not have an album out yet, Erik Hassle signed for Island Records in London for worldwide rights excluding North America and Sweden, where the Swedish label Roxy Recordings had already signed Erik Hassle for two albums.
11.
Erik Hassle immediately released his second single, "Don't Bring Flowers", which peaked at No 25 in Sweden.
12.
Erik Hassle reworked and re-released his debut album as Pieces in the UK.
13.
On 19 January 2010, Erik 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".
14.
Erik Hassle won the Newcomer Prize at the Swedish Grammis in the same year.
15.
Erik Hassle was a co-writer for Shakira's single "Can't Remember to Forget You" featuring Rihanna.
16.
Erik Hassle released his next EP, entitled Somebody's Party, via TEN Music Group and RCA Records on 4 March 2014 after a two-year hiatus.
17.
Erik Hassle released "Talk About It," featuring Chicago based rapper Vic Mensa, as his comeback single.
18.
Erik Hassle co-wrote and provided vocals for the single "Emergency" by fellow label mates and Swedish pop-duo Icona Pop.
19.
Erik Hassle released the album "Innocence Lost" via TEN Music Group and RCA Records on 27 January 2017.
20.
Erik Hassle's singing has been compared to Michael Jackson, Prince, and Frank Ocean.
21.
Erik Hassle's mother is a singer and his father is a studio owner.