Lene Nystrøm Rasted

Lene (born Lene Grawford Nystrøm on 2 October 1973 in Tønsberg, Norway) is best known as the lead vocalist for pop-dance group Aqua.

Biography
During her teenage years Lene developed an interest in performing and began her adult life as a barmaid and model.

During the Aqua-days she had had homes in both Norway and Denmark.

The relationship between Lene and Søren Rasted was one of the reasons Aqua disbanded in 2001. The two married on August 25 2001. After the marriage Lene moved to live permanently in Denmark. On November 6 2004, she gave birth to daughter India. The couple welcomed their second child, a boy named Billy, in 2006.

Aqua
In 1994 Lene was spotted by René Dif singing on a cruise ship. He approached her and she became the lead vocalist for the group which was initially called Joyspeed, later re-named Aqua. The group consisted of Lene, René Dif, Søren Rasted and Claus Norreen. In their prime, Aqua managed to make the singles chart top ten in a number of countries where European pop acts would not normally succeed. She would remain with the group until 2001 when they split up due to personal differences, including a relationship between Lene and Søren Rasted. In October 2007, the band told the Danish newspaper Ekstra Bladet that they're coming back.

Solo career
In 2003 Lene released her first and only album, Play With Me, which performed poorly in Scandinavia, making only number 74 in the Norwegian charts. This lacklustre performance did not affect her single sales though. "It's Your Duty" peaked at number 3 in Denmark followed by 2004's "Pretty Young Thing", another potential hit. Pretty Young Thing is a cover of Stella Soleil's song, and Here We Go is a cover of Moonbaby's song.

Writer
Lene then turned her hand to writing pop songs for other groups, writing "No Good Advice" and "You Freak Me Out" for Girls Aloud's first album Sound of the Underground. "No Good Advice" was a huge hit, and cemented Girls Aloud into mainstream pop, while "You Freak Me Out" went on to feature in the Disney movie Freaky Friday. Meanwhile, Pretty Young Thing was covered by Tina Cousins, and Lene's version of Here We Go was covered by Girls Aloud on their second album What Will The Neighbours Say?.

Albums
"Play With Me" (2003)


 * 1) "Virgin Superstar" (Anders Bagge, Arnthor Birgisson, Karen Poole, Lene & Sebastian Nylund) - 3.25
 * 2) "Pretty Young Thing" (Stella Katsoudas, Steve Torch & Walter Turbitt) - 4.24
 * 3) "It's Your Duty" (Karen Poole, Lene & Lucas Secon) - 3.06
 * 4) "Play With Me"  (Jens Bjurman, Karen Poole, Lene & Per Kalenius) - 3.06
 * 5) "Bad Coffee Day" (Anders Bagge, Arnthor Birgisson, Karen Poole, Lene & Sebastian Nylund) - 4.45
 * 6) "Here We Go" (Brian Higgins, Lene, Matthew Robert Gray & Miranda Cooper) 3.44
 * 7) "Bite You" (Angela Hunte, Jens Bjurman, Lene & Per Kalenius) - 3.30
 * 8) "Up in Smoke" (Christian Lars Karlsson, Felix Howard, Henrik Jonback & Pontus Winnberg) - 3.39
 * 9) "We Wanna Party" (Brian Higgins,, Lene, Lisa Cowling, Miranda Cooper & Xenomania) - 3.18
 * 10) "Pants Up"  (Kandi Burruss) - 3.31
 * 11) "Surprise" (Jens Bjurman, Per Kalenius & Ruby Amanfu) - 3.02
 * 12) "Scream" (Dawn Jones, Lene & Soren Rasted) - 3.44
 * 13) "Doin' It To You" (Felix Howard, Jens Bjurman & Per Kalenius) - 3.53 (Japanese Bonus Track)
 * 14) "Paper Bag" (Joakim Björklund & Savan Kotecha) - 3.13 (Japanese Bonus Track)

Singles

 * "It's Your Duty" (2003) - #3 in Denmark
 * "Pretty Young Thing" (2004)
 * "Here we go" (2004) - only as promo DJ release
 * "Hvor Små Vi Er" (2005) (Benefic featuring Lene)
 * "I Love New York" (2005) (Lazyboy featuring Lene)

Other

 * "Queen for a Day" (Luciana Caporaso & Mike Mangini) - 3.28 [It's Your Duty B-Side]
 * "As Good As It Gets" [Rare recording from the Play With Me sessions]
 * "Pole Position" [Rare recording from the Play With Me sessions]
 * "Two Directions" / "Come on Down" (1992) (Lene's first recordings)
 * "Hvor Små Vi Er" (2005) (Benefic Single featuring Lene)
 * "I Love New York" (2005) (Lazyboy song featuring Lene)