Info from Janne Stark's EncyclopediaThis christian AOR-band that consist of the three Nikolausson brothers was formed in 1981. 'Join Hands' was only released in Estonia and 'Rockin' The World Together' was only released in Russia. The band has toured in Germany, USA, Switzerland, Australia, England and also in Estonia four years in a row. On 'To Be Continued...' the band turned into a more westcoast-ish/pop-unit closed to Mr.Mister and Sting than hard rock. The follow-up had a bit more edge, probably because it was produced by Mick Nordström (Cornerstone, Spearfish, Modest Attraction), but it still only qualifies into the arena-rock genre.
Official Bio #1The band Charizma has experienced it all; from doing concerts in small German villages to playing packed venues with thousands of screaming fans. Today they’re anticipating their most accomplished release to date with “Life in 3D” which is sure to bring new fans to the band’s hook-filled songs and message of hope and faith.
THE BEGINNING
It all started very modestly with three brothers in a small seaside community in the south of Sweden. Here the three teenaged brothers Bosse, Janne and Göran decided to form some kind of musical act that would propel them to stardom. Said and done! With the classic line-up guitar, drums and bass, loud noises started to arise from the family’s basement and the band Charizma was formed. It did not take too long though before the young trio had matured considerably - both motive-wise and musically - and the first album “Rock the World” was released.
TAKING OFF
The album and the single released off the album were well received by fans and the press. This led to extensive touring and in the years to follow Charizma played all over the world including USA, Australia, UK, Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, Germany and Switzerland. Charizma’s reputation as a great live act grew with these concerts, gaining the band new fans. The close involvement and will to communicate with the fans is one of Charizma’s trademarks. The band wants to offer more than just a concert experience and many fans have testified to making life-changing experiences through Charizma’s music.
NEW DIRECTIONS
In the mid-90’s the band wanted to take their sound in a new direction. This was done by adding two new members; Thomas Karlsson, and Johan Mauritzson, returning to Sweden from music studies in Los Angeles. With these new additions the band added strong support to the vocal and keyboard sections. Before long the band released its first album in its current setting, the acoustic sounding “To be continued…” recorded in Germany, released by Asaph Musik.
RUN TO GOD
The new direction and the additional members brought new life to Charizma resulting in extensive touring in Europe and Scandinavia. Leaving the fans wanting for more, the band started writing material for what was to become the rougher sounding sequel - “Basics of Life” - which included the hit single “Run to God”. The song got heavy rotation on American CCM radio stations, leading to a short tour in the USA in 2001. The single also led to performances on Swedish national TV and radio.
LIFE IN 3D - NEW COLLABORATORS
After “Basics of Life” and “Run to God” the band started looking for collaborators that would take the songwriting and sound to a new level. The search ended when they met Pama Records and their brain trust; Manager “Maxe” Axelsson and producer Johan Glössner. They immediately saw great potential in the band and its songs. During the 6 months long recording process, Charizma and producer Johan Glössner found an innovative sound, mixing elements from different styles into Charizma’s pop melodies.
RACING UP THE CHARTS!
In July 2003 the band started promoting the song “Waiting (Here for you)”, visiting radio stations all over Sweden, doing interviews and live performances. When the single was released to record stores in August it went straight up to the No.10 spot on the Swedish Sales Chart. As it grew in popularity it climbed all the way up to No.3 and spent a total of 7 weeks on the chart. “Waiting (Here for you)” sold more than 6 000 copies and was included on two hit single collections which sold more than 160 000 copies. The second single from the album, “Where do you go?” was also a major hit in early 2004, reaching no 13 on the Swedish Sales Chart. In February 2004 Charizma was invited to partake in the Estonian finals for the Eurovision Song Contest with a song written for them. The band ended up no. 5, getting a lot of attention in Estonia. The song “I give you a mountain” became the third single in a row for Charizma to reach the Swedish Sales Chart when it entered at no. 41 in May 2004.
EUROVISION AND FAROE ISLANDS
During 2005-2006 Charizma played a lot live, doing oncerts in Austria, Germany, Poland & Sweden, ever developing their performance. One reviewer from the latest album stated: “This is top quality pop which deserves to be given exposure on the international scene”.
In 2007 Charizma participated in yet another Eurovision pre-selection, this time in Poland! The song Emily was one of the favorites, but didn't go all the way. In the summer of 2007 Charizma wen't back to Poland, and played at a big summer concert in Gdansk with Gdansk Symphony Orchestra, playing 3 songs arranged for band and orchestra.
In August Charizma played at their remotest venue ever. The band was invited to play at the Fjarda Festival the in the Faroe Islands! The last couple of years Charizma have been working on new songs and recording. A new release is set for Spring 2008.
Official Bio #2The three Nikolausson brothers formed Charizma in the early 80’s when they were in their teens. Back then it was a loud punk band... Since that time the band has gone through quite some changes musically. The melodies have always been the core of Charizma’s music though. Here’s a short biography of the band.
1985
The debut album, “Rock the World”, is released and the group performs many concerts.
1986
Charizma releases the single “Turn Me On” which receives good reviews and sees a lot of airtime on Swedish radio.
1987
The group goes on tour in Poland. Promoters in the U.K. and U.S. show interest in the band.
1988
The band’ s first gig in the U.S.A. is played at Gazzari’s in Hollywood, CA. Charizma signs a management deal with DHM (Stryper, Holy Soldier) and is invited to play at the Greenbelt Festival in the U.K. in August.
1989
The band moves to Los Angeles for 6 months. While in LA, the group plays at different clubs in Hollywood and Jay Torres (Madonna, Scorpions, etc) produces a video with the band. Also this year, Charizma goes to Estonia for the first time. The new single “Join Hands” is an immediate hit in Estonia.
1990
Charizma tours extensively in Estonia drawing more than 30,000 fans to 9 concerts and reaching #1 on the radio charts. A remake of their “Rock the World” album is released on the Soviet Union communistic record label, Melodiya. In the fall the group debuts on the German concert scene
1991
The group begins the year playing festivals “down under” in Australia. In August, more than 46,000 fans attend concerts during the band’s third tour of Estonia. More than 40,000 copies of the record are sold between 1989 and 1991.
1992
Charizma tours with the Imperials through Sweden and Finland. The band helps Estonia celebrate its first Independence Day by performing before a crowd of 35,000! Charizma is the only foreign band invited to partake in the Estonian celebration.
1993
The band tours in Germany and releases “The Ultimate Call”, an album of songs recorded during a period of 5 years.
1994
In August, Charizma (with bassplayer Bosse as the only original member) once again tours in Germany. Feeling the band has lots its sparkle Charizma takes an undetermined break to find new goals and directions
1995
Ater an 1½ years long hiatus the band is playing together again, this time as a 5-piece band. In the fall Charizma tours in Germany trying out a new and more acoustic sound. It’s a brand new start for the band, musically and spiritually
1996
Charizma is once again back in Germany in March and May. Two new members join the band, Thomas Karlsson on vocals and guitar and Johan Mauritzson on vocals and keyboards. In May the group signs a record deal with Asaph Musik, a German publishing/record company. The album “To Be Continued...” is recorded during the fall in Hannover, Germany and released to Western Europe in December. The CD single, “Higher than the Heavens”, gets good attention and is played on the national radio stations in Sweden, Denmark and Norway
1997
Charizma spends the entire year playing concerts in Sweden including an appearance on a national TV show. In early June the band promotes the record in Germany and plays Berlin in November. August finds Charizma at the big FLEVO festival in the Netherlands playing 5 sets in 24 hours!
1998
In early 1998 Charizma starts the pre-production of a new album. From the start, the band decides to try new sounds and to experiment. Charizma’s website at www.charizma. com is launched in May and quickly it becomes a popular place for Charizma fans. Because of the work with the new album the band doesn’t give a lot of concerts; however they play at the Parkfestival, Sweden. Also playing that night is Audio Adrenaline, Sarah Masen and Fono among others. The new album “The Basics of Life” is recorded October- January in Berghem studios, Sweden.
1999
When the new album is released in early spring it gets good reviews and a lot of attention. In April Charizma promotes the album in Germany and Switzerland. In the inning of the summer the band starts co-operating with the booking company Dot Music. This leads to the band doing more than 30 concerts in Sweden, Norway and Finland during the year. A second single is released from the album. The song “Run to God” was totally remixed and was given a radio friendly beat. During the fall it sees a lot of airtime on Swedish radio. In October Charizma does concerts in The Netherlands. At New Years eve 1999 Charizma plays to an excited audience of 4000 people at a national youth conference.
2000
The new millennium starts with Charizma performing “Run to God” on Swedish national TV in February. In April Charizma goes to Denmark for the first time for a couple of concerts which are very well received. In early June “Run to God” is picked up by the American Christian radio station Air1 Radio. The song become very popular with the American audience, it stays on the playlist for more than 4 months and peaks at no 3. The band gets a lot of new fans. In the middle of the summer Charizma plays at the Midsummer festival in Jakobstad, Finland. Almost 10 years after their great success, Charizma is once again back in Estonia in August. During the fall the band plays concerts in Sweden and starts writing new songs for an upcoming album.
2001
Because of the success with “Run to God” in California, Charizma is invited to play at “Spirit West Coast”, the biggest Christian festival on the American west coast. After doing a nationally broadcast service on Swedish radio in June, Charizma leave for the U.S. in July. Apart from the concerts at Spirit West Coast, Charizma also plays at the “Day 7” event at the Harvest Christian Fellowship in Riverside. The concert is broadcast live on the Internet and later broadcast on TV. In the fall plans for the new album release are finalized. It becomes an exciting collaboration between Asaph Musik and Swedish studio/record company PAMA Records. The pre-production takes place during the fall of 2001 and in the beginning of 2002.
2002
With more than 20 songs to choose from, Charizma enters PAMA studios. At this time, Warner Chappell shows interest in the band and signs a deal with Charizma. After recording for more than 3 months, the album is finished. In November the album is released in Germany, Switzerland and Austria. Plans are made for releases in Scandinavia mand USA.
2003
2003 would become one of the most successful and busiest years ever for Charizma. However the year started slow, with no distribution deal or marketing plans for the Swedish market. In early June Charizma signs a licence with indie label Talking Music and a marketing campaign is worked out. “We knew we had a really good song on our hands and we believed it could be a hit with the right promotion even without the support of a major label”. In July the band started promoting the song “Waiting (Here for you)”, visiting radio stations all over Sweden, doing interviews and live performances. It didn’t take long before it got picked up by a few stations, and then a few more, and a few more... “The radio programmers just loved the song, and all of a sudden we had a major mainstream hit, playing on major networks all over Sweden”. When the single was released to record stores in August it went straight up to the No.10 spot on the Swedish Sales Chart. As it grew in popularity it climbed all the way up to No.3 and spent a total of 7 weeks on the chart.
“Waiting (Here for you)” sold more than 6 000 copies and was included on two hit single collections which sold more than 160 000 copies. The band was featured in a lot of different media and played festivals in Sweden during the summer. In October Charizma teamed up with booking agency Reliable Artist, providing booking services for Scandinavia. The album “Life in 3D” is also released in October and gets a warm welcome among fans of smart powerpop. When the second single “Where do you go?” was released to radio in December it immediatly got attention and a lot of airplay. At the beginning of 2004 it entered the Swedish sales chart at the no 13 spot, that weeks highest debut.
