Maja Francis

Maja Francis (Maja Francis Alderin)[1] is a Swedish singer best known for her work with First Aid Kit and her closing track on the Netflix series Love & Anarchy.

Biography

Francis grew up in Ängelholm, where her father owned a record store.[2] She is the granddaughter of Scandinavian singer Thory Bernhards. Maja Francis attended Mega Musik Gymnasieskola in Helsingborg.[3]

Francis debuted the single "Last Days of Dancing" in 2015.[4] On August 14, 2015, she released the single "Space Invades My Mind" with Veronica Maggio. On the same day, Francis played on Way Out West's club spinoff Stay Out West, where Maggio visited to perform the single with Francis.[5] In January 2016, her debut EP Come Companion was released.[6][7] Then in 2017 she appeared with First Aid Kit guesting on their Who By Fire tribute concert to Leonard Cohen where she sang Famous Blue Raincoat and joined in with the So Long, Marianne finale.[8][9]

She took a break after her pair of 2018 EPs, Cry Baby parts 1 and 2, saying later that "My relationship with music was kind of toxic after releasing my Cry Baby EPs in 2018… so I needed a break."[10] She returned in December 2019, again with First Aid Kit, singing It Must Have Been Love as their tribute to Marie Fredriksson.[11] She released her cover of Kate Bush's This Woman's Work in July 2020. In the same year, she recorded her single 'Anxious Angel' as the final track of the Netflix series Kärlek & Anarki (Love & Anarchy).[12] The CD from First Aid Kit's Who By Fire tribute was released in 2021.[8] Also in 2021, she appeared on a special edition of Jills veranda,[13] and later in the year released her first album A Pink Soft Mess.[14][15][16]

Francis has a record contract with Universal Music Group under its Sweden Music label[17][18] and is listed in Sweden by RMV Grammafon.[19]

Discography

Album
  • A Pink Soft Mess (2021), nominated for the 2022 by:Larm Nordic Music Prize[20]

Live Album
  • Live at Way Out West (October 13, 2023)

EP
  • Come Companion (January 13, 2016)
  • Cry Baby (Pt 1) (2018)
  • Cry Baby (Pt 2) (2018)

Singles
  • "Just the Way You Are" (September 25, 2014)
  • "Last Days of Dancing (Acoustic Version)" (April 24, 2015)
  • "Last Days of Dancing (Remix) (July 24, 2015)
  • "Space Invades My Mind (Acoustic Version)" (October 21, 2015)
  • "Anxious Angel", the final track of the Netflix series Love & Anarchy (2019)
  • "Anxious Angel" (2020) written by Alderin Francis & Johannes Runemark (Axelsson, Runemark & Wikberg)[17]
  • "Tiny Tornados" (2021)
  • "PMS Party" (2021)

Charted singles
List of singles, with selected chart positions
Title Year Peak chart positions
SWE
[21]
"Douchebag" 2022 —[lower-alpha 1]
"Please Remember Me" 65
"Girl Laying Down" 74
[23]
"Beg Me (Be mig)" —[lower-alpha 2]

With First Aid Kit
  • 2019 cover of Roxette's It Must Have Been Love as their tribute to Marie Fredriksson
  • 2021 release of 2017 Leonard Cohen tribute concert Who By Fire where she sang Famous Blue Raincoat

Notes
  1. "Douchebag" did not enter the Swedish Singellista Chart, but peaked at number one on the Swedish Heatseeker Chart.[22]
  2. "Beg Me (Be mig)" did not enter the Swedish Singellista Chart, but peaked at number four on the Swedish Heatseeker Chart.[24]

References
  1. "Maja Francis - Last Days of Dancing". Swede + Sour. 6 April 2015. Retrieved 3 July 2021.
  2. Popmuzik (13 August 2015). "Intervju: Med Maja Francis i rymden".
  3. Gumushen, Tanyel (21 November 2017). "Winter may have struck in all of its icy glory, but Maja Francis is here to be 'Saved By The Summer'". tmrw Magazine. Retrieved 9 May 2021.
  4. "All Things Go Music". Archived from the original on 7 June 2015. "a surprisingly thoughtful piece of well-crafted fantasy pop for your June playlist"
  5. Pehrson, Anna-Sopfia (14 August 2015). "Way out West 2015: Maja Francis lyfte ljummen inledning". Poplight. Archived from the original on 4 October 2015. Retrieved 11 January 2016.
  6. "Maja Francis". Gaffa. January 2016. p. 35. Retrieved 9 May 2021. "Simple classic pop where the emotions alternately hover high among the clouds and alternately crawl in the gutter."
  7. Manders, Hayden (8 June 2016). "Maja Francis Opens Her Pastel-Drenched World Up In This New Music Video". Nylon. Retrieved 3 July 2021. "There's an air of youthful abandon in Maja Francis' new music video for her soaring optimistic song 'Come Companion.'"
  8. Grieg, Zena (5 May 2021). "First Aid Kit – Who By Fire". Penny Black Music. Retrieved 15 May 2021. a dramatic and contemporary-sounding 'Famous Blue Raincoat' with compelling vocals from the singer Maja Francis
  9. Penfold, Will (25 March 2021). "First Aid Kit: Who By Fire". Spectrum Culture. Retrieved 14 May 2021. "Famous Blue Raincoat" is dramatic and contemporary-sounding and has an outstanding vocal from Maja Francis; what surprises again and again is that singers with something like the opposite of Cohen's voice and delivery can make his lyrics live so vividly.
  10. Gorman, Francine (15 December 2020). "Premiere & Spotlight Interview: Maja Francis - Ja Ja Ja". Jajajamusic.
  11. Bacior, Robin (12 December 2019). "First Aid Kit and Maja Francis pay tribute to Roxette with "It Must Have Been Love" cover: Watch". Consequence.
  12. Universal Music Publishing (9 November 2020). "Maja Francis, Amason, GRANT & more in 'Love & Anarchy'". Retrieved 14 May 2021.
  13. Wigren, Helene (23 July 2020). "Maja Francis visits Jill Johnson in the program "Jill i Lilla Hult" on SVT and releases single. Listen to me!". PR&BEYOND. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  14. "Maja Francis: Musiken blev som en destruktiv kärleksrelation". Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). 16 February 2021. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  15. Burns, Jason M. (15 October 2021). "Maja Francis — A Pink Soft Mess". Americana Highways. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  16. Schwind, Gary (1 November 2021). "Maja Francis Paints Evocative Pop Pictures on 'A Pink Soft Mess'". Glide Magazine. Retrieved 21 November 2021.
  17. "Music Search". Universal Music Publishing Group ¦ Scandinavia. Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  18. "Maja Francis". luger.se. Retrieved 12 January 2016.
  19. "RMV Grammafon Artists". Retrieved 4 August 2021.
  20. "Nordic Music Prize 2022 Nominees". Retrieved 5 September 2022. "Maja Francis has created her own little sparkling pink galaxy in the Swedish pop universe."
  21. "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 45". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 12 November 2022.
  22. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 44". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 4 November 2022.
  23. "Veckolista Singlar, vecka 46". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 19 November 2022.
  24. "Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 47". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 26 November 2022.
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