The Real Group is an

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

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 Robert Keith McFerrin Jr. (born March 11, 1950) is an American singer, songwriter, and conductor (music), conductor. His Vocal pedagogy, vocal techniques include singing fluidly but with quick and considerable jumps in Pitch (music), pitch—fo ...

as an inspiration.

Background

The Real Group has performed more than 2000 concerts worldwide. In 2002, the Real Group performed at the opening ceremony of the

FIFA World Cup The FIFA World Cup, often called the World Cup, is an international association football competition among the senior List of men's national association football teams, men's national teams of the members of the FIFA, Fédération Internatio ...

in Seoul, South Korea, to an audience of 60,000. On 22 December 1993, to celebrate the fiftieth birthday of

Queen Silvia of Sweden Silvia (born Silvia Renate Sommerlath; 23 December 1943) is Queen of Sweden as the wife of King Carl XVI Gustaf. She has held this title since her marriage to Carl XVI Gustaf in 1976. The king and queen have three children: Crown Princess Vict ...

, the Real Group backed up former

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

member

Anni-Frid Lyngstad Anni-Frid Synni Lyngstad (born 15 November 1945), also known simply as Frida, is a Swedish singer who is best known as one of the founding members and lead singers of the pop band ABBA. Courtesy titles ''Principality of Reuss-Gera, Princess Re ...

in a performance of the ABBA hit "

Dancing Queen "Dancing Queen" is a song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, '' Arrival'' (1976). It was written by Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Stig Anderson. Andersson and Ulvaeus also produced the ...

", 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 The Royal College of Music (RCM) is a conservatoire established by royal charter in 1882, located in South Kensington, London, UK. It offers training from the undergraduate to the doctoral level in all aspects of Western Music including pe ...

in Stockholm. All of them attended

Adolf Fredrik's Music School Adolf Fredrik's Music School () is a general municipal junior high school () in Stockholm, Sweden with a focus on choral music, and highly competitive admission based on audition in singing and musical ability. The school has two campuses and thr ...

. 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.The Real Group performs in Kremlin Palace, Russia
. Group web site content. 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.

Discography

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" ** 1997: Best Jazz Song: "Waltz for Debby" ** 1997: Best Female Vocalist: Margareta Bengtson ** 1998: Best Holiday Album: ''En riktig jul'' ** 2003: Best Classical Album: ''Stämning'' ** 2003: Runner Up for Best Classical Song: " En vänlig grönskas rika dräkt" from ''Stämning'' ** 2004: Best Holiday Album: ''Julen er her'' ** 2004: Best Holiday Song: "Hark, the Herald Angels Sing" from ''Julen er her'' * Other awards: ** 2002 Karamelodiktstipendiet , an annual award given to a Swedish entertainer by Povel Ramel.

Timeline

Vertical lines are records, red line is the new generation TRG.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Real Group, The Swedish jazz ensembles Professional a cappella groups ACT Music artists Vocal jazz ensembles 1984 establishments in Sweden Musical groups established in 1984 English-language musical groups from Sweden