Michael Learns to Rock
Encyclopedia
Michael Learns to Rock are a Danish
pop
-soft rock
band that performs songs in English
. Formed in 1988, the band has sold over 11 million records worldwide, mainly in Asia
, and in addition, another 6 million or more paid downloads for their single "Take Me To Your Heart"http://jowu.co.uk/index.php?page=mltr which was awarded "Most downloaded single of the year 2006". They have produced seven studio albums as well as many live and greatest hits albums, and are currently recording their eighth studio album. MLTR have won many awards and have earned Gold
and Platinum
status for their records in many countries, as well as the "Gold Preis Award" from RSH, Germany
and "The Best Performing Act of the Year" at the SEA Grammy Awards in Singapore
. The band has attributed its success in Asia to a clean-living image and singing in English as a second language.
During the peak of their popularity, in the mid-90's, MLTR have been described by critics to be "as good (if not better) a band as any current big name group out of America or the UK.”http://jowu.co.uk/index.php?page=mltr
According to their record label releases, their sound is "the perfect balance of a Scandinavian glow and the international pop song that has been instrumental in forming the compelling sound of the band", though the lead singer and song writer Jascha Richter
disagrees with this, maintaining that the music defies geographical categorization.
, intent upon putting together a band to perform songs composed by him, joined hands with his high-school friend and drummer Kåre Wanscher in Aarhus, Denmark. Realizing the handicaps of playing as a duo, they called in guitarist Mikkel Lentz, who was then playing rock music with his group the Rocking Studs. On March 15, 1988, which would turn out to be their first night of practice and while still needing a fourth musician, they asked Søren Madsen, another guitarist, to join in on bass. They quickly recorded a demo tape intended to be sent to the competition 'Rock Grand Prix' in their hometown Aarhus, and had to hurriedly come up with a name before posting it, resulting in Jascha inscribing the words 'Michael Learns to Rock' in pun. In an interview Richter admitted that it was named after Michael Jackson
: "Yeah, it was like Johnny Hates Jazz
and Frankie Goes to Hollywood
. Sure, I've regretted calling ourselves this many times since, but we were successful so quickly we had to stick with it and over time I got used to it."
On May 22, 1988, the quartet debuted in Aarhus in the competition 'Rock Grand Prix' at the town's biggest venue, Ridehuset, ending up as one of the two winning teams. Soon after, in July 1988 the group entered and won the city's famed annual talent show.
A member of the contest jury, J.P. Andersen, who was impressed with the band's talent but somewhat annoyed at the latter's lack of professionalism, later became the band's manager. Michael Learns to Rock continued playing live and recording material in order to catch attention of Danish record labels, finally landing a record deal with the Danish label Medley in January 1989. However, the band would release their eponymous debut album, Michael Learns to Rock
, only in September 1991, backed by the American record label Impact Records
and with much of the album including the first American single, "My Blue Angel", mixed and produced by American producers Tony Peluso
and Steve Barri.
Although not making any headway at all in America despite getting airplay for "My Blue Angel", a latter single (second in Denmark, the first being "I Still Carry On") from the album, "The Actor
", topped the Danish chart and also did well in Norway
, Sweden
, Indonesia
, Malaysia, Singapore
and the Philippines
. In January 1992, the album would top the Danish charts, followed soon after by success in Asia selling 25,000 copies and earning gold status in Indonesia alone.
In August 1995, Michael Learns to Rock's third album Played on Pepper
came out, also selling more than 1.2 million units,. Tracks on this album included "That's Why (You Go Away)" and "Someday". For the first time, the band recorded and produced the whole album by themselves. In order to promote the album, the group played 25 shows in 10 countries. Meanwhile, the release of this album also increased the band's presence in hitherto untapped markets like Brazil
, South Africa
, the UAE and 11 countries in the Far East, including Japan
.
In order to capitalize on the success of Played on Pepper and to curb piracy, Michael Learns to Rock released the greatest hits
album Paint My Love in October 1996, primarily in Asia, which sold 3.4 million copies. The band was also chosen as the headliner for the Celebrate Hong Kong concert on 6 July 1997, marking the transfer of Hong Kong
from the United Kingdom
to China
. The album would also top the charts in South Africa.
Meanwhile, their fourth studio album Nothing to Lose was released in September 1997, which again logged in sales of more than 1.1 million copies. In an incident that pointed towards Michael Learns to Rock's popularity in Asia, fake tickets had been sold to the tune of 20,000 numbers (more than twice the number that of the real ones sold) for a concert in Hanoi
, Vietnam
in December 1997 and while the concert was on, the people outside with the fake tickets tried to break their way in to the concert hall through the windows, ceilings and the doors, causing riot police to be summoned to take care of the situation The band traveled to South Africa in January 1998, playing sell-out concerts at Johannesburg
and Pretoria
, consequently taking Nothing to Lose to the top of the charts in South Africa.
Soon after, Michael Learns to Rock's members took a break to spend time with their families and develop projects on their own or in collaboration with other artists. They also decided to rebrand the band under the simpler name of MLTR. During the lay-off, Richter wrote some new songs for the band, including Strange Foreign Beauty which was added to the 1999 greatest hits album Greatest Hits - Strange Foreign Beauty. In a process undertaken by MLTR for the first time, the song Strange Foreign Beauty was made by compiling the best details from recordings of ideas done individually by the four members. This album featured their previous hits, either remixed or refined in some way or the other by notable international producers including Chris Lord-Alge
(for Someday, Something You Should Know etc.), Cutfather & Joe (for Sleeping Child) and Swedish producer Per Magnusson
(for the MLTR top hit The Actor). This Greatest Hits album went to the top of the Danish sales charts (the second MLTR album after their debut album to have achieved this feat in Denmark), sold well in Sweden
and Portugal
, logging sales of nearly a million copies meanwhile.
, which almost went platinum in Denmark
and sold well in Asia, Jowu Entertainment & Media Ltd. Retrieved 14 March 2010 logging in sales over one million. The following year saw the release of the MLTR biography Something You Should Know, authored by Poul Martin-Bonde, along with a few previously unreleased recordings. The English translation of the book was called It Never Rains on Bali, a reference to an incident that took place during the band's 1995 Bali
concert, where a no-rain forecast proved wrong and the unexpected rain indeed did stop the concert. Midas Promotions Retrieved 18 March 2010 After the release of Blue Night, the band took a prolonged hiatus, with Jascha Richter branching out to work on his solo album Planet Blue. Jascha and the band later admitted that they even considered disbanding during this time. They ultimately decided against it, following the success of their greatest hits album releases, including 19 Love Songs / Love Ballads in 2002, which went #2 danishcharts.com Retrieved 02 October 2010 in home-country Denmark. By 2004, the band regrouped again departing from the name MLTR, and using their original name once again for their sixth album called Michael Learns to Rock
, released in Asia as Take Me to Your Heart
. The album Take Me to Your Heart focused on the Asian market. The single "Take Me to Your Heart" was a remake of Jacky Cheung
's "Goodbye Kiss
" ("吻别"), and was popular in China
, Hong Kong
, Vietnam
, Thailand
and Taiwan
. By the end of financial year 2006 alone, the single created a record of sorts when it sold over 6 million paid downloads and was awarded the "Most Downloaded Single Of The Year 2006". MLTR sang an English and Chinese duet of "Take Me to Your Heart" with Chinese singer Hu Yanbin at a 2005 New Year's Party in Guangzhou, China. The band also did a duet of the song with South Korean star Shin Hye-sung, of boy band Shinhwa
. This album has been one of the major successes of MLTR in Asia, especially China. Billboard- Google Books Retrieved 14 March 2010
.
In November 2008, MLTR released their seventh studio album titled Eternity under their own independent label, MLTR Music, in association with the Danish label At:tack. Also, this album has the distinction of being the first MLTR album to be produced solely by Mikkel Lentz. The band mention on their website that the name is an indication of the fact that "the band plan to make music for as long as they still find joy in the process". Although the sales were slow (admittedly, according to the band), the second single from the album "Sweetest Surprise" reached No. 1 in Thailand within a few weeks of release. In the following year, another track "It's Gonna Make Sense" gained popularity in Asia after it was played as the farewell song on the Philippines reality TV show Pinoy Big Brother
. The promotion of the album took MLTR on the Eternity South East Asia Tour, the response to which, the band declare, has led them to consider playing more concerts abroad, especially South East Asia.
Michael Learns to Rock completed touring their home-country Denmark, having played unplugged concerts in February and March 2010 with fair success. In June 2010, the band undertook a three-city promotional tour of India playing shows at Mumbai
, Delhi
and Bangalore
to promote the latest album "Eternity". More Unplugged shows followed in Denmark in late 2010. The band also did a short promotional tour of China and Macau
from 27 September to 1 October 2010 for their upcoming China concerts in December 2010 and to give a preview of their Chinese Tour Compilation CD. This was followed up with their first ever international Unplugged concerts at Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou
in December 2010. Also the track, Fairy Tale, an English cover version of a song originally performed by singer Li Jian, and later popularized by Hong Kong pop diva Faye Wong
, was released in conjunction with the CD release. Following this, the band is scheduled to play another Unplugged tour in Denmark in spring 2011.
On 19 November 2011, Michael Learns To Rock unveiled the song Anyway You Want It from the forthcoming album at a live concert in Kathmandu. The band also shot footage during the performance of the song, to include it on the music video for the same track.
, UAE, Faroe Islands
, Vietnam, Cambodia
, Norway
, South Korea
, Sri Lanka
and Sweden. They have also traveled to Hollywood for recording part of their debut album, to Spain
, Finland
and Germany to attend interviews, and to the UK to shoot a video. In Asia, MLTR are one of the few artists to have played more than once in a country and to have still sustained an audience turn-out comparable to that of their earlier appearances.
Michael Learns to Rock were also the first international act to have performed in Cambodia when they played a show (that was also televised live) in front of 700 fans in Cambodia’s national television studio in Phnom Penh in October 2005. The alternative version of their live album called The Live Musical Adventures of Michael Learns to Rock-I Walk This Road Alone features 14 live audio recordings mostly from their September 2005 show at Shillong
, India, and a few video recordings from other live shows in Asia.
In various interviews, the band members have admitted that touring and the response from fans to their concerts, among other reasons, keep them together, in spite of the stresses associated with traveling. In a recent interview Mikkel Lentz said, "The reason we stay together is because it makes sense. Our fans come to our shows and we still enjoy playing and travelling, so why should we stop? There is also the pleasure of making music, even though sometimes things like television shows or interviews can become a little boring." Kåre Wanscher has also said in an interview that the highest points of their career have been when they were out touring Asia over the last few years.
MLTR toured China
in December 2010, playing unplugged
concerts. The 2011 spring leg of the Danish tour started on February 17, 2011 and ended on March 12, 2011 with MLTR playing gigs in most of the Danish cities and towns, many of which were sold out. MLTR then completed their first full-production concert tour after their extended unplugged stint by playing on April 22, 2011 at Penang, April 24, 2011 at Kuala Lumpur and April 30, 2011 at Kuantan in Malaysia.
The Summer tour commenced on August 11, 2011 with the band playing in Skanderborg, and later on August 12, 2011 at Aarhus and on August 13 at Aabenraa. The band was also set to visit Bangladesh
for the first time ever to perform 2 concerts there, one in Dhaka on the 6th October and a second in Chittagong on the 9th October, but the concert dates have currently been postponed indefinitely.
The band played on November 19, 2011 for the first time ever in Kathmandu, Nepal
at the Tudikhel Ground
, as the headliners of Nepal Rocks, a music festival organized by ODC Network to celebrate Nepal Tourism Year. Michael Learns To Rock are only the second internationally acclaimed band to play in Nepal, after the Canadian artist Bryan Adams
did so earlier in the year.
song-form
(which is typical of most pop songs) with lyrics comprising straight forward and short-length phrasing incorporating very basic sentence constructions. The verses consist of either one or two couplets and the chorus often contrasts the verse melodically, rhythmically, and harmonically, assuming a higher level of dynamics and activity. The essence of this style followed invariably by MLTR is evident from Jascha Richter's dead-pan response to a query in an interview as to what constituted the elements of a good song: "You got to have a chorus and a verse". Many songs incorporate a bridge
section following the second chorus section (most notably, 25 Minutes, That's Why (You Go Away), Someday, Paint My Love, Blue Night etc.). Many songs also contain instrumental solos
, more commonly, guitar (e.g. Someday, That's Why (You Go Away), How Many Hours, The Actor, Something You Should Know, Breaking My Heart, Watch Your Back etc.) and sometimes the keyboard (e.g. Messages), following the second chorus or following the bridge, in case the latter is present. Vocal harmonies also constitute a common feature of their songs.
Mikkel admits that they never really jam to come out with or develop upon a song and most of MLTR's songs are written and composed by Jascha Richter on the piano. According to Jascha, however, after he has written the song, Mikkel takes the ideas further and makes it into a final production. Mikkel Lentz insists that MLTR do not fit to any genre of music except for having a classic pop-sound. Further, he believes the secret behind MLTR's sustained music career is the non-conformance to any musical trends, "We never tried to follow trends. I think that's the reason we are still around. There's been trip hop, grunge, pop. We never fitted into these trends. What seems to be tough then is now our strength. They're just songs. The songs don't belong to a musical wave."
Michael Learns to Rock have cited their influences to be Supertramp
, Elton John
, The Beatles
, The Rolling Stones
, Stevie Wonder
, the Eagles, Billy Joel
, ABBA
, Bee Gees
and 'all the bands that write good lyrics' (as Mikkel Lentz puts it tongue-in-cheek). Lentz, however, denies the influence of Michael Jackson
on their music.
However, Jascha Richter reveals on his facebook page in response to a fan's query that Michael Jackson's music did influence their music, especially the latter's Bad album which was released in the year preceding MLTR's formation. Also, Jascha Richter has cited Talk Talk
, a-ha
and Eurythmics
to be his influences. A-ha's international success, in spite of originating from the small Scandinavian country of Norway, instilled the self-belief in the MLTR members that even they, hailing from a similarly small Scandinavian country (Denmark), could carve out a career for themselves in international music.
Despite being branded simplistic, easy-listening and sometimes, down-right cheesy, banal or even naive by many, Michael Learns to Rock are adamant that these are the very qualities of their lyrics and music which have found favor with Asian music listeners.
.
2. "The Best Performing Act of the Year" in Singapore
at SEA Grammy Awards
3. "Most Downloaded single of the year 2006 for their single" "Take me to your Heart"
4."The 2004 CD-Award" for the best selling International artist in China
ever.
5.Certifications for the album Take Me to Your Heart/ Michael Learns to Rock
6.Certifications for the album Blue Night
-2000
7. Certifications for the album Nothing to Lose-(1997)
8. Certifications for album Played on Pepper
-1995
9. Certifications for the album Colours-1993
10. Certifications for album "Michael Learns to Rock
"- 1991
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
pop
Pop music
Pop music is usually understood to be commercially recorded music, often oriented toward a youth market, usually consisting of relatively short, simple songs utilizing technological innovations to produce new variations on existing themes.- Definitions :David Hatch and Stephen Millward define pop...
-soft rock
Soft rock
Soft rock is a style of music which uses the techniques of rock music to compose a softer, more toned-down sound. Soft rock songs generally tend to focus on themes like love, everyday life and relationships. The genre tends to make heavy use of acoustic guitars, pianos, synthesizers and sometimes...
band that performs songs in English
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
. Formed in 1988, the band has sold over 11 million records worldwide, mainly in Asia
Asia
Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
, and in addition, another 6 million or more paid downloads for their single "Take Me To Your Heart"http://jowu.co.uk/index.php?page=mltr which was awarded "Most downloaded single of the year 2006". They have produced seven studio albums as well as many live and greatest hits albums, and are currently recording their eighth studio album. MLTR have won many awards and have earned Gold
Gold
Gold is a chemical element with the symbol Au and an atomic number of 79. Gold is a dense, soft, shiny, malleable and ductile metal. Pure gold has a bright yellow color and luster traditionally considered attractive, which it maintains without oxidizing in air or water. Chemically, gold is a...
and Platinum
Platinum
Platinum is a chemical element with the chemical symbol Pt and an atomic number of 78. Its name is derived from the Spanish term platina del Pinto, which is literally translated into "little silver of the Pinto River." It is a dense, malleable, ductile, precious, gray-white transition metal...
status for their records in many countries, as well as the "Gold Preis Award" from RSH, Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and "The Best Performing Act of the Year" at the SEA Grammy Awards in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
. The band has attributed its success in Asia to a clean-living image and singing in English as a second language.
During the peak of their popularity, in the mid-90's, MLTR have been described by critics to be "as good (if not better) a band as any current big name group out of America or the UK.”http://jowu.co.uk/index.php?page=mltr
According to their record label releases, their sound is "the perfect balance of a Scandinavian glow and the international pop song that has been instrumental in forming the compelling sound of the band", though the lead singer and song writer Jascha Richter
Jascha Richter
Jascha Richter is a Danish singer-songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and keyboardist of the soft rock band, Michael Learns to Rock. He has composed and sung most of MLTR's songs...
disagrees with this, maintaining that the music defies geographical categorization.
The beginnings (1988–1992)
In 1988, the singer-keyboardist Jascha RichterJascha Richter
Jascha Richter is a Danish singer-songwriter best known as the lead vocalist and keyboardist of the soft rock band, Michael Learns to Rock. He has composed and sung most of MLTR's songs...
, intent upon putting together a band to perform songs composed by him, joined hands with his high-school friend and drummer Kåre Wanscher in Aarhus, Denmark. Realizing the handicaps of playing as a duo, they called in guitarist Mikkel Lentz, who was then playing rock music with his group the Rocking Studs. On March 15, 1988, which would turn out to be their first night of practice and while still needing a fourth musician, they asked Søren Madsen, another guitarist, to join in on bass. They quickly recorded a demo tape intended to be sent to the competition 'Rock Grand Prix' in their hometown Aarhus, and had to hurriedly come up with a name before posting it, resulting in Jascha inscribing the words 'Michael Learns to Rock' in pun. In an interview Richter admitted that it was named after Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
: "Yeah, it was like Johnny Hates Jazz
Johnny Hates Jazz
Johnny Hates Jazz is an Anglo-American Pop/Rock band, formed in 1986 by Clark Datchler , Mike Nocito , and Calvin Hayes...
and Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood
Frankie Goes to Hollywood were a British dance-pop band popular in the mid-1980s. The group was fronted by Holly Johnson , with Paul Rutherford , Peter Gill , Mark O'Toole , and Brian Nash .The group's debut single "Relax" was banned by the BBC in 1984 while at number six in the charts and...
. Sure, I've regretted calling ourselves this many times since, but we were successful so quickly we had to stick with it and over time I got used to it."
On May 22, 1988, the quartet debuted in Aarhus in the competition 'Rock Grand Prix' at the town's biggest venue, Ridehuset, ending up as one of the two winning teams. Soon after, in July 1988 the group entered and won the city's famed annual talent show.
A member of the contest jury, J.P. Andersen, who was impressed with the band's talent but somewhat annoyed at the latter's lack of professionalism, later became the band's manager. Michael Learns to Rock continued playing live and recording material in order to catch attention of Danish record labels, finally landing a record deal with the Danish label Medley in January 1989. However, the band would release their eponymous debut album, Michael Learns to Rock
Michael Learns to Rock (album)
Michael Learns to Rock is the eponymous debut album of the Danish soft rock and pop rock band Michael Learns to Rock. The album was released in September 1991.-Track listing:#"My Blue Angel" – 3:55...
, only in September 1991, backed by the American record label Impact Records
Impact Records
Impact Records is an American record label, once a subsidiary of MCA Records. Today its back catalog remains part of Universal Music Group.Acts on the label are and/or have included: Jock Mitchell, Sass Jordan, The Fixx, Rythm Syndicate, and Joey Lawrence....
and with much of the album including the first American single, "My Blue Angel", mixed and produced by American producers Tony Peluso
Tony Peluso
Tony Peluso was an American guitarist and record producer. He was lead guitarist for pop duo Carpenters from 1972 to 1983....
and Steve Barri.
Although not making any headway at all in America despite getting airplay for "My Blue Angel", a latter single (second in Denmark, the first being "I Still Carry On") from the album, "The Actor
The Actor (song)
"The Actor" is a single by Danish soft rock band Michael Learns to Rock. The song was contained in their self-titled first album Michael Learns to Rock which released in 1991. The band has played the song regularly in their Asian tours.-Chart performance:...
", topped the Danish chart and also did well in Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, Malaysia, Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
and the Philippines
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
. In January 1992, the album would top the Danish charts, followed soon after by success in Asia selling 25,000 copies and earning gold status in Indonesia alone.
International breakthrough (1993–1999)
Encouraged by the performance of their debut album, Michael Learns to Rock released their second album Colours in October 1993 which went along to sell over 1.1 million records. The album included the singles "Sleeping Child", "25 Minutes" and "Out of the Blue". The band also toured Asia for the first time and where at The Phoebus Concert Hall in Bangkok they would play to their largest audience until then of 12,000 people. The performance of this album coupled with the band's live performances resulted in the band receiving the The Best Performing Act of the Year award at SEA Grammy Awards in Singapore for the performance of 25 Minutes in 1994, followed by the Gold Preis from the German radio station RSH (Radio Schleswig-Holstein) in 1995 for radio hits such as Wild Women and 25 Minutes.In August 1995, Michael Learns to Rock's third album Played on Pepper
Played on pepper
Played on Pepper is the third album by the Danish soft rock band Michael Learns to Rock. It was released in August 1995. The album was produced by the MLTR on their own, in a first for the band. The first single from this album was "Someday", followed by That's Why You Go Away.-Track...
came out, also selling more than 1.2 million units,. Tracks on this album included "That's Why (You Go Away)" and "Someday". For the first time, the band recorded and produced the whole album by themselves. In order to promote the album, the group played 25 shows in 10 countries. Meanwhile, the release of this album also increased the band's presence in hitherto untapped markets like Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
, South Africa
South Africa
The Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, the UAE and 11 countries in the Far East, including Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
.
In order to capitalize on the success of Played on Pepper and to curb piracy, Michael Learns to Rock released the greatest hits
Greatest hits
A greatest hits album is a music compilation album of successful, previously released songs by a particular artist or band...
album Paint My Love in October 1996, primarily in Asia, which sold 3.4 million copies. The band was also chosen as the headliner for the Celebrate Hong Kong concert on 6 July 1997, marking the transfer of Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
from the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
to China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
. The album would also top the charts in South Africa.
Meanwhile, their fourth studio album Nothing to Lose was released in September 1997, which again logged in sales of more than 1.1 million copies. In an incident that pointed towards Michael Learns to Rock's popularity in Asia, fake tickets had been sold to the tune of 20,000 numbers (more than twice the number that of the real ones sold) for a concert in Hanoi
Hanoi
Hanoi , is the capital of Vietnam and the country's second largest city. Its population in 2009 was estimated at 2.6 million for urban districts, 6.5 million for the metropolitan jurisdiction. From 1010 until 1802, it was the most important political centre of Vietnam...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
in December 1997 and while the concert was on, the people outside with the fake tickets tried to break their way in to the concert hall through the windows, ceilings and the doors, causing riot police to be summoned to take care of the situation The band traveled to South Africa in January 1998, playing sell-out concerts at Johannesburg
Johannesburg
Johannesburg also known as Jozi, Jo'burg or Egoli, is the largest city in South Africa, by population. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
and Pretoria
Pretoria
Pretoria is a city located in the northern part of Gauteng Province, South Africa. It is one of the country's three capital cities, serving as the executive and de facto national capital; the others are Cape Town, the legislative capital, and Bloemfontein, the judicial capital.Pretoria is...
, consequently taking Nothing to Lose to the top of the charts in South Africa.
Soon after, Michael Learns to Rock's members took a break to spend time with their families and develop projects on their own or in collaboration with other artists. They also decided to rebrand the band under the simpler name of MLTR. During the lay-off, Richter wrote some new songs for the band, including Strange Foreign Beauty which was added to the 1999 greatest hits album Greatest Hits - Strange Foreign Beauty. In a process undertaken by MLTR for the first time, the song Strange Foreign Beauty was made by compiling the best details from recordings of ideas done individually by the four members. This album featured their previous hits, either remixed or refined in some way or the other by notable international producers including Chris Lord-Alge
Chris Lord-Alge
Chris Lord-Alge is a mixer who has worked on various albums. He is the brother of Tom Lord-Alge, another audio engineer. Chris Lord-Alge is known for his extreme use of dynamic range compression in both hardware and software plug-in versions....
(for Someday, Something You Should Know etc.), Cutfather & Joe (for Sleeping Child) and Swedish producer Per Magnusson
Per Magnusson
Per Magnusson is a Swedish music producer and songwriter. His musical career took off in 1994 as one of the original team members of the now-legendary Cheiron Productions, meeting great international success working with Boyzone, Britney Spears, Westlife and the Backstreet Boys.Shortly after...
(for the MLTR top hit The Actor). This Greatest Hits album went to the top of the Danish sales charts (the second MLTR album after their debut album to have achieved this feat in Denmark), sold well in Sweden
Sweden
Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
and Portugal
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
, logging sales of nearly a million copies meanwhile.
Regrouping and new releases (2000–2006)
In 2000, Søren Madsen decided to leave the group, to embark on a solo career. The three remaining members set themselves the challenge of pursuing a sound different to that of their previous albums and produced the album Blue NightBlue Night (album)
Blue Night is the fifth album of the Danish soft rock band Michael Learns to Rock. It was released in 2000.-Track listing:#"Angel Eyes" - #"Whatever It May Take"#"Watch Your Back"#"You Took My Heart Away" - #"Blue Night"#"One Way Street"...
, which almost went platinum in Denmark
Denmark
Denmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
and sold well in Asia, Jowu Entertainment & Media Ltd. Retrieved 14 March 2010 logging in sales over one million. The following year saw the release of the MLTR biography Something You Should Know, authored by Poul Martin-Bonde, along with a few previously unreleased recordings. The English translation of the book was called It Never Rains on Bali, a reference to an incident that took place during the band's 1995 Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
concert, where a no-rain forecast proved wrong and the unexpected rain indeed did stop the concert. Midas Promotions Retrieved 18 March 2010 After the release of Blue Night, the band took a prolonged hiatus, with Jascha Richter branching out to work on his solo album Planet Blue. Jascha and the band later admitted that they even considered disbanding during this time. They ultimately decided against it, following the success of their greatest hits album releases, including 19 Love Songs / Love Ballads in 2002, which went #2 danishcharts.com Retrieved 02 October 2010 in home-country Denmark. By 2004, the band regrouped again departing from the name MLTR, and using their original name once again for their sixth album called Michael Learns to Rock
Take Me to Your Heart (album)
Take Me to Your Heart is the sixth album of the Danish soft rock band Michael Learns to Rock. It was released on New Year's, 2004.The title song, "Take Me to Your Heart," was released on October 26, 2003 and was an adaptation of the famous Chinese hit "Goodbye Kiss" by Jacky Cheung...
, released in Asia as Take Me to Your Heart
Take Me to Your Heart (album)
Take Me to Your Heart is the sixth album of the Danish soft rock band Michael Learns to Rock. It was released on New Year's, 2004.The title song, "Take Me to Your Heart," was released on October 26, 2003 and was an adaptation of the famous Chinese hit "Goodbye Kiss" by Jacky Cheung...
. The album Take Me to Your Heart focused on the Asian market. The single "Take Me to Your Heart" was a remake of Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung
Jacky Cheung is a Hong Kong singer-songwriter and actor. The Chinese language media refers to him, Aaron Kwok, Andy Lau and Leon Lai as the Cantopop Four Heavenly Kings , with more than 60 million records sold as of 2000....
's "Goodbye Kiss
The Goodbye Kiss
The Goodbye Kiss is Jacky Cheung's fifth Mandopop album, which was released on March 5, 1993.The Mandopop album was a great success in the Greater China region. In Taiwan, 1.36 million copies sold，and the total number of population was only 19 million in Taiwan at that time. For too much Pirated...
" ("吻别"), and was popular in China
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
, Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, Vietnam
Vietnam
Vietnam – sometimes spelled Viet Nam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam – is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea –...
, Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
and Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
. By the end of financial year 2006 alone, the single created a record of sorts when it sold over 6 million paid downloads and was awarded the "Most Downloaded Single Of The Year 2006". MLTR sang an English and Chinese duet of "Take Me to Your Heart" with Chinese singer Hu Yanbin at a 2005 New Year's Party in Guangzhou, China. The band also did a duet of the song with South Korean star Shin Hye-sung, of boy band Shinhwa
Shinhwa
Shinhwa is a popular South Korean boy band and hip hop group. The group has six members , and debuted on March 24, 1998. It has enjoyed massive success alongside the likes of Sechs Kies, g.o.d., Turbo , Fin. K.L., H.O.T. and S.E.S...
. This album has been one of the major successes of MLTR in Asia, especially China. Billboard- Google Books Retrieved 14 March 2010
Later career (2007–present)
In 2007, MLTR performed at the Formula1 in Shanghai and The 6th Golden Eagle Award Ceremony. Later in the year, MLTR released The Best of Michael Learns to Rock Live and in July toured Hong-Kong, Taiwan, Thailand and Malaysia. Elsewhere, this album was released as The Live Musical Adventures of Michael Learns to Rock / I Walk This Road Alone, and featured live recordings from their Take Me to Your Heart Asian Tour, mainly from the September 2005 concerts in IndiaIndia
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
In November 2008, MLTR released their seventh studio album titled Eternity under their own independent label, MLTR Music, in association with the Danish label At:tack. Also, this album has the distinction of being the first MLTR album to be produced solely by Mikkel Lentz. The band mention on their website that the name is an indication of the fact that "the band plan to make music for as long as they still find joy in the process". Although the sales were slow (admittedly, according to the band), the second single from the album "Sweetest Surprise" reached No. 1 in Thailand within a few weeks of release. In the following year, another track "It's Gonna Make Sense" gained popularity in Asia after it was played as the farewell song on the Philippines reality TV show Pinoy Big Brother
Pinoy Big Brother: Double Up
Pinoy Big Brother: Double Up was the third regular season of Pinoy Big Brother, which began on October 4, 2009 on ABS-CBN. Toni Gonzaga, Mariel Rodriguez, and Bianca Gonzalez reprised their hosting duties this season...
. The promotion of the album took MLTR on the Eternity South East Asia Tour, the response to which, the band declare, has led them to consider playing more concerts abroad, especially South East Asia.
Michael Learns to Rock completed touring their home-country Denmark, having played unplugged concerts in February and March 2010 with fair success. In June 2010, the band undertook a three-city promotional tour of India playing shows at Mumbai
Mumbai
Mumbai , formerly known as Bombay in English, is the capital of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the most populous city in India, and the fourth most populous city in the world, with a total metropolitan area population of approximately 20.5 million...
, Delhi
Delhi
Delhi , officially National Capital Territory of Delhi , is the largest metropolis by area and the second-largest by population in India, next to Mumbai. It is the eighth largest metropolis in the world by population with 16,753,265 inhabitants in the Territory at the 2011 Census...
and Bangalore
Bangalore
Bengaluru , formerly called Bengaluru is the capital of the Indian state of Karnataka. Bangalore is nicknamed the Garden City and was once called a pensioner's paradise. Located on the Deccan Plateau in the south-eastern part of Karnataka, Bangalore is India's third most populous city and...
to promote the latest album "Eternity". More Unplugged shows followed in Denmark in late 2010. The band also did a short promotional tour of China and Macau
Macau
Macau , also spelled Macao , is, along with Hong Kong, one of the two special administrative regions of the People's Republic of China...
from 27 September to 1 October 2010 for their upcoming China concerts in December 2010 and to give a preview of their Chinese Tour Compilation CD. This was followed up with their first ever international Unplugged concerts at Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou
Guangzhou
Guangzhou , known historically as Canton or Kwangchow, is the capital and largest city of the Guangdong province in the People's Republic of China. Located in southern China on the Pearl River, about north-northwest of Hong Kong, Guangzhou is a key national transportation hub and trading port...
in December 2010. Also the track, Fairy Tale, an English cover version of a song originally performed by singer Li Jian, and later popularized by Hong Kong pop diva Faye Wong
Faye Wong
Faye Wong is a highly successful and influential Chinese singer-songwriter and actress who is usually referred to as a diva . Early in her career she briefly used the stage name Shirley Wong . Born in Beijing, she moved to Hong Kong in 1987 and rose to stardom in the early 1990s by singing...
, was released in conjunction with the CD release. Following this, the band is scheduled to play another Unplugged tour in Denmark in spring 2011.
New studio album (2012)
In a blog, dated 13 April 2010 on the band's website, the band announced that they have started working on their next album. Recently, Michael Learns to Rock have been giving feelers about their next studio album on their official Facebook page. The yet unnamed album, was set to be released on 11 August 2011 in Europe and Denmark, with releases following in other territories around the same time, will now be released at a later date which will be announced by the band. In a teaser Facebook update, the band revealed the name of one of the tracks to be Ice Breaker. Elsewhere, in a note on his facebook page, Jascha Richter has revealed the name of another song, namely, Hanging On, from the forthcoming album.On 19 November 2011, Michael Learns To Rock unveiled the song Anyway You Want It from the forthcoming album at a live concert in Kathmandu. The band also shot footage during the performance of the song, to include it on the music video for the same track.
Touring
As of September 2010, Michael Learns to Rock have played over 450 shows, including both large and small open-air & closed-hall stage concerts, TV appearances, unplugged and sing-back gigs, over a period of 22 years. In total, MLTR have played in at least 21 countries and territories which include Denmark, Indonesia, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, Hong Kong, India, Japan, Singapore, Taiwan, South Africa, SwitzerlandSwitzerland
Switzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, UAE, Faroe Islands
Faroe Islands
The Faroe Islands are an island group situated between the Norwegian Sea and the North Atlantic Ocean, approximately halfway between Scotland and Iceland. The Faroe Islands are a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of Denmark, along with Denmark proper and Greenland...
, Vietnam, Cambodia
Cambodia
Cambodia , officially known as the Kingdom of Cambodia, is a country located in the southern portion of the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia...
, Norway
Norway
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
, South Korea
South Korea
The Republic of Korea , , is a sovereign state in East Asia, located on the southern portion of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by the People's Republic of China to the west, Japan to the east, North Korea to the north, and the East China Sea and Republic of China to the south...
, Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
and Sweden. They have also traveled to Hollywood for recording part of their debut album, to Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
, Finland
Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland, is a Nordic country situated in the Fennoscandian region of Northern Europe. It is bordered by Sweden in the west, Norway in the north and Russia in the east, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland.Around 5.4 million people reside...
and Germany to attend interviews, and to the UK to shoot a video. In Asia, MLTR are one of the few artists to have played more than once in a country and to have still sustained an audience turn-out comparable to that of their earlier appearances.
Michael Learns to Rock were also the first international act to have performed in Cambodia when they played a show (that was also televised live) in front of 700 fans in Cambodia’s national television studio in Phnom Penh in October 2005. The alternative version of their live album called The Live Musical Adventures of Michael Learns to Rock-I Walk This Road Alone features 14 live audio recordings mostly from their September 2005 show at Shillong
Shillong
-Connectivity:Although well connected by road, Shillong has no rail connection and a proper air connection. Umroi Airport exists but has only limited flights.-Roadways:Shillong is well connected by roads with all major north eastern states...
, India, and a few video recordings from other live shows in Asia.
In various interviews, the band members have admitted that touring and the response from fans to their concerts, among other reasons, keep them together, in spite of the stresses associated with traveling. In a recent interview Mikkel Lentz said, "The reason we stay together is because it makes sense. Our fans come to our shows and we still enjoy playing and travelling, so why should we stop? There is also the pleasure of making music, even though sometimes things like television shows or interviews can become a little boring." Kåre Wanscher has also said in an interview that the highest points of their career have been when they were out touring Asia over the last few years.
MLTR toured China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
in December 2010, playing unplugged
Acoustic music
Acoustic music comprises music that solely or primarily uses instruments which produce sound through entirely acoustic means, as opposed to electric or electronic means...
concerts. The 2011 spring leg of the Danish tour started on February 17, 2011 and ended on March 12, 2011 with MLTR playing gigs in most of the Danish cities and towns, many of which were sold out. MLTR then completed their first full-production concert tour after their extended unplugged stint by playing on April 22, 2011 at Penang, April 24, 2011 at Kuala Lumpur and April 30, 2011 at Kuantan in Malaysia.
The Summer tour commenced on August 11, 2011 with the band playing in Skanderborg, and later on August 12, 2011 at Aarhus and on August 13 at Aabenraa. The band was also set to visit Bangladesh
Bangladesh
Bangladesh , officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a sovereign state located in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
for the first time ever to perform 2 concerts there, one in Dhaka on the 6th October and a second in Chittagong on the 9th October, but the concert dates have currently been postponed indefinitely.
The band played on November 19, 2011 for the first time ever in Kathmandu, Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
at the Tudikhel Ground
Tundikhel
Tundikhel is an open space in the centre of Kathmandu surrounded by the Sahid Gate, NAC, Bir Hospital and Ratna Park. It is under the custody of government where people can sit and play there. It is around half a square kilometer with a perimeter of about 2 kilometers. It is traditionally used for...
, as the headliners of Nepal Rocks, a music festival organized by ODC Network to celebrate Nepal Tourism Year. Michael Learns To Rock are only the second internationally acclaimed band to play in Nepal, after the Canadian artist Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams
Bryan Adams, is a Canadian rock singer-songwriter, guitarist, bassist, producer, actor and photographer. Adams has won dozens of awards and nominations, including 20 Juno Awards among 56 nominations. He has also received 15 Grammy Award nominations including a win for Best Song Written...
did so earlier in the year.
Musical style and influences
Michael Learns to Rock follow a basic verse-chorusVerse-chorus form
Verse-chorus form is a musical form common in popular music and predominant in rock since the 1960s. In contrast to AABA form, which is focused on the verse , in verse-chorus form the chorus is highlighted...
song-form
Song structure (popular music)
The structures or musical forms of songs in popular music are typically sectional, repeating forms, such as strophic form. Other common forms include thirty-two-bar form, verse-chorus form, and the twelve bar blues...
(which is typical of most pop songs) with lyrics comprising straight forward and short-length phrasing incorporating very basic sentence constructions. The verses consist of either one or two couplets and the chorus often contrasts the verse melodically, rhythmically, and harmonically, assuming a higher level of dynamics and activity. The essence of this style followed invariably by MLTR is evident from Jascha Richter's dead-pan response to a query in an interview as to what constituted the elements of a good song: "You got to have a chorus and a verse". Many songs incorporate a bridge
Bridge (music)
In music, especially western popular music, a bridge is a contrasting section which also prepares for the return of the original material section...
section following the second chorus section (most notably, 25 Minutes, That's Why (You Go Away), Someday, Paint My Love, Blue Night etc.). Many songs also contain instrumental solos
Solo (music)
In music, a solo is a piece or a section of a piece played or sung by a single performer...
, more commonly, guitar (e.g. Someday, That's Why (You Go Away), How Many Hours, The Actor, Something You Should Know, Breaking My Heart, Watch Your Back etc.) and sometimes the keyboard (e.g. Messages), following the second chorus or following the bridge, in case the latter is present. Vocal harmonies also constitute a common feature of their songs.
Mikkel admits that they never really jam to come out with or develop upon a song and most of MLTR's songs are written and composed by Jascha Richter on the piano. According to Jascha, however, after he has written the song, Mikkel takes the ideas further and makes it into a final production. Mikkel Lentz insists that MLTR do not fit to any genre of music except for having a classic pop-sound. Further, he believes the secret behind MLTR's sustained music career is the non-conformance to any musical trends, "We never tried to follow trends. I think that's the reason we are still around. There's been trip hop, grunge, pop. We never fitted into these trends. What seems to be tough then is now our strength. They're just songs. The songs don't belong to a musical wave."
Michael Learns to Rock have cited their influences to be Supertramp
Supertramp
Supertramp are a British rock band formed in 1969 under the name Daddy before renaming to Supertramp in early 1970. Though their music was initially categorised as progressive rock, they have since incorporated a combination of traditional rock and art rock into their music...
, Elton John
Elton John
Sir Elton Hercules John, CBE, Hon DMus is an English rock singer-songwriter, composer, pianist and occasional actor...
, The Beatles
The Beatles
The Beatles were an English rock band, active throughout the 1960s and one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed acts in the history of popular music. Formed in Liverpool, by 1962 the group consisted of John Lennon , Paul McCartney , George Harrison and Ringo Starr...
, The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones
The Rolling Stones are an English rock band, formed in London in April 1962 by Brian Jones , Ian Stewart , Mick Jagger , and Keith Richards . Bassist Bill Wyman and drummer Charlie Watts completed the early line-up...
, Stevie Wonder
Stevie Wonder
Stevland Hardaway Morris , better known by his stage name Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, record producer and activist...
, the Eagles, Billy Joel
Billy Joel
William Martin "Billy" Joel is an American musician and pianist, singer-songwriter, and classical composer. Since releasing his first hit song, "Piano Man", in 1973, Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States, according to...
, ABBA
ABBA
ABBA was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1970 which consisted of Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Agnetha Fältskog...
, Bee Gees
Bee Gees
The Bee Gees are a musical group that originally comprised three brothers: Barry, Robin, and Maurice Gibb. The trio was successful for most of their 40-plus years of recording music, but they had two distinct periods of exceptional success: as a pop act in the late 1960s and early 1970s, and as a...
and 'all the bands that write good lyrics' (as Mikkel Lentz puts it tongue-in-cheek). Lentz, however, denies the influence of Michael Jackson
Michael Jackson
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
on their music.
However, Jascha Richter reveals on his facebook page in response to a fan's query that Michael Jackson's music did influence their music, especially the latter's Bad album which was released in the year preceding MLTR's formation. Also, Jascha Richter has cited Talk Talk
Talk Talk
Talk Talk were an English musical group, active from 1981 to 1991. The group had a string of international hit singles including "Today", "Talk Talk", "It's My Life", "Such a Shame", "Dum Dum Girl", "Life's What You Make It" and "Living in Another World"....
, a-ha
A-ha
A-ha were a Norwegian pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. The band was founded by Morten Harket , Magne Furuholmen , and Pål Waaktaar...
and Eurythmics
Eurythmics
Eurythmics were a British pop rock duo, formed in 1980, currently disbanded, but known to reunite from time to time. Consisting of members Annie Lennox and David A...
to be his influences. A-ha's international success, in spite of originating from the small Scandinavian country of Norway, instilled the self-belief in the MLTR members that even they, hailing from a similarly small Scandinavian country (Denmark), could carve out a career for themselves in international music.
Despite being branded simplistic, easy-listening and sometimes, down-right cheesy, banal or even naive by many, Michael Learns to Rock are adamant that these are the very qualities of their lyrics and music which have found favor with Asian music listeners.
Discography
- Michael Learns to RockMichael Learns to Rock (album)Michael Learns to Rock is the eponymous debut album of the Danish soft rock and pop rock band Michael Learns to Rock. The album was released in September 1991.-Track listing:#"My Blue Angel" – 3:55...
(1991) - Colours (1993)
- Played on PepperPlayed on pepperPlayed on Pepper is the third album by the Danish soft rock band Michael Learns to Rock. It was released in August 1995. The album was produced by the MLTR on their own, in a first for the band. The first single from this album was "Someday", followed by That's Why You Go Away.-Track...
(1995) - Paint My Love - Greatest HitsPaint My Love (album)Paint My Love is the greatest hits album by the Danish soft rock band Michael Learns to Rock. It was released in 1996.Though composed by lead singer Jascha Richter, the title song is a cover of the song "Kun med dig" by Danish singers Dorthe Andersen and Martin Loft...
(1996)- Asia only - Nothing to Lose (1997)
- MLTR - Greatest Hits/ Strange Foreign Beauty (1999)- Europe & South Africa only
- Blue NightBlue Night (album)Blue Night is the fifth album of the Danish soft rock band Michael Learns to Rock. It was released in 2000.-Track listing:#"Angel Eyes" - #"Whatever It May Take"#"Watch Your Back"#"You Took My Heart Away" - #"Blue Night"#"One Way Street"...
(2000) - Take Me to Your Heart/ Michael Learns to RockTake Me to Your Heart (album)Take Me to Your Heart is the sixth album of the Danish soft rock band Michael Learns to Rock. It was released on New Year's, 2004.The title song, "Take Me to Your Heart," was released on October 26, 2003 and was an adaptation of the famous Chinese hit "Goodbye Kiss" by Jacky Cheung...
(2004) - Eternity (2008)
Awards and Certifications
1. "Gold Preis Award" from RSH, GermanyGermany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
2. "The Best Performing Act of the Year" in Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
at SEA Grammy Awards
3. "Most Downloaded single of the year 2006 for their single" "Take me to your Heart"
4."The 2004 CD-Award" for the best selling International artist in China
China
Chinese civilization may refer to:* China for more general discussion of the country.* Chinese culture* Greater China, the transnational community of ethnic Chinese.* History of China* Sinosphere, the area historically affected by Chinese culture...
ever.
5.Certifications for the album Take Me to Your Heart/ Michael Learns to Rock
Take Me to Your Heart (album)
Take Me to Your Heart is the sixth album of the Danish soft rock band Michael Learns to Rock. It was released on New Year's, 2004.The title song, "Take Me to Your Heart," was released on October 26, 2003 and was an adaptation of the famous Chinese hit "Goodbye Kiss" by Jacky Cheung...
- (i)'Double platinum' in Denmark, SwedenSwedenSweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....
, South AfricaSouth AfricaThe Republic of South Africa is a country in southern Africa. Located at the southern tip of Africa, it is divided into nine provinces, with of coastline on the Atlantic and Indian oceans...
, ThailandThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the... - (ii)'Platinum' in Indonesia, Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong Kong.
- (iii)'Gold' in NorwayNorwayNorway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic unitary constitutional monarchy whose territory comprises the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, Jan Mayen, and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard and Bouvet Island. Norway has a total area of and a population of about 4.9 million...
.
6.Certifications for the album Blue Night
Blue Night (album)
Blue Night is the fifth album of the Danish soft rock band Michael Learns to Rock. It was released in 2000.-Track listing:#"Angel Eyes" - #"Whatever It May Take"#"Watch Your Back"#"You Took My Heart Away" - #"Blue Night"#"One Way Street"...
-2000
- (i)'Triple platinum' in TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
and Indonesia. - (ii)'Double platinum' in Singapore, Denmark, IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
. - (iii)'Platinum' in the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, KoreaKoreaKorea ) is an East Asian geographic region that is currently divided into two separate sovereign states — North Korea and South Korea. Located on the Korean Peninsula, Korea is bordered by the People's Republic of China to the northwest, Russia to the northeast, and is separated from Japan to the...
and Hong KongHong KongHong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. - (v) 'Gold' in SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, United Arabian Emirates and South Africa.
7. Certifications for the album Nothing to Lose-(1997)
- (i)'Triple platinum' in Malaysia, Indonesia, Philippines.
- (ii)'Double platinum' in India.
- (iii)'Platinum' in Denmark, Singapore, Thailand, South Africa, Taiwan, United Arab Emirates, Korea, Hong Kong.
- (iv)Gold in Switzerland.
8. Certifications for album Played on Pepper
Played on pepper
Played on Pepper is the third album by the Danish soft rock band Michael Learns to Rock. It was released in August 1995. The album was produced by the MLTR on their own, in a first for the band. The first single from this album was "Someday", followed by That's Why You Go Away.-Track...
-1995
- (i)'5 times platinum' in Thailand.
- (ii)'4 times platinum' in Malaysia.
- (iii)'Triple platinum' in Taiwan and Indonesia.
- (iv)'Double platinum' in Singapore, DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
, India. - (v)'Platinum' in the Philippines, Korea and Hong Kong.
- (vi)'Gold' in Switzerland, United Arabian Emirates, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
and South Africa
9. Certifications for the album Colours-1993
- (i)'7 times platinum' in Thailand.
- (ii) '4 times platinum' in Indonesia, Singapore.
- (iii)'Triple platinum' in Malaysia.
- (iv)'Platinum' in the Philippines.
- (v) 'Gold' in Korea, India, Denmark and GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
.
10. Certifications for album "Michael Learns to Rock
Michael Learns to Rock (album)
Michael Learns to Rock is the eponymous debut album of the Danish soft rock and pop rock band Michael Learns to Rock. The album was released in September 1991.-Track listing:#"My Blue Angel" – 3:55...
"- 1991
- (i)'Double platinum' in Denmark.
- (ii)'Platinum' in IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
. - (iii)'Gold' in Norway.