The Real Group, a professional acappella group from Sweden, consists of five members: Emma Nilsdotter (Katarina Henryson), Anders Edenroth and Morten Vinther Solensen (Anders Jalkeus). Most of the songs they perform are composed or arranged by members of The Real Group. The majority of recorded songs by the group are sung in English. Most of the rest are in Swedish. Bobby McFerrin is cited by the group as an inspiration. “Whatever we do, it may not have happened if he [albums] hadn’t been played.” The Real Group has performed at more than 2000 concerts around the world. The opening ceremony of The FIFA World Cup was in Seoul, 2002. The Real Group performed there. The audience was 60,000. The Real Group supported Anni-Frid Lyngstad, an ex-ABBA member, in a performance entitled “Dancing Queen”, which was performed to celebrate Queen Silvia’s fiftieth Birthday. It used an a cappella arrangement and later appeared on the album “Varfor Far Man inte Bara Vara Som Man Ar”. The Real Group was founded in 1984 by students of the Swedish Royal College of Music. Margareta Bengtson was the Soprano of the group from its inception. However, she left the group to concentrate on her solo albums. Johanna Nystrom was able to fill her position for a while, until Emma Nilsdotter took her place in 2008. She made her debut with the group at Kremlin Palace in 2008. [3] Johanna Nystrom also has filled in for Katarina and Margareta Bengtson when they were on maternity leave. Morten Vinther Sörensen joined the group recently to replace Peder Karlsson. He has since focused his efforts on developing The Real Academy.
