Icona Pop

Icona Pop is a Swedish dance‑pop duo formed in 2009 by Caroline Hjelt and Aino Jawo, both from Stockholm. They aimed to create music ‘you can both laugh and cry to’. Their sound blends pop with electro house, indie pop and house music.

Signed to TEN Music Group in 2009, they first drew international attention with the 2011 single Manners, featured on the Kitsuné Maison compilation and charting on the US Bubbling Under Hot 100. That year they released their first EP, Nights Like This, followed in 2012 by the Iconic EP.

In 2012 their career took a major turn with the global hit I Love It, co‑written by Patrik Berger, Linus Eklöw and Charlotte Aitchison (Charli XCX), who also provides vocals. The track reached number 7 on the US Hot 100, becoming one of the biggest international Swedish successes since Roxette. Their eponymous debut album was released the same year.

Their international launch album in 2013 produced the singles We Got The World and Girlfriend, which were less successful, while All Night was certified gold in Canada and reached number one on the US Dance chart. The single Just Another Night also charted there.

In 2014 the duo opened for Miley Cyrus’s Bangerz tour and Katy Perry‘s Prismatic tour. They released the single Get Lost, influenced by teen pop and country, which peaked at number 58 in Sweden.

Summer 2015 saw the release of Emergency, which became their second biggest hit in Sweden and was certified platinum despite peaking at number 19. The Emergency EP followed. To promote it in North America, Icona Pop opened for One Direction’s On the Road Again tour.

At the Grammis Awards the duo performed Someone Who Can Dance with guests Zara Larsson and Elliphant, though the single version does not include those collaborations. After basing themselves in Los Angeles and New York from 2012, they returned to live in Sweden in 2020.