The attention and big success throughout a better part of 2003 gave Per Gessle the largest numbre of nominations at this year’s Grammis Gala. Gessle also became the most awarded artist of the evening by winning Grammises in four out of the six categories in which he’d been nominated.

Gessle’s album “Mazarin” (Capitol/EMI] has recently gone five times platinum and this autumn and winter, Gessle has been receiving prizes at various other galas. The album topped Sweden’s album sales in 2003 and now in the new year, it has been back at the top of the Swedish album sales list for a few weeks. The DVD “En mazarin, älskling?” (Capitol/EMI) has sold in considerable numbers as well. The single “Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång)” came in third on the singles list for 2003.

So, there were enough reasons for Per Gessle’s domination over the Monday evening at the Berns. He received the publicly voted Grammises for Song of the Year with “Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång)”, Composer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year and the important award Artist of the Year.

After Gessle came a trio which won two Grammis’s each. Lisa Miskovsky’s second solo album “Fallingwater” (Stockholm/Universal) had a premiere in the form of prizes for Female Pop Artist of the Year and Producer of the Year - the latter went to the album’s producers Joakim Berg and Simon Nordberg.

The Cardigans took home two prestigious prizes of Rock Group of the Year and Album of the Year for their album “Long Gone Before Daylight” (Stockholm/Universal). The third double winner was Timbuktu, who with “The botten is nådd” (Juju/Playground) won in the category Hiphop/Soul Act of the Year (for the second time in a row) as well as in Lyricist of the Year.

It was also a big night for Bonnier Amigo Music Group, the distributor of six of the 25 Grammis winners.

Last year, National won two Grammises in the first year of its work; this year, they had to make do with one Grammis for the box set of Pugh Rogefeldt “Pugh” (National/BAM) in the Open category. One in which they’d won last year as well.

Esbjörn Svensson Trio won in the category Jazz Act of the Year with their album “Seven Days of Falling” (Superstudio Gul/Diesel, EMI) and also received the Government’s Export Prize for their contribution in getting the world’s attention for Swedish music.

The other winners that night were The Knife as Pop Group of the Year, Moneybrother for Solo Rock Album, José González as Newcomer of the Year, Lennart Hellsing/Georg Riedel for Children’s Album, Frifot Sluring in Folk Music, Helen Sjöholm & Anders Widmark for Song of the Year [non-pop/folk - GZ], The Haunted in Hard Rock, Hundarna från Söder in Club/Dance and Jill Johnson in Schlager/Dance Band. The two Grammises for classical music went to Norrlandsoperans Symfoniorkester in the Ensemble category and to Martin Först in solo.

The Grammis jury also selected winners of two special prizes: the Honorary Prize, which last year went to the radio personality Mats Nileskär, this year was granted to his colleague Kaj Kindvall from the Swedish Radio. The Special Prize of the Year went to Michael B. Tretow.

Winners at the Grammis Gala 2004

• Album of the Year The Cardigans / Long Gone Before Daylight [Stockholm/Universal]
• Artist of the Year Per Gessle / Mazarin [Capitol/EMI]
• Rock Group of the Year The Cardigans / Long Gone Before Daylight [Stockholm/Universal]
• Rock Album of the Year (solo) Moneybrother / Blood Panic [Burning Heart/BAM]
• Pop Group of the Year The Knife / Deep Cuts [Rabid/Border]
• Male Pop Artist of the Year Per Gessle / Mazarin [Capitol/EMI]
• Female Pop Artist of the Year Lisa Miskovsky / Fallingwater [Stockholm/Universal]
• Newcomer of the Year José González / Veneer [Imperial/BAM]
• Hard Rock Act of the Year The Haunted / One Kill Wonder [Earache/Sound Pollution]
• Club/Dance of the Year Hundarna från Söder / Hundarna från Söder [Flora & Fauna/BAM]
• Hip Hop/Soul of the Year Timbuktu / The botten is nådd! [Juju/Playground]
• Schlager/Dance Band of the Year Jill Johnson / Discography [Lionheart/BAM]
• Jazz Act of the Year Esbjörn Svensson Trio / Seven Days Of Falling [Superstudio Gul/Diesel/EMI]
• Folk Music Act of the Year Frifot / Sluring [Amigo/BAM]
• [non-pop/folk] Song of the Year Helen Sjöholm & Anders Widmark / Genom varje andetag [Sonet/Universal]
• Children’s Album of the Year Lennart Hellsing/Georg Riedel / Trollringen [Gammafon]
• Lyricist of the Year Timbuktu [Juju Records/Juju Publishing/Warner/Chappell]
• Composer of the Year Per Gessle [Elevator Ent/Capitol/Hip Happy]
• Producer of the Year Joakim Berg & Simon Nordberg
• Category Open Pugh Rogefeldt / Pugh [National/BAM]
• Classical Music - Solo Martin Fröst / Mozart: Clarinet Concerto & Quintet [Bis/Naxos]
• Classical Music - Ensemble Norrlandsoperans Symfoniorkester / Hilding Rosenberg: Lycksalighetens ö [Phono Suecia/CDA]
• Song of the Year Här kommer alla känslorna (på en och samma gång) [Capitol/EMI] / Per Gessle

Honorary Prize of the Year: Kaj Kindvall

Justification: This year’s Recipient of the Honorary Prize is the Voice, with capital “V”, of the millions of Swedes who over the past three decades have been listening to the Swedish Radio because of pop music. In programs such as “Tio i topp”, “Poporama” and “Tracks”, he has combined perfect sense of current trends with an excitement-evoking hit chart element. Integrity, quality control and professionalism are the characteristic features of his approach: that pop music is something important.

Special Prize of the Year: Michael B. Tretow

Justification: He has been called Sweden’s Phil Spector. He has been called a genius. He has been called crazy. All that is probably true. There are sound engineers who push buttons. And there are the few who actually PLAY the mixing console and have as much impact on the end result as the songwriter. It is said that ABBA was a quartet. But without this person’s energetic ability to squeeze the juice out of every special gadget, “Waterloo” and a hundred other ABBA classics would have hardly sounded the way they do.

The Government’s Export Prize: Esbjörn Svensson Trio

Justification: World-class innovators, with constantly new artistic progress and sense of purpose, this year’s winners have for ten years been devoting themselves to rewriting the jazz formula, always moving beyond borders between music genres. With exceptional talent and an unmistakably blue-yellow basic sound, they shine in the role of Swedish ambassadors on the international music scene. The 2003 prize for contribution to Sweden’s music export goes to Esbjörn Svensson Trio.