Puneet Varma (Editor)

2012 in European music

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2012 in continental European music in geographical order. See also 2012 in music.

Contents

Scandinavia

  • Loreen wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 with Euphoria which is also a top seller across Europe and the album Heal tops the Swedish charts for one week but her other singles don't even crack the Top 10 in her own country.
  • Mando Diao rise to the top with their first Swedish album Infruset, so does 60- year old veteran Tomas Ledin with the compilation 40/40: 40 År 40 Hits – Ett Samlingsalbum 1972-2012.
  • Avicii 2011 single Levels wins the Swedish Grammis.
  • Swedish House Mafia announce that they will be breaking up, and that they would embark on One Last Tour finishing at Ultra Music Festival in March 2013.
  • Lukas Graham from Copenhagen occupy Denmark's album #1 for 8 weeks with their debut Lukas Graham, the singles ""Drunk in the Morning" and "Better Than Yourself (Criminal Mind) Part 2" also top the charts.
  • Danish Singer-songwriter Rasmus Seebach's second album Mer' end kærlighed reaches just like his debut 10 times Platinum, I mine øjne is a #1 single.
  • Of Monsters and Men have a rare hit for an Icelandic band, Little Talks reaches the Top 10 in several European countries, including No.1 in Ireland, and No. 1 on US Alternative Songs. The album My Head Is an Animal reaches #1 in Australia and Ireland and Top5 in Germany and Canada.
  • Netherlands

  • Sandra van Nieuwland's debut album "And More" becomes a #1 like her cover versions Keep Your Head Up and Beggin' even though she didn't win The Voice of Holland.
  • Holland's biggest three-day Pinkpop Festival is held at Landgraaf.
  • Belgium

  • Trip hop band Hooverphonic top the charts for the second time after a ten-year wait with the album Hooverphonic with Orchestra, so does Triggerfinger's live album Faders Up 2 - Live in Amsterdam ft their #1 cover version of I Follow Rivers.
  • The celebrated Rock Werchter sees 85,000 visitors on each of its four days. The country's second biggest Pukkelpop festival goes ahead without incident after deaths in the years before.
  • Germany

  • The veterans sell well, Udo Lindenberg stays at #1 with his 2011 "MTV Unplugged – Live aus dem Hotel Atlantic" and Die Toten Hosen have a charttopping album with Ballast der Republik; Tage wie diese, also Platinum in Austria and Switzerland, is only their second #1 single after 1996's Zehn kleine Jägermeister.
  • Rapper Cro, however, who sports a panda mask and has a #1 album with Raop and a big hit with the relaxed "Eazy", is a newcomer.
  • 2010 Eurovision winner Lena Meyer-Landrut's third album is the first not to reach #1, Stardust and the eponymous single Stardust both reach second place and Gold status.
  • Rock am Ring and Rock im Park are the biggest local festivals, more than 80,000 attend Wacken Open Air Heavy Metal festival.
  • Switzerland

  • Veteran rockers Züri West have their seventh #1 album with "Göteborg". Luca Hänni who won the German talent show Deutschland sucht den Superstar achieves the same with his debut "My Name Is Luca".
  • France

  • Sexion d'Assaut top the album charts for 5 weeks and reach Diamond with L’Apogée. Charity project Les Enfoirés follow through with Le bal des Enfoirés.
  • Spain

  • Superstar Alejandro Sanz has another #1 album with La Música No Se Toca.
  • Pablo Alborán is the hottest young act, his Perdóname is #1 in Portugal for no less than 25 weeks and his live album En Acústico is #1 in Spain and Portugal, studio album Tanto also climbs to the top.
  • Italy

  • Veteran Biagio Antonacci from Milan is #1 for 7 weeks with "Sapessi dire no".
  • Sicilian project Tacabro (in Italy also known as "Romano & Sapienza feat. Rodríguez") have a hit across Europe with Tacata'.
  • Emma Marrone from Florence has two more #1 singles with "Non è l'inferno" and "Cercavo amore" and tours with her album Sarò libera. Her break-up with boyfriend Stefano De Martino fills the pages of the Italian yellow press.
  • Eastern Europe

  • Dima Bilan from Russia wins MTV Europe Music Award for Best European Act.
  • Sziget Festival Budapest has about 65,000 visitors on each of its six days.
  • Open'er Festival at the Gdynia airport remains the largest Polish open-air music and performing arts festival.
  • Deaths

  • 9 January - Bridie Gallagher, Ireland's first pop singer (b. 1924)
  • 14 February - Tonmi Lillman, Finnish drummer and producer (Lordi, Sinergy, To/Die/For, and Ajattara) (b. 1973)
  • References

    2012 in European music Wikipedia