Peter J?back

by Margaret RegesSwedish pop star Peter J?back rose to fame in his native Sweden thanks to a high-profile role in Kristina fran Duvemala (Kristina from Duvemala), a musical written by former ABBA members Bj?rn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson. Educated as a child at Stockholm's Adolf Fredrik Music School, J?back started landing roles in various locally produced musicals like The Sound of Music and Snow White when he was in elementary school. After winning Sweden's "New Talent" contest in 1989, J?back went on to participate in the following year's Melodifestivalen competition with the song "A Sensation." J?back didn't make it to the Eurovision contest, but his time in the preliminaries secured his place as one of Sweden's most promising up-and-coming vocalists. J?back soon found himself snagging several high-profile roles over the course of the next few years, co-hosting several episodes of the Swedish Top of the Pops, starring in musicals like Fame and The Jungle Book, and providing the vocals for the title character in the 1993 Swedish overdub of Disney's Aladdin.
J?back's big break came when he landed the role of Robert in Kristina fran Duvemala. Premiering in Malm? in 1995, the musical eventually went on to become the second longest-running musical in Sweden and win four Guldmasken (Swedish Tony) Awards. J?back landed a deal with Sony soon after the musical premiered, and his first album, Personliga Val (Personal Choices), hit stores in Sweden in 1997. The album soared to number two on the Swedish charts, and J?back went on to be nominated for Artist of the Year at that year's Swedish Grammy Awards on the strength of that release. J?back returned to the stage for another season of Kristina fran Duvemala in 1998. One of J?back's songs from the original cast album of that production, "The Gold Turned into Sand," became a smash hit that year, holding the number one spot on the Swedish charts for nearly 40 weeks. J?back went on to win his first Guldmasken for his portrayal of Robert in 1999. His sophomore album, Only When I Breathe, arrived one year later, peaking at number one on the Swedish charts. Another pop album, I Feel Good and I'm Worth It, and a highly acclaimed Christmas album followed in 2002. J?back starred as the MC in a Copenhagen-based production of Cabaret the following year, and put out another chart-topping pop album, Der Har Ar Platsen, in 2004. A double-disc greatest-hits compilation featuring two new songs came out in 2006.