Smith & Thell
{{Short description|Swedish pop/folk duo}}
{{more citations needed|date=March 2016}}
{{Infobox musical artist
| name = Smith & Thell
| image = Smith & Thell (155753).jpg
| caption = Smith & Thell on stage during Stavernfestivalen in 2016
| origin = Helsingborg, Sweden
| instrument =
| genre = {{flatlist|
| occupation =
| years_active = 2012–present
| label = Playground Music
| associated_acts = Jennifer Lopez, Ava Max, Rauw Alejandro
| current_members = Maria Jane Smith, Victor Thell
}}
Smith & Thell are a pop/folk band based in Stockholm, Sweden. The duo, composed of Maria Smith (vocals, guitar) and Victor Thell (vocals, guitar, production), first met one another as young teenagers at a local music event in their hometown of Helsingborg in Southern Sweden.{{Cite web|url=https://gaffa.se/live/263187/smith-thell|title=GAFFA LIVE: Smith & Thell - Gävle Konserthus}}
Their debut album Soulprints was released in April 2017 via the Nordic indie label Playground Music.{{Cite web|url=http://atwoodmagazine.com/soulprints-smith-thell-feature/|title=Feature: The Energy and Emotion of Smith & Thell's Debut Soulprints|date=12 May 2017}}
The follow-up international hit single, "Forgive Me Friend", came in November 2018, and led the band to signing its first major label deal with the storied American label, Arista Records, a subsidiary of Sony Music Entertainment. Smith & Thell's sophomore album, "Pixie's Parasol" came via Arista Recordings in 2021, and featured the hits "Forgive Me Friend", "Hotel Walls", "Year of the Young", and "Goliath". The duo went on to perform on stages across the world with other artists, including The Head and the Heart, Young the Giant, and Fitz and The Tantrums.{{Cite web|url=https://www.discogs.com/artist/2511016-Smith-Thell|title=Discogs: Smith & Thell|website=Discogs}}
Smith & Thell won the Internationalen Songwriting-Wettbewerbs (ISC) with their song "Goliath" in 2021.{{Cite web|url=http://www.musikindustrin.se/2021/05/04/peter-kvint-och-smith-thell-vinner-grand-prize/|title=Peter Kvint och Smith & Thell vinner Grand Prize|date=4 May 2021}}
History
In 2015, they released the song "Statue", which was performed on the SVT Moraeus in the same year.{{cite web |title = Jojk, pop och country när Kalle bjuder in till en ny säsong |url=http://www.svt.se/moraeus-med-mera/kalle-ar-tillbaka-med-ny-sasong-i-host |publisher=svt.se |access-date=2016-01-20}} Also in 2015, the duo won the Denniz Pop Awards with Max Martin in the jury. In spring of 2016, they won Musexpo in Los Angeles in the category "New Emerging International Artist". The same year, influencer and music critic Bob Lefsetz placed "Statue" at number 16 on his list of the best songs of 2016 with the description, "An instant classic, you'll get this one immediately." The duo followed up "Statue" with the singles "Row" (2016), "February" (2017), and "Toast" (2017), before releasing their debut album Soulprints on May 12, 2017.{{cite web |title = The Energy and Emotion of Smith & Thell's Debut 'Soulprints' |date=12 May 2017 |url=http://atwoodmagazine.com/soulprints-smith-thell-feature/ |publisher=Atwood Magazine |access-date=2017-05-17}}
The band's first major breakthrough came in November 2018, with their hit single "Forgive Me Friend". The song has since been streamed over 85 million times and earned Platinum (3x) status in Sweden and Gold status in Norway. The hit reached #1 on Pop Radio in Sweden and Poland, Top 25 on U.S. Alternative Radio, and Top 10 on U.S. Triple A Radio. Smith & Thell’s follow-up 2019 single, "Hotel Walls", quickly shot to #1 on Swedish Pop Radio and has been streamed over 50 million times. It is certified Platinum in Sweden and Gold in Norway.{{cite web |title = Smith & Thell Spotify |url=https://open.spotify.com/artist/1ZrBGJWLL8NiAjgNifCy90?si=hANFba99TgWYKVQtA23p3w&dl_branch=1 |publisher=spotify |access-date=2021-09-27}} In 2020, Smith & Thell won a Swedish Grammis for Composers of the Year, and in 2021, they won a Rockbjörnen for Best Group 2021.{{cite web |title = Smith & Thell vinner Årets grupp på Rockbjörnen |date=22 August 2021 |url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/musik/rockbjornen/a/eEzpB9/smith--thell-vinner-arets-grupp-pa-rockbjornen |publisher=aftonbladet |access-date=2021-08-23}}
In August 2024, the duo decided to take a break and pursue a solo career.{{Cite web|url=https://www.aftonbladet.se/nojesbladet/a/737Mwv/bandet-smith-thell-gar-skilda-vagar|title=Bandet Smith & Thell går skilda vägar (The band Smith & Thell go their separate ways)}}
Musical style
Smith has stated, "We don't work towards making albums with one specific sound; it's song-by-song written on the way while we live...these last years have been a rollercoaster of emotions: we lost a loved family member way too young, we went from being a couple to continuing the band as friends, our career took off for real, we toured the world...to just name a few things. So the album was written on the way while all these things happened."
“We can't seem to get away from the sharp emotional turns in our music... [we] travel from the lowest pitch black bottom to the euphoric highs."{{Cite web|url=https://atwoodmagazine.com/stpp-pixies-parasol-smith-and-thell-album-review-music-feature/|title=Atwood Magazine: Lost in space|date=23 June 2021}}
Discography
= Albums =
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of albums as lead artist, with selected chart positions, showing year released and album name ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year ! scope="col" colspan="1" | Peak chart positions |
| scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| SWE {{cite web|url=http://www.sverigetopplistan.se/|title=Discography Smith & Thell|publisher=Sverigetopplistan|accessdate=26 December 2018}} |
|---|
| scope="row"| Soulprints
| 2017 | — |
| scope="row"| Pixie's Parasol
| 2021 | 3 |
| scope="row"| Acoustic in Isby
| 2021 | — |
| colspan="7" style="font-size:90%"| "—" denotes an album that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
= EPs =
- Statue (2016)
- Telephone Wires (2018)
- A Chosen Family (2024)
=Singles=
| class="wikitable plainrowheaders" style="text-align:center;"
|+ List of singles as lead artist, with selected chart positions and certifications, showing year released and album name ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:15em;" | Title ! scope="col" rowspan="2" | Year ! scope="col" colspan="3" | Peak chart positions ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:13em;" | Certifications ! scope="col" rowspan="2" style="width:15em;" | Album |
| scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| SWE ! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| POL
! scope="col" style="width:3em;font-size:90%;"| US |
|---|
| scope="row"| "Kill It with Love"
| 2012 | — || — || — | | rowspan="5" {{n/a|Non-album singles}} |
| scope="row"| "Super DJ"
| 2013 | — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Illusion"
| rowspan="2"| 2014 | — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Hippie Van"{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/se/album/hippie-van-single/928055365|title=Hippie Van - Single|website=Apple Music|date=24 October 2014|access-date=3 May 2025}}
| — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Joshua's Song"{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/se/album/joshuas-song-songs-with-pride-single/1018142333|title=Joshua's Song (Songs with Pride) - Single|website=Apple Music|date=29 July 2015|access-date=3 May 2025}}
| rowspan="2"| 2015 | — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Statue (The Pills Song)"
| — || — || — |
| rowspan="5"| Soulprints |
| scope="row"| "Row"
| 2016 | — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "February"
| rowspan="3"| 2017 | — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Toast"
| — || — || — |
|
| scope="row"| "Somebody Like You"
| — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Dumb"
| rowspan="2"| 2018 | — || — || — | | {{n/a|Non-album single}} |
| scope="row"| "Forgive Me Friend" {{small|(featuring Swedish Jam Factory)}} | 7 || 1 || 26 |
| rowspan="7"| Pixie's Parasol |
| scope="row"| "Hotel Walls"
| 2019 | 21 | |
| scope="row"| "Yatzy"
| rowspan="3"| 2020 | — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Goliath"
| 37 | |
| scope="row"| "Year of the Young"
| |
| scope="row"| "Radioactive Rain"
| rowspan="3"| 2021 | — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Nangilima"
| 52 || — || — | — | |
| scope="row"| "Pixie's Parasol"{{cite web|url=https://music.apple.com/au/album/pixies-parasol-single/1590019710|title=Pixie's Parasol - Single|website=Apple Music|date=22 October 2021|access-date=23 October 2021}}
| —{{efn|group=upper-alpha|"Pixie's Parasol" did not enter the Swedish Singellista Chart, but peaked at number 12 on the Swedish Heatseeker Chart.{{cite web|url=https://www.sverigetopplistan.se/chart/215?dspy=2021&dspp=43|title=Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 43|publisher=Sverigetopplistan|access-date=29 October 2021}}}} || — || — | | rowspan="5" {{Non-album singles}} |
| scope="row"| "Planet Mars"
| rowspan="3"| 2022 | — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "I Wanna Dance with Somebody (Who Loves Me)"
| — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "I Feel It in the Wind"
| —{{efn|group=upper-alpha|"I Feel It in the Wind" did not enter the Swedish Singellista Chart, but peaked at number four on the Swedish Heatseeker Chart.{{cite web|url=https://www.sverigetopplistan.se/chart/215?dspy=2022&dspp=38|title=Veckolista Heatseeker, vecka 38|publisher=Sverigetopplistan|access-date=23 September 2022}}}} || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "We Were in Love"
| 2023 | — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "Waste of Time"
| rowspan="4"| 2024 | — || — || — | | rowspan="4"| A Chosen Family |
| scope="row"| "Little Altar Boy"
| — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "UFO"
| — || — || — | |
| scope="row"| "At Least I Tried" {{small|(with Wrabel)}}
| — || — || — | |
| colspan="7" style="font-size:90%"| "—" denotes a recording that did not chart or was not released in that territory. |
Notes
{{notelist-ua}}
Awards
- 2015 Denniz Pop Awards - "Rookie Artist of the Year"{{Cite web|url=http://www.mynewsdesk.com/se/denniz-pop-awards/pressreleases/pristagare-i-denniz-pop-awards-2015-smith-thell-och-julia-karlsson-anton-rundberg-1177797|title=Pristagare i Denniz Pop Awards 2015: Smith & Thell och Julia Karlsson & Anton Rundberg}}
- 2016 Musexpo in Los Angeles - "New Emerging International Artist"{{Cite web|url=http://www.musikindustrin.se/2016/02/10/pris-smith-tell-nominerade-till-international-music-industry-awards/|title=Musikindustrin 2016-02-10|date=10 February 2016}}
- 2020 Swedish Grammis - Composers of the Year
- 2021 Swedish Rockbjörnen - "Best Group 2021"
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{Twitter}}
- {{Facebook}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Smith and Thell}}
Category:Swedish folk music groups
Category:Swedish pop music groups
Category:2012 establishments in Sweden
Category:Musical groups established in 2012