Alice Kristina Ingrid Gernandt (born 23 July 1982) better known by her
stage name
A stage name is a pseudonym used by performers and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. Such professional aliases are adopted for a wide variety of reasons and they may be similar, or nearly identical, to an individu ...
Ace Wilder, is a
Swedish singer and
songwriter
A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music ...
. She first received public attention while taking part in
Melodifestivalen 2014
Melodifestivalen 2014 was the Swedish music competition which selected Sweden's 54th entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. Sanna Nielsen won the competition with the song "Undo". This was one of the closest results in Melodifestivalen histo ...
.
Early life
Wilder was born on July 23, 1982, in
Stockholm, Sweden. She grew up in several places around the world, and for a long time she lived in
Miami
Miami ( ), officially the City of Miami, known as "the 305", "The Magic City", and "Gateway to the Americas", is a coastal metropolis and the county seat of Miami-Dade County in South Florida, United States. With a population of 442,241 at th ...
,
Florida
Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, a ...
in the United States.
She is the great-niece of radio personality
Anders Gernandt.
Career
2013–2015: Breakthrough and ''Busy Doin' Nothin''
After several years of singing and dancing behind international singers on world tours, Wilder decided in 2012 to launch her solo career.
She got a record deal with
EMI Records
EMI Records (formerly EMI Records Ltd.) is a multinational record label owned by Universal Music Group. It originally founded as a British flagship label by the music company of the same name in 1972, and launched in January 1973 as the succ ...
and
Warner Music
Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...
. She released the single "Do It", which has since been used in American television shows. In 2013 she released the single "Bitches Like Fridays".
In late 2013 Wilder's debut album ''A Wilder'' was awarded "Best Music Album of the Year" at the Scandipop Awards.
She made her breakthrough in the Swedish music industry after participating in
Melodifestivalen 2014
Melodifestivalen 2014 was the Swedish music competition which selected Sweden's 54th entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2014. Sanna Nielsen won the competition with the song "Undo". This was one of the closest results in Melodifestivalen histo ...
. Wilder qualified for the final on 8 March in
Friends Arena
Nationalarenan, currently known as Friends Arena for sponsorship reasons, is a retractable roof multi-purpose stadium in Stockholm, Sweden. Located next to the lake Råstasjön in Solna, just north of the City Centre, it is the biggest sta ...
, progressing from the third semifinal in
Scandinavium
Scandinavium () is an indoor arena located in Gothenburg, Sweden. Construction on Scandinavium began in 1969 after decades of setbacks, and was inaugurated on 18 May 1971.
Scandinavium has been selected as a championship arena at least fifty t ...
with her song "
Busy Doin' Nothin'
"Busy Doin' Nothin'" is a song by the American rock band the Beach Boys from their 1968 album ''Friends''. Written by Brian Wilson, the lyrics reflect the minutiae of his daily social and business life, while the music, Wilson said, was inspired ...
".
She placed second in the final two points behind the eventual winner
Sanna Nielsen
Sanna Viktoria Nielsen (born 27 November 1984) is a Swedish singer and television presenter. On her seventh attempt, she won Melodifestivalen in 2014 with the song "Undo" and so represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2014 in Copenhag ...
. The song went on to reach the number-one position on the
Swedish singles chart
Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and known by its current name since October 2007, based on sales data from the Swedish ...
staying atop the charts for three consecutive weeks.
Ace released her follow-up single “Riot” in November 2014 . “Stupid” was then released in March 2015. Both songs featured on Wilder’s second EP “The Wild Card” which was released in June 2015. Ace proceeded to tour Sweden to promote the EP at festivals and events throughout the summer.
2015–present: ''Melodifestivalen 2016'' and ''Melodifestivalen 2017''
In November 2015, it was revealed that Wilder would compete in the first semi-final of the
Melodifestivalen 2016
Melodifestivalen 2016 was the 56th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which selected Sweden's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016. The competition was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over the s ...
with the song "
Don't Worry". She qualified directly for the final along with
Robin Bengtsson
Robin Bengtsson (born 27 April 1990) is a Swedish singer who took part in Swedish Idol 2008. He represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2017 in Kyiv, Ukraine with the song " I Can't Go On" finishing in 5th place.
Career
Bengtsson wa ...
. In the final she placed third with the juries, eighth with the Swedish public, and placed third overall.
In June 2016, Ace released a new single named “Selfish”. She described the song as “a diary entry” as the lyrics were so personal. She gave performances of the song on national Swedish TV shows “
Lotta På Liseberg
Lotta på Liseberg (''Lotta at Liseberg''), also called Allsång på Liseberg (''Sing-along at Liseberg''), is a Swedish sing-along show held at ''Stora scenen'' at the amusement park Liseberg in Gothenburg every Monday evening during the summer ...
” & “
Nyhetsmorgon
''Nyhetsmorgon'' is a Swedish morning news and talk show
Breakfast television (Europe, Canada, and Australia) or morning show (United States) is a type of news or infotainment television programme that broadcasts live in the morning (ty ...
” throughout the summer. Wilder was part of the Lineup of the 2016
Diggiloo tour alongside
Jessica Andersson
Jessica Elisabeth Andersson (born Jessica Arvidsson on 27 October 1973) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She was part of the Swedish duo Fame with Magnus Bäcklund between 2002 and 2006 after they met at the reality television show '' Fame ...
,
Oscar Zia
Oscar Zia (born 10 October 1996) is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and actor. In 2012, he first came to national attention for coming eighth in the Swedish version of '' X Factor''. In 2014, Zia finished as runner-up on the eighth season of '' L ...
and many more of Sweden’s most well known and respected artists.
On November 30, 2016, Wilder was announced as one of the 28 acts to compete in
Melodifestivalen 2017
Melodifestivalen 2017 was the 57th edition of the Swedish music competition Melodifestivalen, which selected Sweden's entry for the Eurovision Song Contest 2017. The competition was organised by Sveriges Television (SVT) and took place over a six ...
with the song "
Wild Child
Wild child usually refers to a feral child; it may also refer to:
Film and television
*'' The Wild Child'', a 1970 French film directed by François Truffaut
* ''Wild Child'' (film), a 2008 teen comedy starring Emma Roberts
* "Wild Child" (''R ...
". She qualified directly to final from first semi-final, along with
Nano. She placed seventh in the final with a total of 67 points, 35 from the jury and 32 from the televote. In June 2017, Wilder released a cover of the 1987
Lena Philipsson
Maria Magdalena Philipsson (born 19 January 1966), known by her stage name Lena Philipsson, is a Swedish singer, songwriter and media personality. She represented Sweden in the 2004 Eurovision Song Contest, finishing fifth.
Career
Philipsson ...
smash-hit “
dansa i neon” in partnership with “
Svenska Spel
Svenska Spel ("Swedish Bets") is a state-owned company operating in the regulated gambling market in Sweden. For many years, state-owned Svenska Spel was the only company permitted to offer online gambling to people in Sweden, whether it be casin ...
” to promote Neon scratch cards that Ace herself designed. She participated in
Stjärnornas stjärna
Stjärnornas stjärna is a Swedish TV-series which is being broadcast on TV4 since 2018. Host is Petra Mede. In the series eight professional singers competes in different music genres and every week one of the singers gets voted off the series ...
broadcast on
TV4 in 2018, In Week 1, the theme was country music. Wilder covered “
Man, I Feel Like A Woman” by
Shania Twain
Eilleen Regina "Shania" Twain ( , ; née Edwards; born August 28, 1965) is a Canadian singer and songwriter. She has sold over 100 million records, making her the best-selling female artist in country music history and one of the best-s ...
. In Week 2, the theme was Latin music. Wilder covered “
Rhythm Is Gonna Get You
"Rhythm Is Gonna Get You" is a song written by Enrique "Kiki" Garcia and Gloria Estefan, and released by Gloria Estefan and Miami Sound Machine in 1987 as the lead single from the album '' Let It Loose'' (and the European version of the album '' ...
” By
Gloria Estefan
Gloria Estefan (; born Gloria María Milagrosa Fajardo García; born 1 September 1957) is a Cuban-American singer, actress, and businesswoman. Estefan is a seven-time Grammy Award winner, a Presidential Medal of Freedom recipient, and has bee ...
. Wilder was first eliminated on week 2 after receiving the fewest public votes. In April 2018, Ace launched her vintage clothing blog “Wilder Wintage”. Ace Wilder returned to
Melodifestivalen
Melodifestivalen (; literally "the Melody Festival") is an annual song competition organised by Swedish public broadcasters Sveriges Television (SVT) and Sveriges Radio (SR). It determines the country's representative for the Eurovision Son ...
in
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
&
2020
2020 was heavily defined by the COVID-19 pandemic, which led to global social and economic disruption, mass cancellations and postponements of events, worldwide lockdowns and the largest economic recession since the Great Depression in ...
both times as a stylist for
Malou Prytz
Malou Trasthe Prytz (born 6 March 2003) is a Swedish singer. Prytz competed in Melodifestivalen 2019 with the song "I Do Me" in the second semi-final, qualifying to the final. She resides in Ryd in Småland
Småland () is a historical provin ...
. In an interview at the 2019 contest, Wilder confirmed that she was taking a break from music hence the 2 year long absence from releasing any new material. Wilder revealed that she was “Burnt Out” and feeling “Uninspired”. Wilder confirmed that her break wasn’t a permanent retirement from music and that she will “Do music again at some point in the future”. She also expressed interest at returning to Melodifestivalen as a lead artist for the 4th time. In 2019, Wilder starred in an original Swedish film named “A Music Story” about An 11-year-old’s dreams of competing on a kid's talent show, but her musician father forbids her based on his fears and failed career. Ace featured on 2 songs on the official soundtrack to the film “Born To Be Free” & “Like an American Idol. Ace Wilder cameod as herself in the film. Ace hasn’t posted to Instagram since March 2019.
Discography
EPs
Singles
Songwriting discography
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wilder, Ace
1982 births
Melodifestivalen contestants
Swedish pop singers
Swedish women singer-songwriters
Swedish singer-songwriters
Synth-pop singers
English-language singers from Sweden
Swedish expatriates in the United States
Warner Music Group artists
EMI Records artists
Singers from Stockholm
Living people
Musicians from Miami
21st-century Swedish women singers