Jonas Åkerlund

Swedish director

  • Film director
  • music video director
  • screenwriter
Years active1983–presentSpouseBea Åkerlund

Hans Uno Jonas Åkerlund (Swedish: [hɑːns ˈʉ̌ːnʊ ˈjûːnas ˈôːkɛˌɭɵnd]; born 10 November 1965) is a Swedish film and music video director. His video for Madonna's song "Ray of Light" won a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form, and a record of five awards at 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, including the Video of the Year.

In 2008 he won a Grammy Award for "Best Long Form Music Video" for directing Madonna's "The Confessions Tour" DVD. In 2014 he won a Grammy Award for "Best Music Film" for his work on Paul McCartney's "Live Kisses" concert film.

Career

Åkerlund was briefly a member of the Swedish black metal band Bathory from 1983 to 1984. He also directed Candlemass' first video "Bewitched". He then became the main video director for Roxette. In 1997, he directed the video for The Prodigy's "Smack My Bitch Up", which sparked controversy due to its depiction of drug use, violence, and nudity. In 1998, he worked with Madonna on the song "Ray of Light", and has since worked with acts such as Beyoncé, Metallica, Christina Aguilera, U2, Blink-182, P!nk, Rammstein, Britney Spears, and Lady Gaga. He has directed the music video for the Smashing Pumpkins' "Try, Try, Try", from which a short film entitled Try was spawned. He was also the designer and photographer for the Roxette album Room Service in 2001. In 2002, his first full-length film, Spun, debuted.

Åkerlund directed commercials for Swedish clothing retailer MQ and the re-imagining of the Devo song "Watch Us Work It" used in Dell Computers commercials. He is a long-time collaborator of Madonna, having worked on such music videos as "Music", "American Life" (which was pulled due to its graphic content and the Iraq War), and "Jump". He also directed a documentary film I'm Going to Tell You a Secret about Madonna and her concert special The Confessions Tour: Live from London.

Some of his other work includes the controversial pornographic music video for Rammstein's "Pussy", the video for the song "Telephone" by Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, "Moves like Jagger" by Maroon 5 and Christina Aguilera, and Duran Duran's single "Girl Panic!".[1]

Åkerlund's second movie, Small Apartments (2012), went direct to DVD.[2] Per Gessle, of Roxette, was credited for the music and soundtrack.[2]

Videography

1988

"Bewitched" for Candlemass

1989

"What's the Noise?" for Walk on Water

1992

"Shame, Shame, Shame" for Izabella Scorupco
"Så länge det lyser mittemot" for Marie Fredriksson (Female half of Roxette)
"Mellan sommar och höst" for Marie Fredriksson

1993

"Fingertips '93" for Roxette

1994

"Run to You" for Roxette

1995

"A la ronde" for Sinclair
"Vulnerable" for Roxette
"Pay for Me" for Whale

1996

"Rainbow" for Meja
"June Afternoon" for Roxette
"She Doesn't Live Here Anymore" for Roxette
"Un Dia Sin Ti" for Roxette (Spanish version of "Spending My Time")

1997

"Do You Wanna Be My Baby?" for Per Gessle (Male half of Roxette)
"James Bond Theme" for Moby
"Kix" for Per Gessle
"I Want You To Know" for Per Gessle
"Smack My Bitch Up" for The Prodigy

1998

"Ray of Light" for Madonna
(Won the 1999 Grammy Award for Best Short Form Music Video)
"My Favourite Game" for The Cardigans
"Turn the Page" for Metallica

1999

"Whiskey in the Jar" for Metallica
"Wish I Could Fly" for Roxette
"Canned Heat" for Jamiroquai[3]
"Anyone" for Roxette
"Corruption" for Iggy Pop

2000

"The Everlasting Gaze" for The Smashing Pumpkins
"Music" for Madonna
"Porcelain" (version 1) for Moby
"Try, Try, Try" for The Smashing Pumpkins
"Beautiful Day" (version 1: airport) for U2[4]
"Black Jesus" for Everlast
"Still" (version 2: white hair) for Macy Gray

2001

"Gets Me Through" for Ozzy Osbourne[5]
"Walk On" for U2
"The Centre of the Heart" for Roxette
"Circus" for Stina Nordenstam

2002

"A Thing About You" for Roxette
"Lonely Road" for Paul McCartney
"Fuel for Hatred" for Satyricon[6]
"Me Julie" for Ali G and Shaggy
"If I Could Fall in Love" for Lenny Kravitz
"Beautiful" for Christina Aguilera

2003

"Opportunity Nox" for Roxette (co-directed with Kristoffer Diös[7])
"American Life" for Madonna
"Good Boys" for Blondie
"Aim 4" for Flint
"True Nature" for Jane's Addiction
"Come Undone" for Robbie Williams
"Sexed Up" for Robbie Williams
"Carnival Girl" for Texas

2004

"I Miss You" for blink-182[8]
"Tits on the Radio" for Scissor Sisters (internet video only)

2005

"Rain Fall Down" for The Rolling Stones

2006

"Jump" for Madonna[9]
"One Wish" for Roxette
"Mann gegen Mann" for Rammstein[10]
"Country Girl" for Primal Scream[11]

2007

"Wake Up Call" for Maroon 5[12]
"Good God" for Anouk
"Same Mistake" for James Blunt[13]
"Watch Us Work It" for Devo

2008

"No. 5" for Hollywood Undead
"Undead" for Hollywood Undead
"Sober" for Pink[14]

2009

"Paparazzi" for Lady Gaga[15]
"When Love Takes Over" for David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland
"We Are Golden" for Mika[16]
"Celebration" for Madonna[17]
"Pussy" for Rammstein[18]
"Fresh Out the Oven" for Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull
"Ich tu dir weh" for Rammstein[19]
(Won the 2011 Echo for best video national)

2010

"Telephone" for Lady Gaga feat. Beyoncé[20]
"Hot-n-Fun" for N.E.R.D feat. Nelly Furtado[21]
"Let Me Hear You Scream" for Ozzy Osbourne[22]
"Who's That Chick?" for David Guetta feat. Rihanna (Day Version)[23]
"Who's That Chick?" for David Guetta feat. Rihanna (Night Version)
"One (Your Name)" for Swedish House Mafia feat. Pharrell

2011

"Hold It Against Me" for Britney Spears[24]
"Hear Me Now" for Hollywood Undead[25]
"Moves like Jagger" for Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera[26]
"Girl Panic!" for Duran Duran[27]
"Mein Land" for Rammstein[28]

2012

"Daylight" for Maroon 5[29]
"Doom and Gloom" for The Rolling Stones[30]

2013

"Haunted" for Beyoncé[31]
"Superpower" for Beyoncé feat. Frank Ocean[31]

2014

"Magic" for Coldplay[32]
"Get Her Back" for Robin Thicke[33]
"True Love" for Coldplay[34]
"Dangerous" for David Guetta

2015

"Ghosttown" for Madonna
"Bitch I'm Madonna" for Madonna feat. Nicki Minaj
"RM486" for Rose McGowan feat. Punishment
"Could Have Been Me" for The Struts

2016

"New Romantics" for Taylor Swift
"Hold Up" for Beyoncé
"Óveður" for Sigur Rós
"Make America Great Again" for Pussy Riot
"ManUNkind" for Metallica

2017

"John Wayne" for Lady Gaga
"Praying" for Kesha
"The Way You Used to Do" for Queens of the Stone Age
"A Little Work" for Fergie
"You're the Best Thing About Me" for U2

2018

"Here Comes the Change" for Kesha

2019

"God Control" for Madonna
"Under the Graveyard" for Ozzy Osbourne

Filmography

Feature films

Spun (2002)
Horsemen (2009)
Small Apartments (2012)
Lords of Chaos (2018)
Polar (2019)
Midas Man (TBA); replaced by Sara Sugarman[35]

Concert and documentary films

Madonna: I'm Going to Tell You a Secret (2005)
Madonna: The Confessions Tour (2007) (won the 2008 Grammy Award for Best Long Form Music Video)
Paul McCartney: Live Kisses (2012) (won the 2014 Grammy Award for Best Music Film)
On the Run Tour: Beyoncé and Jay Z (2014)[36]
Taylor Swift: The 1989 World Tour Live (2015)
Roxette: Roxette Diaries (2016)
Rammstein: Paris (2016)

Television

Clark (2022; TV series) (directed all 6 episodes with Kirke Ailio Rodwell as 1st Assistant Director)

Awards

References

  1. ^ Wigler, Josh. "The Man Behind Lady Gaga's 'Telephone' Video: Jonas Akerlund". MTV. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  2. ^ a b Åkerlund, Jonas (1 March 2013), Small Apartments, retrieved 27 July 2016
  3. ^ ""Canned Heat" by Jamiroquai | Music Video | VH1.com". Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  4. ^ "Music – Music News, New Songs, Videos, Music Shows and Playlists from MTV". www.mtv.com. Archived from the original on 12 April 2009. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  5. ^ "Ozzy 'Gets Through' Video, Plans Tour With Zombie". MTV.
  6. ^ "SATYRICON Video Posted Online". 29 October 2002.
  7. ^ Ballad & Pop Hits - The Complete Video Collection (DVD liner notes). Roxette. EMI. 2003. 7243 4 90946 9 7.{{cite AV media notes}}: CS1 maint: others in cite AV media (notes) (link)
  8. ^ "blink-182 – I Miss You – Music Video – MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 3 November 2008.
  9. ^ "Madonna – Jump – Music Video – MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 1 November 2008.
  10. ^ "RAMMSTEIN: 'Mann Gegen Mann' Video Posted Online". 10 February 2006.
  11. ^ ""Country Girl" by Primal Scream | Music Video | VH1.com". Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  12. ^ "Maroon 5 – Wake Up Call – Music Video – MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 28 October 2012.
  13. ^ "James Blunt – Same Mistake – Music Video – MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 24 January 2009. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  14. ^ "Sober | P!nk | Music Video | MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014. Retrieved 7 September 2014.
  15. ^ "Lady Gaga – Paparazzi – Music Video – MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 27 August 2012.
  16. ^ "Mika – We Are Golden – Music Video – MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014.
  17. ^ "Madonna – Celebration – Music Video – MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 14 September 2009.
  18. ^ "RAMMSTEIN Guitarist Discusses 'Pussy' Video". 25 September 2009.
  19. ^ "RAMMSTEIN: 'Ich Tu Dir Weh' Video To Debut On Monday". 19 December 2009.
  20. ^ "Lady Gaga – Telephone feat. Beyoncé – Music Video – MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 7 April 2014.
  21. ^ "N.E.R.D. – Hot-N-Fun – Music Video – MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 29 August 2012.
  22. ^ "OZZY OSBOURNE: 'Let Me Hear You Scream' Video Released". 22 June 2010.
  23. ^ "David Guetta – Who's That Chick? (Ft. Rihanna) – Music Video – MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 2 October 2012.
  24. ^ "Music – Music News, New Songs, Videos, Music Shows and Playlists from MTV". www.mtv.com. Archived from the original on 20 February 2011. Retrieved 28 June 2017.
  25. ^ "Hollywood Undead – Hear Me Now – Music Video – MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 12 September 2012.
  26. ^ "Maroon 5 – Moves Like Jagger – Music Video – MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 31 March 2012.
  27. ^ "Duran Duran – Girl Panic! – Music Video – MTV". MTV.
  28. ^ "RAMMSTEIN: 'Mein Land' Video Released". 11 November 2011.
  29. ^ "Maroon 5 – Daylight – Music Video – MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 23 February 2013.
  30. ^ "The Rolling Stones – Doom And Gloom – Music Video – MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014.
  31. ^ a b "Director Jonas Åkerlund on 'Haunted,' 'Superpower,' and Beyoncé's Many Virtues". 16 December 2013.
  32. ^ "Coldplay – Magic – Music Video – MTV". MTV. Archived from the original on 7 September 2014.
  33. ^ "Robin Thicke's new video: Plea to Paula Patton?".
  34. ^ "Chris Martin Wears Inflatable Body Suit in Coldplay's "True Love" Video". Pitchfork. 22 August 2014.
  35. ^ Wiseman, Andreas (18 November 2021). "Beatles Manager Movie Midas Man Hires New Director Mid-Shoot; Filmmaker Jonas Akerlund Issues Statement". Deadline Hollywood. Retrieved 25 November 2021.
  36. ^ "Beyoncé and Jay Z tour for TV special". Digital Spy. 8 September 2014.
  37. ^ "Awards Watch: Paul McCartney Takes Music Film Grammy, Nick Cave Doc a Double Winner at Sundance – MusicFilmWeb".

Further reading

  • Henry Keazor, Thorsten Wübbena: Video Thrills The Radio Star. Musikvideos: Geschichte, Themen, Analysen. Bielefeld, Germany, 2005, p. 117ss., p. 146ss., p. 448

External links

  • Jonas Åkerlund at IMDb
  • Jonas Åkerlund at the Swedish Film Database Edit this at Wikidata
  • Jonas Åkerlund at the MVDbase.com Archived 8 November 2012 at the Wayback Machine
  • CNN interview with Jonas Åkerlund
  • Jonas Åkerlund official web page
  • R.A.F. official web page
  • Edwards, Gavin. "Video Visionary Jonas Åkerlund Pushes the Limits". Wired. Retrieved 24 July 2012.
  • v
  • t
  • e
Works directed by Jonas Åkerlund
Feature films
Concert and
documentary films
Television
  • Lemonade (2016)
  • Clark (2022)
Awards for Jonas Åkerlund
  • v
  • t
  • e
  • v
  • t
  • e
  • v
  • t
  • e
  • Roo Aiken and Godley & Creme (1984)
  • Zbigniew Rybczyński (1985)
  • David Yardley (1986)
  • Colin Green (1987)
  • Richard Lowenstein (1988)
  • Jim Haygood (1989)
  • Jim Haygood (1990)
  • Robert Duffy (1991)
  • Mitchell Sinoway (1992)
  • Douglas Jines (1993)
  • Pat Sheffield (1994)
  • Eric Zumbrunnen (1995)
  • Scott Gray (1996)
  • Hank Corwin (1997)
  • Jonas Åkerlund (1998)
  • Haines Hall and Michael Sachs (1999)
  • Dylan Tichenor (2000)
  • Eric Zumbrunnen (2001)
  • Mikros & Duran (2002)
  • Olivier Gajan (2003)
  • Robert Duffy (2004)
  • Tim Royes (2005)
  • Ken Mowe (2006)
  • Ken Mowe (2007)
  • Aaron Stewart-Ahn and Jeff Buchanan (2008)
  • Jarrett Fijal (2009)
  • Jarrett Fijal (2010)
  • Art Jones (2011)
  • Alexander Hammer and Jeremiah Shuff (2012)
  • Jarrett Fijal (2013)
  • Ken Mowe (2014)
  • Beyoncé, Ed Burke and Jonathan Wing (2015)
  • Jeff Selis (2016)
  • Ryan Staake and Eric Degliomini (2017)
  • Taylor Ward (2018)
  • Billie Eilish (2019)
  • Alexandre Moors and Nuno Xico (2020)
  • Troy Charbonnet (2021)
  • v
  • t
  • e
Bathory
  • Quorthon
  • Frederick Melander
  • Jonas Åkerlund
  • Vvornth
  • Kothaar
  • The Animal
Studio albums
Compilation albums
Authority control databases Edit this at Wikidata
International
  • ISNI
  • VIAF
National
  • Spain
  • France
  • BnF data
  • Germany
  • Israel
  • United States
  • Korea
  • Netherlands
  • Poland
Artists
  • Grammy Awards
  • MusicBrainz
Other
  • IdRef