Madcon - History

History

Madcon, a shortened form of Mad Conference released their first single, "God Forgive Me" in 2000 (Virgin Records), but their first commercial breakthrough came with the hit single "Barcelona" in 2002 with long-time collaborators Paperboys (on the Bonnier Amigo record label). In 2004, Madcon released their first official album "It's All A Madcon" (AA-Recordings/Bonnier Amigo), for which they won a Norwegian Grammy and several other awards. In 2005, Madcon were TV personalities on the Nordic music channel The Voice, while working on their music in the studio.. The show "The Voice of Madcon", a behind-the-scenes of the duo, was a great success for both Madcon and the network.

In autumn 2007, band member Tshawe Baqwa was invited to take part in the popular reality television program Skal vi danse?, the Norwegian version of Dancing with the Stars eventually winning that year's series.

Their second album, entitled So Dark The Con Of Man, was published in 2007 on 3 December. In the United Kingdom, at the RCA, the album charted on the UK album charts at number 137th. In Norway, the album was certified gold in 3 hours and platinum in 3 days. The album featured soul singer Noora Noor and Paperboys on two of the songs.

In 2008, Madcon published a cover version of a 1967 Four Seasons Song "Beggin'", earning the group several # 1 chart positions in Europe (including France, Portugal, Norway and Russia), and a global position # 2 on the European Billboard Hot 100 chart. In addition, they achieved 9 x platinum in Norway, and were No. 1 on the official Norwegian sales charts for 12 weeks, making "Beggin'" one of the biggest hits of all time in Norway. Madcon’s cover of "Beggin'" was created by 3Elementz, who also produced the other singles “So Dark The Con Of Man", and all tracks of the "Inconvenient Truth "album. They led the World Music Awards on November 10, 2008, and won the World's Best Selling Norwegian Artist Award.

After several negotiations, Madcon's label (Bonnier Amigo) signed a licensing agreement with Sony BMG for Central Europe, Great Britain, Australia and New Zealand, Universal Republic in the U.S., Warner Music in Spain, and Just Music in South Africa. Madcon have also hosted the Norwegian version of Don't Forget the Lyrics!, "Kan du Teksten?" on TV 2 (Norway).

Their third album, "Inconvenient Truth" was released all over Europe in early to mid-2009, and the group saw other major releases, including in USA, Japan and Australia. Their song "Glow", was the background of the "Eurovision 2010 Flashmob dance" music video that aired in the Eurovision Song Contest 2010 Interval act.

In 2011, during the gala awards ESKA Music Awards 2011 in Poland, was awarded the International Band of the Year.

Madcon sold both gold and platinum with the hit single "Freaky Like Me" feat. Ameerah produced by Norwegian hit producer DreamRoc'a, also known as Sha Arjang Shishegar and TJ Oosterhuis. "Freaky Like Me' is the group's 3rd biggest international hit.