Erik Grönwall is a Swedish pop singer who rose to fame on the television show Idol in 2009 and made his chart-topping debut shortly thereafter with "Higher." Born on December 3, 1987, in Knivsta, Sweden, he made a memorable first impression when he auditioned for Idol 2009 with the hard rock songs "18 and Life" (Skid Row), "Shout It Out Loud" (Kiss), "Run to the Hills" (Iron Maiden), and "The Show Must Go On" (Queen). As the season progressed, he performed a range of material, from "Hey Jude" (the Beatles) and "Thriller" (Michael Jackson) to "My Life Would Suck Without You" (Kelly Clarkson) and "Why Can't This Be Love" (Van Halen). Establishing himself as a young and eager rocker, Grönwall ended up winning the 2009 season of Swedish Idol. On the night of the final episode, December 11, 2009, when he faced off against Calle Kristiansson, he performed "Higher" for the first time. An original song written by Pär Westerlund and Joakim Olovsson especially for Idol 2009, "Higher" was released as Grönwall's debut single and went straight to number one on the Swedish charts, where it stayed for weeks. Shortly thereafter came the chart-topping eponymous debut album Erik Grönwall, which included "Higher" and 11 other songs from Idol 2009. ~ Jason Birchmeier