Carlsson was born in Vänersborg, Sweden on March 6, 1988 , and began singing at a very young age. She sang solo in front of a live audience for the first time whilst still at school. She also sang in the Vänersborg choir named 'Voice', citing legendary American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder as her inspiration. In the spring of 2005, 17-year-old Carlsson auditioned for the second season of popular Swedish singing competition Idol in Gothenburg, singing "Varje Gång Jag Ser Dig" by Lisa Nilsson. The four judges were all hugely impressed by the strong power of her voice and she successfully passed through to the theatre rounds of the contest. Her vocals continued to impress, and she made it to the semi-finals. To the dismay of the judges however, Carlsson did not get a place in the final eleven contestants through public voting, and when she again failed to grab a place through the special 'wildcard' round, they decided to pass her through to the finals as the judges' choice contestant. Despite the lack of early public support, Carlsson went on to wow both the judges and the public during every week of the finals, and as a result made it into the grand finale without ever falling into the bottom two or three contestants. She performed a wide range of genres throughout the competition; What a Feeling by Irene Cara, Wonderwall by Oasis, Sk8ter boy by Avril Lavigne and many more. With 57% of the one million public votes cast during the final, she defeated Sebastian Karlsson and was crowned as the second Swedish Idol, and the first female to win the competition. Carlsson is currently one of only four wildcard contestants to win an Idol competition anywhere in the world. She was preceded in 2004 by Canada's Ryan Malcolm and Kazakhstan's Almas Kishkenbayev, and followed in 2007 by Australia's Natalie Gauci. Immediately after winning Idol, Carlsson signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and her debut single, "Right Here Right Now" was released. A week later, the song debuted at number one on the Swedish singles chart, a position it held for six weeks. The song was quickly certified double platinum for the sale of over 40,000 copies in Sweden. Just one week later, on December 19, 2005, her highly anticipated debut album Agnes was released to positive critical reviews that praised the power of Carlsson's voice, who was still only eighteen years old. The album immediately debuted at number one, and was certified platinum in its first week after selling almost 40,000 copies. In January 2009, it was announced by Roxy Records that "Release Me" would receive an international release during the spring and summer. The move marked the first time that Carlsson's music would be distributed outside Sweden. The single made its first international appearance in Denmark, where it peaked at number six, followed by number seven in Flanders and number six in Wallonia. On April 1, Carlsson began her 23-date Dance Love Pop Tour in Skövde, Sweden. The tour is Carlsson's longest to date and her first to venture beyond Sweden, with two dates scheduled in Denmark and two in the UK. "Release Me" received its official UK release on May 31, 2009, proving to be a big hit, being picked up by most music channels, also with Carlsson performing the song and a few others at G-A-Y, the UK's biggest gay nightclub venue and also a live performance on GMTV, one of the UK's biggest breakfast shows. Release Me hit the top of Radio 1's A-list playlist, and eventually debuted at number three in the UK Singles Chart, and has continued to ride high in the top ten for many weeks. After eight weeks it managed to get a Silver certification with over 300,000 copies sold. In Ireland the song debuted at thirty-eight and later peaked at ten. Carlsson was born in Vänersborg, Sweden on March 6, 1988 , and began singing at a very young age. She sang solo in front of a live audience for the first time whilst still at school. She also sang in the Vänersborg choir named 'Voice', citing legendary American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder as her inspiration. In the spring of 2005, 17-year-old Carlsson auditioned for the second season of popular Swedish singing competition Idol in Gothenburg, singing "Varje Gång Jag Ser Dig" by Lisa Nilsson. The four judges were all hugely impressed by the strong power of her voice and she successfully passed through to the theatre rounds of the contest. Her vocals continued to impress, and she made it to the semi-finals. To the dismay of the judges however, Carlsson did not get a place in the final eleven contestants through public voting, and when she again failed to grab a place through the special 'wildcard' round, they decided to pass her through to the finals as the judges' choice contestant. Despite the lack of early public support, Carlsson went on to wow both the judges and the public during every week of the finals, and as a result made it into the grand finale without ever falling into the bottom two or three contestants. She performed a wide range of genres throughout the competition; What a Feeling by Irene Cara, Wonderwall by Oasis, Sk8ter boy by Avril Lavigne and many more. With 57% of the one million public votes cast during the final, she defeated Sebastian Karlsson and was crowned as the second Swedish Idol, and the first female to win the competition. Carlsson is currently one of only four wildcard contestants to win an Idol competition anywhere in the world. She was preceded in 2004 by Canada's Ryan Malcolm and Kazakhstan's Almas Kishkenbayev, and followed in 2007 by Australia's Natalie Gauci. Immediately after winning Idol, Carlsson signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and her debut single, "Right Here Right Now" was released. A week later, the song debuted at number one on the Swedish singles chart, a position it held for six weeks. The song was quickly certified double platinum for the sale of over 40,000 copies in Sweden. Just one week later, on December 19, 2005, her highly anticipated debut album Agnes was released to positive critical reviews that praised the power of Carlsson's voice, who was still only eighteen years old. The album immediately debuted at number one, and was certified platinum in its first week after selling almost 40,000 copies. In January 2009, it was announced by Roxy Records that "Release Me" would receive an international release during the spring and summer. The move marked the first time that Carlsson's music would be distributed outside Sweden. The single made its first international appearance in Denmark, where it peaked at number six, followed by number seven in Flanders and number six in Wallonia. On April 1, Carlsson began her 23-date Dance Love Pop Tour in Skövde, Sweden. The tour is Carlsson's longest to date and her first to venture beyond Sweden, with two dates scheduled in Denmark and two in the UK. "Release Me" received its official UK release on May 31, 2009, proving to be a big hit, being picked up by most music channels, also with Carlsson performing the song and a few others at G-A-Y, the UK's biggest gay nightclub venue and also a live performance on GMTV, one of the UK's biggest breakfast shows. Release Me hit the top of Radio 1's A-list playlist, and eventually debuted at number three in the UK Singles Chart, and has continued to ride high in the top ten for many weeks. After eight weeks it managed to get a Silver certification with over 300,000 copies sold. In Ireland the song debuted at thirty-eight and later peaked at ten. Carlsson was born in Vänersborg, Sweden on March 6, 1988 , and began singing at a very young age. She sang solo in front of a live audience for the first time whilst still at school. She also sang in the Vänersborg choir named 'Voice', citing legendary American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder as her inspiration. In the spring of 2005, 17-year-old Carlsson auditioned for the second season of popular Swedish singing competition Idol in Gothenburg, singing "Varje Gång Jag Ser Dig" by Lisa Nilsson. The four judges were all hugely impressed by the strong power of her voice and she successfully passed through to the theatre rounds of the contest. Her vocals continued to impress, and she made it to the semi-finals. To the dismay of the judges however, Carlsson did not get a place in the final eleven contestants through public voting, and when she again failed to grab a place through the special 'wildcard' round, they decided to pass her through to the finals as the judges' choice contestant. Despite the lack of early public support, Carlsson went on to wow both the judges and the public during every week of the finals, and as a result made it into the grand finale without ever falling into the bottom two or three contestants. She performed a wide range of genres throughout the competition; What a Feeling by Irene Cara, Wonderwall by Oasis, Sk8ter boy by Avril Lavigne and many more. With 57% of the one million public votes cast during the final, she defeated Sebastian Karlsson and was crowned as the second Swedish Idol, and the first female to win the competition. Carlsson is currently one of only four wildcard contestants to win an Idol competition anywhere in the world. She was preceded in 2004 by Canada's Ryan Malcolm and Kazakhstan's Almas Kishkenbayev, and followed in 2007 by Australia's Natalie Gauci. Immediately after winning Idol, Carlsson signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and her debut single, "Right Here Right Now" was released. A week later, the song debuted at number one on the Swedish singles chart, a position it held for six weeks. The song was quickly certified double platinum for the sale of over 40,000 copies in Sweden. Just one week later, on December 19, 2005, her highly anticipated debut album Agnes was released to positive critical reviews that praised the power of Carlsson's voice, who was still only eighteen years old. The album immediately debuted at number one, and was certified platinum in its first week after selling almost 40,000 copies. In January 2009, it was announced by Roxy Records that "Release Me" would receive an international release during the spring and summer. The move marked the first time that Carlsson's music would be distributed outside Sweden. The single made its first international appearance in Denmark, where it peaked at number six, followed by number seven in Flanders and number six in Wallonia. On April 1, Carlsson began her 23-date Dance Love Pop Tour in Skövde, Sweden. The tour is Carlsson's longest to date and her first to venture beyond Sweden, with two dates scheduled in Denmark and two in the UK. "Release Me" received its official UK release on May 31, 2009, proving to be a big hit, being picked up by most music channels, also with Carlsson performing the song and a few others at G-A-Y, the UK's biggest gay nightclub venue and also a live performance on GMTV, one of the UK's biggest breakfast shows. Release Me hit the top of Radio 1's A-list playlist, and eventually debuted at number three in the UK Singles Chart, and has continued to ride high in the top ten for many weeks. After eight weeks it managed to get a Silver certification with over 300,000 copies sold. In Ireland the song debuted at thirty-eight and later peaked at ten. Carlsson was born in Vänersborg, Sweden on March 6, 1988 , and began singing at a very young age. She sang solo in front of a live audience for the first time whilst still at school. She also sang in the Vänersborg choir named 'Voice', citing legendary American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder as her inspiration. In the spring of 2005, 17-year-old Carlsson auditioned for the second season of popular Swedish singing competition Idol in Gothenburg, singing "Varje Gång Jag Ser Dig" by Lisa Nilsson. The four judges were all hugely impressed by the strong power of her voice and she successfully passed through to the theatre rounds of the contest. Her vocals continued to impress, and she made it to the semi-finals. To the dismay of the judges however, Carlsson did not get a place in the final eleven contestants through public voting, and when she again failed to grab a place through the special 'wildcard' round, they decided to pass her through to the finals as the judges' choice contestant. Despite the lack of early public support, Carlsson went on to wow both the judges and the public during every week of the finals, and as a result made it into the grand finale without ever falling into the bottom two or three contestants. She performed a wide range of genres throughout the competition; What a Feeling by Irene Cara, Wonderwall by Oasis, Sk8ter boy by Avril Lavigne and many more. With 57% of the one million public votes cast during the final, she defeated Sebastian Karlsson and was crowned as the second Swedish Idol, and the first female to win the competition. Carlsson is currently one of only four wildcard contestants to win an Idol competition anywhere in the world. She was preceded in 2004 by Canada's Ryan Malcolm and Kazakhstan's Almas Kishkenbayev, and followed in 2007 by Australia's Natalie Gauci. Immediately after winning Idol, Carlsson signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and her debut single, "Right Here Right Now" was released. A week later, the song debuted at number one on the Swedish singles chart, a position it held for six weeks. The song was quickly certified double platinum for the sale of over 40,000 copies in Sweden. Just one week later, on December 19, 2005, her highly anticipated debut album Agnes was released to positive critical reviews that praised the power of Carlsson's voice, who was still only eighteen years old. The album immediately debuted at number one, and was certified platinum in its first week after selling almost 40,000 copies. In January 2009, it was announced by Roxy Records that "Release Me" would receive an international release during the spring and summer. The move marked the first time that Carlsson's music would be distributed outside Sweden. The single made its first international appearance in Denmark, where it peaked at number six, followed by number seven in Flanders and number six in Wallonia. On April 1, Carlsson began her 23-date Dance Love Pop Tour in Skövde, Sweden. The tour is Carlsson's longest to date and her first to venture beyond Sweden, with two dates scheduled in Denmark and two in the UK. "Release Me" received its official UK release on May 31, 2009, proving to be a big hit, being picked up by most music channels, also with Carlsson performing the song and a few others at G-A-Y, the UK's biggest gay nightclub venue and also a live performance on GMTV, one of the UK's biggest breakfast shows. Release Me hit the top of Radio 1's A-list playlist, and eventually debuted at number three in the UK Singles Chart, and has continued to ride high in the top ten for many weeks. After eight weeks it managed to get a Silver certification with over 300,000 copies sold. In Ireland the song debuted at thirty-eight and later peaked at ten. Carlsson was born in Vänersborg, Sweden on March 6, 1988 , and began singing at a very young age. She sang solo in front of a live audience for the first time whilst still at school. She also sang in the Vänersborg choir named 'Voice', citing legendary American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder as her inspiration. In the spring of 2005, 17-year-old Carlsson auditioned for the second season of popular Swedish singing competition Idol in Gothenburg, singing "Varje Gång Jag Ser Dig" by Lisa Nilsson. The four judges were all hugely impressed by the strong power of her voice and she successfully passed through to the theatre rounds of the contest. Her vocals continued to impress, and she made it to the semi-finals. To the dismay of the judges however, Carlsson did not get a place in the final eleven contestants through public voting, and when she again failed to grab a place through the special 'wildcard' round, they decided to pass her through to the finals as the judges' choice contestant. Despite the lack of early public support, Carlsson went on to wow both the judges and the public during every week of the finals, and as a result made it into the grand finale without ever falling into the bottom two or three contestants. She performed a wide range of genres throughout the competition; What a Feeling by Irene Cara, Wonderwall by Oasis, Sk8ter boy by Avril Lavigne and many more. With 57% of the one million public votes cast during the final, she defeated Sebastian Karlsson and was crowned as the second Swedish Idol, and the first female to win the competition. Carlsson is currently one of only four wildcard contestants to win an Idol competition anywhere in the world. She was preceded in 2004 by Canada's Ryan Malcolm and Kazakhstan's Almas Kishkenbayev, and followed in 2007 by Australia's Natalie Gauci. Immediately after winning Idol, Carlsson signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and her debut single, "Right Here Right Now" was released. A week later, the song debuted at number one on the Swedish singles chart, a position it held for six weeks. The song was quickly certified double platinum for the sale of over 40,000 copies in Sweden. Just one week later, on December 19, 2005, her highly anticipated debut album Agnes was released to positive critical reviews that praised the power of Carlsson's voice, who was still only eighteen years old. The album immediately debuted at number one, and was certified platinum in its first week after selling almost 40,000 copies. In January 2009, it was announced by Roxy Records that "Release Me" would receive an international release during the spring and summer. The move marked the first time that Carlsson's music would be distributed outside Sweden. The single made its first international appearance in Denmark, where it peaked at number six, followed by number seven in Flanders and number six in Wallonia. On April 1, Carlsson began her 23-date Dance Love Pop Tour in Skövde, Sweden. The tour is Carlsson's longest to date and her first to venture beyond Sweden, with two dates scheduled in Denmark and two in the UK. "Release Me" received its official UK release on May 31, 2009, proving to be a big hit, being picked up by most music channels, also with Carlsson performing the song and a few others at G-A-Y, the UK's biggest gay nightclub venue and also a live performance on GMTV, one of the UK's biggest breakfast shows. Release Me hit the top of Radio 1's A-list playlist, and eventually debuted at number three in the UK Singles Chart, and has continued to ride high in the top ten for many weeks. After eight weeks it managed to get a Silver certification with over 300,000 copies sold. In Ireland the song debuted at thirty-eight and later peaked at ten. Carlsson was born in Vänersborg, Sweden on March 6, 1988 , and began singing at a very young age. She sang solo in front of a live audience for the first time whilst still at school. She also sang in the Vänersborg choir named 'Voice', citing legendary American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder as her inspiration. In the spring of 2005, 17-year-old Carlsson auditioned for the second season of popular Swedish singing competition Idol in Gothenburg, singing "Varje Gång Jag Ser Dig" by Lisa Nilsson. The four judges were all hugely impressed by the strong power of her voice and she successfully passed through to the theatre rounds of the contest. Her vocals continued to impress, and she made it to the semi-finals. To the dismay of the judges however, Carlsson did not get a place in the final eleven contestants through public voting, and when she again failed to grab a place through the special 'wildcard' round, they decided to pass her through to the finals as the judges' choice contestant. Despite the lack of early public support, Carlsson went on to wow both the judges and the public during every week of the finals, and as a result made it into the grand finale without ever falling into the bottom two or three contestants. She performed a wide range of genres throughout the competition; What a Feeling by Irene Cara, Wonderwall by Oasis, Sk8ter boy by Avril Lavigne and many more. With 57% of the one million public votes cast during the final, she defeated Sebastian Karlsson and was crowned as the second Swedish Idol, and the first female to win the competition. Carlsson is currently one of only four wildcard contestants to win an Idol competition anywhere in the world. She was preceded in 2004 by Canada's Ryan Malcolm and Kazakhstan's Almas Kishkenbayev, and followed in 2007 by Australia's Natalie Gauci. Immediately after winning Idol, Carlsson signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and her debut single, "Right Here Right Now" was released. A week later, the song debuted at number one on the Swedish singles chart, a position it held for six weeks. The song was quickly certified double platinum for the sale of over 40,000 copies in Sweden. Just one week later, on December 19, 2005, her highly anticipated debut album Agnes was released to positive critical reviews that praised the power of Carlsson's voice, who was still only eighteen years old. The album immediately debuted at number one, and was certified platinum in its first week after selling almost 40,000 copies. In January 2009, it was announced by Roxy Records that "Release Me" would receive an international release during the spring and summer. The move marked the first time that Carlsson's music would be distributed outside Sweden. The single made its first international appearance in Denmark, where it peaked at number six, followed by number seven in Flanders and number six in Wallonia. On April 1, Carlsson began her 23-date Dance Love Pop Tour in Skövde, Sweden. The tour is Carlsson's longest to date and her first to venture beyond Sweden, with two dates scheduled in Denmark and two in the UK. "Release Me" received its official UK release on May 31, 2009, proving to be a big hit, being picked up by most music channels, also with Carlsson performing the song and a few others at G-A-Y, the UK's biggest gay nightclub venue and also a live performance on GMTV, one of the UK's biggest breakfast shows. Release Me hit the top of Radio 1's A-list playlist, and eventually debuted at number three in the UK Singles Chart, and has continued to ride high in the top ten for many weeks. After eight weeks it managed to get a Silver certification with over 300,000 copies sold. In Ireland the song debuted at thirty-eight and later peaked at ten. Carlsson was born in Vänersborg, Sweden on March 6, 1988 , and began singing at a very young age. She sang solo in front of a live audience for the first time whilst still at school. She also sang in the Vänersborg choir named 'Voice', citing legendary American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder as her inspiration. In the spring of 2005, 17-year-old Carlsson auditioned for the second season of popular Swedish singing competition Idol in Gothenburg, singing "Varje Gång Jag Ser Dig" by Lisa Nilsson. The four judges were all hugely impressed by the strong power of her voice and she successfully passed through to the theatre rounds of the contest. Her vocals continued to impress, and she made it to the semi-finals. To the dismay of the judges however, Carlsson did not get a place in the final eleven contestants through public voting, and when she again failed to grab a place through the special 'wildcard' round, they decided to pass her through to the finals as the judges' choice contestant. Despite the lack of early public support, Carlsson went on to wow both the judges and the public during every week of the finals, and as a result made it into the grand finale without ever falling into the bottom two or three contestants. She performed a wide range of genres throughout the competition; What a Feeling by Irene Cara, Wonderwall by Oasis, Sk8ter boy by Avril Lavigne and many more. With 57% of the one million public votes cast during the final, she defeated Sebastian Karlsson and was crowned as the second Swedish Idol, and the first female to win the competition. Carlsson is currently one of only four wildcard contestants to win an Idol competition anywhere in the world. She was preceded in 2004 by Canada's Ryan Malcolm and Kazakhstan's Almas Kishkenbayev, and followed in 2007 by Australia's Natalie Gauci. Immediately after winning Idol, Carlsson signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and her debut single, "Right Here Right Now" was released. A week later, the song debuted at number one on the Swedish singles chart, a position it held for six weeks. The song was quickly certified double platinum for the sale of over 40,000 copies in Sweden. Just one week later, on December 19, 2005, her highly anticipated debut album Agnes was released to positive critical reviews that praised the power of Carlsson's voice, who was still only eighteen years old. The album immediately debuted at number one, and was certified platinum in its first week after selling almost 40,000 copies. In January 2009, it was announced by Roxy Records that "Release Me" would receive an international release during the spring and summer. The move marked the first time that Carlsson's music would be distributed outside Sweden. The single made its first international appearance in Denmark, where it peaked at number six, followed by number seven in Flanders and number six in Wallonia. On April 1, Carlsson began her 23-date Dance Love Pop Tour in Skövde, Sweden. The tour is Carlsson's longest to date and her first to venture beyond Sweden, with two dates scheduled in Denmark and two in the UK. "Release Me" received its official UK release on May 31, 2009, proving to be a big hit, being picked up by most music channels, also with Carlsson performing the song and a few others at G-A-Y, the UK's biggest gay nightclub venue and also a live performance on GMTV, one of the UK's biggest breakfast shows. Release Me hit the top of Radio 1's A-list playlist, and eventually debuted at number three in the UK Singles Chart, and has continued to ride high in the top ten for many weeks. After eight weeks it managed to get a Silver certification with over 300,000 copies sold. In Ireland the song debuted at thirty-eight and later peaked at ten. Carlsson was born in Vänersborg, Sweden on March 6, 1988 , and began singing at a very young age. She sang solo in front of a live audience for the first time whilst still at school. She also sang in the Vänersborg choir named 'Voice', citing legendary American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder as her inspiration. In the spring of 2005, 17-year-old Carlsson auditioned for the second season of popular Swedish singing competition Idol in Gothenburg, singing "Varje Gång Jag Ser Dig" by Lisa Nilsson. The four judges were all hugely impressed by the strong power of her voice and she successfully passed through to the theatre rounds of the contest. Her vocals continued to impress, and she made it to the semi-finals. To the dismay of the judges however, Carlsson did not get a place in the final eleven contestants through public voting, and when she again failed to grab a place through the special 'wildcard' round, they decided to pass her through to the finals as the judges' choice contestant. Despite the lack of early public support, Carlsson went on to wow both the judges and the public during every week of the finals, and as a result made it into the grand finale without ever falling into the bottom two or three contestants. She performed a wide range of genres throughout the competition; What a Feeling by Irene Cara, Wonderwall by Oasis, Sk8ter boy by Avril Lavigne and many more. With 57% of the one million public votes cast during the final, she defeated Sebastian Karlsson and was crowned as the second Swedish Idol, and the first female to win the competition. Carlsson is currently one of only four wildcard contestants to win an Idol competition anywhere in the world. She was preceded in 2004 by Canada's Ryan Malcolm and Kazakhstan's Almas Kishkenbayev, and followed in 2007 by Australia's Natalie Gauci. Immediately after winning Idol, Carlsson signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and her debut single, "Right Here Right Now" was released. A week later, the song debuted at number one on the Swedish singles chart, a position it held for six weeks. The song was quickly certified double platinum for the sale of over 40,000 copies in Sweden. Just one week later, on December 19, 2005, her highly anticipated debut album Agnes was released to positive critical reviews that praised the power of Carlsson's voice, who was still only eighteen years old. The album immediately debuted at number one, and was certified platinum in its first week after selling almost 40,000 copies. In January 2009, it was announced by Roxy Records that "Release Me" would receive an international release during the spring and summer. The move marked the first time that Carlsson's music would be distributed outside Sweden. The single made its first international appearance in Denmark, where it peaked at number six, followed by number seven in Flanders and number six in Wallonia. On April 1, Carlsson began her 23-date Dance Love Pop Tour in Skövde, Sweden. The tour is Carlsson's longest to date and her first to venture beyond Sweden, with two dates scheduled in Denmark and two in the UK. "Release Me" received its official UK release on May 31, 2009, proving to be a big hit, being picked up by most music channels, also with Carlsson performing the song and a few others at G-A-Y, the UK's biggest gay nightclub venue and also a live performance on GMTV, one of the UK's biggest breakfast shows. Release Me hit the top of Radio 1's A-list playlist, and eventually debuted at number three in the UK Singles Chart, and has continued to ride high in the top ten for many weeks. After eight weeks it managed to get a Silver certification with over 300,000 copies sold. In Ireland the song debuted at thirty-eight and later peaked at ten. Carlsson was born in Vänersborg, Sweden on March 6, 1988 , and began singing at a very young age. She sang solo in front of a live audience for the first time whilst still at school. She also sang in the Vänersborg choir named 'Voice', citing legendary American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder as her inspiration. In the spring of 2005, 17-year-old Carlsson auditioned for the second season of popular Swedish singing competition Idol in Gothenburg, singing "Varje Gång Jag Ser Dig" by Lisa Nilsson. The four judges were all hugely impressed by the strong power of her voice and she successfully passed through to the theatre rounds of the contest. Her vocals continued to impress, and she made it to the semi-finals. To the dismay of the judges however, Carlsson did not get a place in the final eleven contestants through public voting, and when she again failed to grab a place through the special 'wildcard' round, they decided to pass her through to the finals as the judges' choice contestant. Despite the lack of early public support, Carlsson went on to wow both the judges and the public during every week of the finals, and as a result made it into the grand finale without ever falling into the bottom two or three contestants. She performed a wide range of genres throughout the competition; What a Feeling by Irene Cara, Wonderwall by Oasis, Sk8ter boy by Avril Lavigne and many more. With 57% of the one million public votes cast during the final, she defeated Sebastian Karlsson and was crowned as the second Swedish Idol, and the first female to win the competition. Carlsson is currently one of only four wildcard contestants to win an Idol competition anywhere in the world. She was preceded in 2004 by Canada's Ryan Malcolm and Kazakhstan's Almas Kishkenbayev, and followed in 2007 by Australia's Natalie Gauci. Immediately after winning Idol, Carlsson signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and her debut single, "Right Here Right Now" was released. A week later, the song debuted at number one on the Swedish singles chart, a position it held for six weeks. The song was quickly certified double platinum for the sale of over 40,000 copies in Sweden. Just one week later, on December 19, 2005, her highly anticipated debut album Agnes was released to positive critical reviews that praised the power of Carlsson's voice, who was still only eighteen years old. The album immediately debuted at number one, and was certified platinum in its first week after selling almost 40,000 copies. In January 2009, it was announced by Roxy Records that "Release Me" would receive an international release during the spring and summer. The move marked the first time that Carlsson's music would be distributed outside Sweden. The single made its first international appearance in Denmark, where it peaked at number six, followed by number seven in Flanders and number six in Wallonia. On April 1, Carlsson began her 23-date Dance Love Pop Tour in Skövde, Sweden. The tour is Carlsson's longest to date and her first to venture beyond Sweden, with two dates scheduled in Denmark and two in the UK. "Release Me" received its official UK release on May 31, 2009, proving to be a big hit, being picked up by most music channels, also with Carlsson performing the song and a few others at G-A-Y, the UK's biggest gay nightclub venue and also a live performance on GMTV, one of the UK's biggest breakfast shows. Release Me hit the top of Radio 1's A-list playlist, and eventually debuted at number three in the UK Singles Chart, and has continued to ride high in the top ten for many weeks. After eight weeks it managed to get a Silver certification with over 300,000 copies sold. In Ireland the song debuted at thirty-eight and later peaked at ten. Carlsson was born in Vänersborg, Sweden on March 6, 1988 , and began singing at a very young age. She sang solo in front of a live audience for the first time whilst still at school. She also sang in the Vänersborg choir named 'Voice', citing legendary American singer-songwriter Stevie Wonder as her inspiration. In the spring of 2005, 17-year-old Carlsson auditioned for the second season of popular Swedish singing competition Idol in Gothenburg, singing "Varje Gång Jag Ser Dig" by Lisa Nilsson. The four judges were all hugely impressed by the strong power of her voice and she successfully passed through to the theatre rounds of the contest. Her vocals continued to impress, and she made it to the semi-finals. To the dismay of the judges however, Carlsson did not get a place in the final eleven contestants through public voting, and when she again failed to grab a place through the special 'wildcard' round, they decided to pass her through to the finals as the judges' choice contestant. Despite the lack of early public support, Carlsson went on to wow both the judges and the public during every week of the finals, and as a result made it into the grand finale without ever falling into the bottom two or three contestants. She performed a wide range of genres throughout the competition; What a Feeling by Irene Cara, Wonderwall by Oasis, Sk8ter boy by Avril Lavigne and many more. With 57% of the one million public votes cast during the final, she defeated Sebastian Karlsson and was crowned as the second Swedish Idol, and the first female to win the competition. Carlsson is currently one of only four wildcard contestants to win an Idol competition anywhere in the world. She was preceded in 2004 by Canada's Ryan Malcolm and Kazakhstan's Almas Kishkenbayev, and followed in 2007 by Australia's Natalie Gauci. Immediately after winning Idol, Carlsson signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and her debut single, "Right Here Right Now" was released. A week later, the song debuted at number one on the Swedish singles chart, a position it held for six weeks. The song was quickly certified double platinum for the sale of over 40,000 copies in Sweden. Just one week later, on December 19, 2005, her highly anticipated debut album Agnes was released to positive critical reviews that praised the power of Carlsson's voice, who was still only eighteen years old. The album immediately debuted at number one, and was certified platinum in its first week after selling almost 40,000 copies. In January 2009, it was announced by Roxy Records that "Release Me" would receive an international release during the spring and summer. The move marked the first time that Carlsson's music would be distributed outside Sweden. The single made its first international appearance in Denmark, where it peaked at number six, followed by number seven in Flanders and number six in Wallonia. On April 1, Carlsson began her 23-date Dance Love Pop Tour in Skövde, Sweden. The tour is Carlsson's longest to date and her first to venture beyond Sweden, with two dates scheduled in Denmark and two in the UK. "Release Me" received its official UK release on May 31, 2009, proving to be a big hit, being picked up by most music channels, also with Carlsson performing the song and a few others at G-A-Y, the UK's biggest gay nightclub venue and also a live performance on GMTV, one of the UK's biggest breakfast shows. Release Me hit the top of Radio 1's A-list playlist, and eventually debuted at number three in the UK Singles Chart, and has continued to ride high in the top ten for many weeks. After eight weeks it managed to get a Silver certification with over 300,000 copies sold. In Ireland the song debuted at thirty-eight and later peaked at ten.