Robert Wells

At eleven, Robert Wells became the youngest person ever to attend the Royal Swedish Academy of Music, a start that hints at the classical grounding behind his work. Born in Stockholm in 1962, he is a Swedish singer, songwriter and musician best known for Rhapsody in Rock, a musical that weaves rock, classical music and boogie-woogie into one piece. Those three strands run through his wider output as well.

Wells attended Adolf Fredrik's Music School in Stockholm from the age of seven, in 1969, and at sixteen, in 1978, he won two major Swedish talent contests. He has twice taken part in Melodifestivalen, and has worked as musical director on two Swedish television shows, regularly appearing on Så ska det låta, the Swedish version of The Lyrics Board. His first musical tour, in 1990, was with the Leningrad Orchestra. In 2008 his music was chosen as the official television theme for the Beijing Olympics, and in 2010 he played piano for Belarus's Eurovision Song Contest entry, performed by 3+2 on 25 May.