Marko Kristian Lehtosalo (born 1 January 1975), better known as Markoolio, is a Swedish-Finnish singer, songwriter, rapper, actor, and comedian. His stage name Markoolio is a portmanteau of his first name Marko and the stage name of the American rapper Coolio.
Biography
Lehtosalo was born in Lahti, Finland. When Lehtosalo was six months old, his family migrated from Finland to Sweden where he grew up completing primary and secondary school in the small Stockholm suburb of Orminge. Following the completion of his compulsory military service as a coastal ranger sniper in Ekenäs, Finland, he returned to Sweden. There, he was allegedly discovered by producers when rapping on a commuter train in Stockholm; however, this story has been revealed to be a fabrication.
Markoolio is known in particular for his humorous songs dealing with partying, drinking, and girls such as "Sommar och sol" ("Summer and sun"), "Vi drar till fjällen" ("We're headin' for the mountains") and "Sola och bada i Piña Colada" ("Sunbathing and swimming in Piña Colada"); his songs mocking contemporary life and phenomena such as "Åka pendeltåg" ("Riding the commuter train") and "Värsta schlagern" ("The goddam' Schlager [song]"); and songs relating to his native Finland such as "Drömmen om Finland" (The dream of Finland) and "Jag orkar inte mer" (I can't take it anymore).
Markoolio has released nine studio albums, hosted and participated in numerous television and radio programs, and won several prizes and awards such as Male Artist of the Year at the Swedish Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2007. He is also the owner of a nightclub and the board member of British company Netgames Holdings which he reportedly owns 3.3 percent of. Markoolio was one of the hosts for Talang on TV4 in 2009. He also played the titular character of Doktor Mugg and starred as Tyke Mörbult in Hem till Midgård. Markoolio was formerly a contestant on Let's Dance 2013, a contest he subsequently won, dancing with Cecilia Ehrling.
On 19 November 2013, Markoolio tried to disrupt the sleep of the Portugal national football team ahead of the second leg of their World Cup play-off with Sweden. He started a "private concert" at 7:15 a.m. in front of the Portuguese team's hotel.
Discography
Albums YearAlbum InformationPeakpositionSWEIFPI Certification1998Sticker hårtPlatinum1999Dikter från ett hjärta3× Platinum2001Tjock och lycklig2× Platinum2003I skuggan av mig självPlatinum2004Suomessa Syntynyt Bäst OffGold2007Värsta plattanPlatinum2008Jag är konst2012Jag är Markoolio
Singles YearSingleChart peakAlbumCertificationSweden1998"Sommar och sol"2Sticker hårt"Drömmen om Finland"211999"Vi drar till fjällen"1Gold"Åka pendeltåg"15"Sola och bada i Piña Colada"12Dikter från ett hjärtaGold"Millennium 2"13× Platinum2000"Gör det igen"2Platinum"Mera mål!" (feat. Arne Hegerfors)13× Platinum2001"Rocka på" (with The Boppers)1Tjock och lycklig2× Platinum2002"Vi ska vinna!" (feat. Excellence)32× Platinum"Jag orkar inte mer!"2Gold2003"Vilse i skogen"1I skuggan av mig själv6× Platinum2004"In med bollen"1Bäst offPlatinum2007"Värsta schlagern" (with Linda Bengtzing)1Värsta plattan2× Platinum"Ingen sommar utan reggae"12× Platinum"Emma, Emma" (with Tilde Fröling)17"Idollåten"242008"Sverige, det bästa på vår jord"1Jag är konst"The Markoolio Anthem"42009"Kärlekssång från mig"322012"Borta bra men hemma bäst"—Jag är Markoolio"En vecka i Phuket"— 2014"Fredagslåten"— rowspan="7" 2× Platinum 2017"Bastukungen"— Platinum"Tomtar på loftet"—"Ge oss mål"— 2019"Modell"— 2022"Kassanova"59 2023"Vatten & eld"7
Notes
References
External links
Markoolio Biography at Yahoo! Markoolio Biography at OGAESC2007