After honing his skills as a drummer and bassist with late 1980s Swedish alt-rockers Broder Daniel, Håkan Georg Hellström joined Honey is Cool (also featuring The Knife's Karin Dreijer) in the mid-1990s, later rejoining Broder Daniel in 1997 before going solo. Freshly solo, Hellström scored a hit in 2000 with the single "Känn Ingen Sorg För Mig Göteborg" and his debut album of the same name, which was released on Virgin. The platinum-sellingalbum was inspired by indie outsiders and classic singer-songwriters and shot to Number 1 in Sweden, with "Känn Ingen Sorg För Mig Göteborg" winning the 2001 Grammi for Song of the Year. The album notched up five other nominations and Hellström was awarded the 2000 Rockbjörnen Swedish record of the year prize. For his second platinum-selling album, 2002's Det är så jag säger det, Hellström went deeper with his influences, stirring up a melting pot of samba and folk balladry, as well as looking to revered lyricists like Bob Dylan. He amassed seven more Number 1 records in Sweden, including 2016's gold-selling Du Gamla Du Fria and 2020's Rampljus Vol.1. A follow-up album, Rampljus, came out that same year.
