Alcazar is a Swedish pop group who had a string of hit singles during the early 2000s decade and are continuing successfully today.
The group was created in 1999 with three members: Andreas Lundstedt , Tess Merkel , and Annikafiore Johansson . Their first single, Shine On, was successful in Sweden but it was with their second release, Crying At The Discotheque (which heavily sampled from Sheila B. Devotion's 1979 hit, Spacer), that they achieved moderate success across Europe. Both singles appeared on their debut album Casino. Later editions of Casino contained a cover of the Human League's hit Don't You Want Me, which also served as the album's third single.
In December 2002, Magnus Carlsson joined the group. The second album Alcazarized was released in Sweden in 2003 and is due for an international release later in 2004.
In Autumn 2004 Alcazar released This Is The World We Live In. The track samples Diana Ross's 1980 number one Upside Down and uses lyrics from Genesis' 1986 single Land Of Confusion. Their follow-up single is entitled Physical.
The group took their name from General Alcazar, a character featured in a few Tintin comic books.
Melodifestivalen
Alcazar have twice taken part in the Melodifestivalen, the competition that selects Sweden's entry in the Eurovision Song Contest. In 2003 Not A Sinner, Nor A Saint came third overall. In 2005 Alcastar failed to qualify for the final automatically, but eventually made it through after a second chance semi-final. However, the group again had to settle for third in the final, which was won by Martin Stenmarck 's song Las Vegas.
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