It took a hot minute for the glitter dust to settle after Icona Popâs massive hit âI Love Itâ first blew up in 2012. The Swedish duoâs bratty burst of electro-pop became an anthem for the collective "fuck you" of millenial feminists at the time, especially after Lena Dunhamâs character famously danced around to it in a scene on "Girls." The success of that particular track alone catapulted unknown songwriters Caroline Hject and Aino Jawo from obscurity to Swedenâs highest selling band of all time. To make it so far so quickly, surpassing the likes of Robyn and ABBA no less, takes some serious pop acumen.However, itâs an all too familiar story when a single of that magnitude becomes bigger than the band itself. The only real way to keep that from happening is to evolve beyond it. But if the first single to drop from their forthcoming sophomore album is any indication, Icona Pop have done just that. If you were expecting another âI Love It,â donât. Instead, "Emergency" is a sleek and jazzed-up avant-banger that goes down like a dry martini as opposed to Icona's round-of-shots debut record Manners.We caught up with Caroline Hjelt, one half of Icona Pop, to discuss the new album, coming down from âI Love It,â and what itâs like to open for the most beloved pop band in the world, One Direction.
Caroline Hjelt: I mean, when you put it like that it feels very good. [Laughs] Me and Ina met a couple of years ago nowâalmost seven years ago and itâs insane when you think about we started our band a day after we met. And we had our first show three weeks after we met. We really, we were dreaming so big and we always set out goals very high, but still we had to pinch ourselves in the arms a lot of times daily because weâre like wow, weâre performing in front of all of these people these people are listening to our music and we feel very very honored for that.Iâm sure. How did it feel to see âI Love Itâ blow up like that?
CH: That was insane. It was crazy. We didnât get it until very late.What do you mean?
CH: I mean, for example, we went to Australia, we were supposed to perform at a festival and the people with the golf carts that were supposed to take us to the stage. But they took us to the wrong stage and there was no one there. We were like, âWelp. Okay.â You know, you have to start somewhere, right? We were just about to go on stage and someone grabbed us and were like, âWhat are you doing here? Youâre supposed to be at the other stageâ And they drive us to the main stage and people are singing âI Love Itâ and itâs so many thousands of people. We were like, âWow weâre in Australia. People listen to our music here?â It was so hard to catch up because everything happened to fast.Do you feel pressure to write another smash hit of that level? What was it like when the hype came down a little bit and it was time for the second album?
CH: I think it was very needed because we were going nonstop. We were working, working, working, working and it was needed that it come down a little bit so we have time to write new music. Because we were just touring around. And âI Love Itâ opened so many doors for us, so I donât think we feel the pressure because we donât want to make another âI Love Itâ of course. We want to keep on going as artists and we want to make new music that doesnât sound the same so I think weâre more inspired and now when we release something weâll know that people listen. Or we would have made more albums and no one would have listened because they didnât know we existed.Right. You guys definitely hit the scene in a big way very quickly. On a different note, your new song âEmergencyâ is very different from âI Love It." Can you give us any hints about who youâre working with or what direction youâll be going in?
CH: Itâs just amazing to write on the new album. I wish we could say everything now because weâre very proud of what we have so far. Weâve been working a lot with Wallpaper. Weâve been trying to be in the studio with people we love and just have fun and try to not feel and pressure, really take our time. And itâs hard because I mean our schedule is crazy but the studio is the only time we shut our phones off go in there and write the songs, so it feels very good. And hopefully we will be done pretty soon. I wish I could tell you more but I canât.Thatâs OK. Do you think people will sense a stylistic evolution between your first and second albums?
CH: I definitely think thereâs a couple songs people will find very new, and fresh, and âOoo! Whatâs this?â You know? And itâs funny because we always write on tour, but then we finish the songs in the studio because itâs very hard to finish songs on tour. And the journey to listen through everything weâve been writing when weâve just been touring about the world and weâre like âOh! I forgot, I remember that was in Paris. Ah! That was in New York that night we were..â Itâs like little stories coming together.How fun. Speaking of tour, whatâs it been like to tour with One Direction?
CH: Itâs been amazing. Itâs been so much fun. The guys are such sweethearts and they made us feel very welcome all the way from the beginning and their fans, theyâve all just been very welcoming and we couldnât be happier. Itâs really really fun.Were you guys big One Direction fans before this?
CH: I mean I did not know all the songs that I know now. And we have a lot of mutual friends and the ones I knew I thought were pretty good but now I found some new songs that Iâm really jamming.What has been the most surprising thing about touring with them?
CH: How down to earth they are, I guess. Maybe that wasnât really surprising but itâs always very refreshing. That they can be like that. Theyâre just awesome guys.How does this tour feel different than when you traveled with Katy Perry or Miley Cyrus?
CH: Itâs so hard to say because itâs so different, like, types of artists and people. But I guess itâs different in that way that maybe this crowd is a little bit like- itâs a little bit younger and theyâve been growing up with the guys. So thatâs been an experience to get to know them and realize how devoted they are and stuff like that.Ann Sophia Madson did your costumes on your last tour with Miley and now youâre working with the B Akerlund. The costumes are so robo-chic! What led you to her?
CH: We worked with her in our âEmergencyâ video and we just reached out to her because we love her. We think sheâs awesome and we needed someone to help us. Because we love clothes and expressing ourselves, but itâs easy to fall into your comfort zone a little bit, so we needed someone to just push it. But these costumes were actually made in Sweden, because we were in Sweden rehearsing. And together with our stylist in Sweden. And yes heâs just amazing, his name is Cristoph Islander. And heâs the funniest, and punkiest dude you could ever find with tattoos all over and studs all over.Her look is kind of steam-punk.
CH: Yeah, itâs been amazing working with other Swedes.So youâve got B Akerlund in one corner and you have One Direction in the other. I think we can expect big things from this album and tour.
CH: I do too!Check out the remaining tour dates below to catch Icona Pop and One Direction.07/21 â Commonwealth Stadium â Edmonton, AB
07/24 â Investors Group Field â Winnipeg, MB
07/26 â TCF Bank Stadium - Minneapolis, MN
07/28 â Arrowhead Stadium - Kansas City, MO
07/31 â Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN
08/02 â Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, PA
08/05 â MetLife Stadium - East Rutherford, NJ
08/08 â M&T Bank Stadium - Baltimore, MD
08/18 â Ohio Stadium - Columbus, OH
08/23 -â Soldier Field - Chicago, IL
08/25 â Miller Park - Milwaukee, WI
08/27 â FirstEnergy Stadium - Cleveland, OH
09/01 â Lincoln Financial Field - Philadelphia, PA
09/03 â Ralph Wilson Stadium - Buffalo, NY
09/05 â Olympic Stadium â Montreal, QC
09/08 â Canadian Tire Centre â Ottawa, ON
09/09 â Canadian Tire Centre â Ottawa, ON
09/12 â Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, MA
Advertisement
Noisey: Hi Caroline! So how's it feel to be one half of the biggest selling band in Sweden? Did you ever see this coming?
Caroline Hjelt: I mean, when you put it like that it feels very good. [Laughs] Me and Ina met a couple of years ago nowâalmost seven years ago and itâs insane when you think about we started our band a day after we met. And we had our first show three weeks after we met. We really, we were dreaming so big and we always set out goals very high, but still we had to pinch ourselves in the arms a lot of times daily because weâre like wow, weâre performing in front of all of these people these people are listening to our music and we feel very very honored for that.Iâm sure. How did it feel to see âI Love Itâ blow up like that?
CH: That was insane. It was crazy. We didnât get it until very late.
Advertisement
CH: I mean, for example, we went to Australia, we were supposed to perform at a festival and the people with the golf carts that were supposed to take us to the stage. But they took us to the wrong stage and there was no one there. We were like, âWelp. Okay.â You know, you have to start somewhere, right? We were just about to go on stage and someone grabbed us and were like, âWhat are you doing here? Youâre supposed to be at the other stageâ And they drive us to the main stage and people are singing âI Love Itâ and itâs so many thousands of people. We were like, âWow weâre in Australia. People listen to our music here?â It was so hard to catch up because everything happened to fast.Do you feel pressure to write another smash hit of that level? What was it like when the hype came down a little bit and it was time for the second album?
CH: I think it was very needed because we were going nonstop. We were working, working, working, working and it was needed that it come down a little bit so we have time to write new music. Because we were just touring around. And âI Love Itâ opened so many doors for us, so I donât think we feel the pressure because we donât want to make another âI Love Itâ of course. We want to keep on going as artists and we want to make new music that doesnât sound the same so I think weâre more inspired and now when we release something weâll know that people listen. Or we would have made more albums and no one would have listened because they didnât know we existed.
Advertisement
CH: Itâs just amazing to write on the new album. I wish we could say everything now because weâre very proud of what we have so far. Weâve been working a lot with Wallpaper. Weâve been trying to be in the studio with people we love and just have fun and try to not feel and pressure, really take our time. And itâs hard because I mean our schedule is crazy but the studio is the only time we shut our phones off go in there and write the songs, so it feels very good. And hopefully we will be done pretty soon. I wish I could tell you more but I canât.Thatâs OK. Do you think people will sense a stylistic evolution between your first and second albums?
CH: I definitely think thereâs a couple songs people will find very new, and fresh, and âOoo! Whatâs this?â You know? And itâs funny because we always write on tour, but then we finish the songs in the studio because itâs very hard to finish songs on tour. And the journey to listen through everything weâve been writing when weâve just been touring about the world and weâre like âOh! I forgot, I remember that was in Paris. Ah! That was in New York that night we were..â Itâs like little stories coming together.
Advertisement
CH: Itâs been amazing. Itâs been so much fun. The guys are such sweethearts and they made us feel very welcome all the way from the beginning and their fans, theyâve all just been very welcoming and we couldnât be happier. Itâs really really fun.Were you guys big One Direction fans before this?
CH: I mean I did not know all the songs that I know now. And we have a lot of mutual friends and the ones I knew I thought were pretty good but now I found some new songs that Iâm really jamming.What has been the most surprising thing about touring with them?
CH: How down to earth they are, I guess. Maybe that wasnât really surprising but itâs always very refreshing. That they can be like that. Theyâre just awesome guys.How does this tour feel different than when you traveled with Katy Perry or Miley Cyrus?
CH: Itâs so hard to say because itâs so different, like, types of artists and people. But I guess itâs different in that way that maybe this crowd is a little bit like- itâs a little bit younger and theyâve been growing up with the guys. So thatâs been an experience to get to know them and realize how devoted they are and stuff like that.Ann Sophia Madson did your costumes on your last tour with Miley and now youâre working with the B Akerlund. The costumes are so robo-chic! What led you to her?
CH: We worked with her in our âEmergencyâ video and we just reached out to her because we love her. We think sheâs awesome and we needed someone to help us. Because we love clothes and expressing ourselves, but itâs easy to fall into your comfort zone a little bit, so we needed someone to just push it. But these costumes were actually made in Sweden, because we were in Sweden rehearsing. And together with our stylist in Sweden. And yes heâs just amazing, his name is Cristoph Islander. And heâs the funniest, and punkiest dude you could ever find with tattoos all over and studs all over.Her look is kind of steam-punk.
CH: Yeah, itâs been amazing working with other Swedes.So youâve got B Akerlund in one corner and you have One Direction in the other. I think we can expect big things from this album and tour.
CH: I do too!Check out the remaining tour dates below to catch Icona Pop and One Direction.07/21 â Commonwealth Stadium â Edmonton, AB
07/24 â Investors Group Field â Winnipeg, MB
07/26 â TCF Bank Stadium - Minneapolis, MN
07/28 â Arrowhead Stadium - Kansas City, MO
07/31 â Lucas Oil Stadium - Indianapolis, IN
08/02 â Heinz Field - Pittsburgh, PA
08/05 â MetLife Stadium - East Rutherford, NJ
08/08 â M&T Bank Stadium - Baltimore, MD
08/18 â Ohio Stadium - Columbus, OH
08/23 -â Soldier Field - Chicago, IL
08/25 â Miller Park - Milwaukee, WI
08/27 â FirstEnergy Stadium - Cleveland, OH
09/01 â Lincoln Financial Field - Philadelphia, PA
09/03 â Ralph Wilson Stadium - Buffalo, NY
09/05 â Olympic Stadium â Montreal, QC
09/08 â Canadian Tire Centre â Ottawa, ON
09/09 â Canadian Tire Centre â Ottawa, ON
09/12 â Gillette Stadium - Foxborough, MA