Michael Learns to Rock

Michael Learns to Rock
Also known asMLTR
OriginAarhus, Denmark
Genres
Years active1988–present
Labels
MembersJascha Richter
Mikkel Lentz
Kåre Wanscher
Past membersSøren Madsen
Websitewww.mltr.dk

Michael Learns to Rock (MLTR) is a Danish soft rock and pop rock band formed in 1988. The band currently consists of Jascha Richter, Mikkel Lentz and Kåre Wanscher. Søren Madsen was an original member of the group since its formation but left in 2000. The band has sold over 11 million records over the course of their career, with the majority sold in Scandinavia and Asia.[1] Despite being Danish, the band performs songs in English. The band has attributed its success in Asia to their drug-free, clean-living image, and to singing in English as a second language.[2]

MLTR has earned gold and platinum status for records in many countries and won many awards, including the Gold Preis Award from RSH, Germany and "The Best Performing Act of the Year" at the SEA Grammy Awards in Singapore. In addition, their song "Take Me to Your Heart" was awarded "most downloaded single of the year 2006" with 6 million or more paid downloads.[3] The band has recorded nine studio albums as well as a number of live and greatest hits albums. Their latest studio album, Still, was released on 21 March 2018.

During the peak of their popularity in the mid and late 1990s, MLTR was described by critics as being "as good (if not better) a band as any current big name group out of America or the UK or the Australia."[4] According to the band's record label releases, their sound is "the perfect balance of a Scandinavian glow and the international pop song that has been instrumental in forming the compelling sound of the band",[5] although the lead singer and songwriter, Jascha Richter, disagrees with this, maintaining that the music defies geographical categorization.[2]

  1. ^ Wee, Sui-Lee (19 November 2024). "The Scandinavian Soft Rock Band That's Big in Asia". The New York Times. Retrieved 19 November 2024.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference quartly was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Nelson Wu (4 July 2007). "Danish Pop trio 'Michael' ready to woo Taipei". The China Post. Archived from the original on 11 December 2013. Retrieved 2 October 2010.
  4. ^ "The Story of MLTR". Archived from the original on 19 August 2011. Jowu Entertainment & Media Ltd Retrieved 14 March 2010
  5. ^ "Michael Learns To Rock: The Story of MLTR". Scan Music & Booking. Archived from the original on 19 July 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2010.