Marko Kristian "Markoolio" Lehtosalo (born 1 January 1975 in
Lahti
Lahti (; sv, Lahtis) is a city and municipality in Finland. It is the capital of the region of Päijänne Tavastia (Päijät-Häme) and its growing region is one of the main economic hubs of Finland. Lahti is situated on a bay at the southern e ...
,
Finland
Finland ( fi, Suomi ; sv, Finland ), officially the Republic of Finland (; ), is a Nordic country in Northern Europe. It shares land borders with Sweden to the northwest, Norway to the north, and Russia to the east, with the Gulf of B ...
) is a Swedish-Finnish multi-platinum selling recording artist, singer, musician, songwriter, actor, and comedian. His stage name Markoolio is a
portmanteau
A portmanteau word, or portmanteau (, ) is a blend of wordsCoolio.
Biography
At the age of six months, Lehtosalo migrated from Finland to Sweden where he grew up completing primary and secondary school in the small Stockholm suburb of Orminge. Following the completion of his compulsory military service as a coastal ranger sniper in Ekenäs, Finland, he returned to Sweden. There, he was allegedly discovered by producers when rapping on a commuter train in Stockholm; however, this story has been revealed to be a fabrication.
Markoolio is known in particular for his humorous songs dealing with partying, drinking, and girls such as "Sommar och sol" ("Summer and sun"), " Vi drar till fjällen" ("We're headin' for the mountains") and "Sola och bada i Piña Colada" ("Sunbathing and swimming in Piña Colada"); his songs mocking contemporary life and phenomena such as "Åka Pendeltåg" ("Riding the commuter train") and "Värsta schlagern" ("The goddam' Schlager
ong Ong or ONG may refer to:
Arts and media
* Ong's Hat, a collaborative work of fiction
* “Ong Ong”, a song by Blur from the album The Magic Whip
Places
* Ong, Nebraska, US, city
* Ong's Hat, New Jersey, US, ghost town
* Ong River, Odisha, ...
); and songs relating to his native Finland such as "Drömmen om Finland" (The dream of Finland) and "Jag orkar inte mer" (I can't take it anymore).
Markoolio has released nine studio albums, hosted and participated in numerous television and radio programs, and won several prizes and awards such as Male Artist of the Year at the Swedish Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2007. He is also the owner of a nightclub and the board member of British company Netgames Holdings which he reportedly owns 3.3 percent of. Markoolio was one of the hosts for Talang on
TV4 TV4 or TV 4 may refer to:
*TV4 (Poland), a private Polish television station
*TV4 (Sweden), a Swedish television network
**TV4 Group, owners of the Swedish television station
*South African Broadcasting Corporation TV4, a channel operated by the st ...
in 2009. He also played the titular character of Doktor Mugg and starred as Tyke Mörbult in Hem till Midgård. Markoolio was formerly a contestant on Let's Dance 2013, a contest he subsequently won.
On 19 November 2013, Markoolio tried to disrupt the
Portugal national football team
The Portugal national football team ( pt, Seleção Portuguesa de Futebol) has represented Portugal in international men's football competition since 1921. The national team is controlled by the Portuguese Football Federation (FPF), the gover ...
ahead of the second leg of their World Cup play-off with Sweden. He started a "private concert" at 7:15 a.m. in front of the Portuguese team's hotel.