Lili & Susie

Lili & Susie (known as Lili & Sussie prior to 1990) are a Swedish pop duo that scored a flurry of hits during the late '80s and early '90s, beginning in 1987 with the chart-topping breakout smash "Oh Mama." Comprised of sisters Lili Päivärinta (born Inga-Lill Päivärinta on January 5, 1966) and Susie Päivärinta (born Susanne Päivärinta on May 10, 1964) from the Södermalm district of Stockholm, Sweden, Lili & Susie made their eponymous album debut in 1985 on EMI. While the Swedish-language album wasn't especially successful, it did spawn numerous singles and paved the way for the duo's breakout success in 1987 with "Oh Mama." The biggest hit of Lili & Susie's career, "Oh Mama" topped the Swedish singles chart and spent six weeks in the Top Five. The accompanying full-length album, Dance Romance (1987), was a Top Ten hit. In 1988 Lili & Susie continued to hit the upper reaches of the Swedish charts, releasing the Top Ten album Anytime and the Top Ten hit single "We Were Only Dancing"; moreover, they reached the Top 20 that year with a few other singles ("Bara Du Och Jag," "Enkel Resa," "Jag Drömmer On En Jul Hemma").
At the height of their popularity, Lili & Susie competed in the 1989 Melodifestivalen and ended up tying for fifth place with their song "Okey Okey." Lili & Susie had another big year in 1990, when their fourth album, The Sisters, spawned the Top Five hit "What's the Colour of Love" and the Top Ten hit "Boyfriend." Fifth album No Sugar Added (1993) signaled a sharp downturn in the sisters' commercial fortunes, however, as none of its singles reached the Top Ten and the album itself failed to reach the Top 40. Lili & Susie consequently dissolved their partnership and released the best-of compilation The Collection 85-93 (1994) as their swan song. The sisters reunited from time to time in subsequent years, but they had little success. In addition, they released a solo album each: Lili's Djurens Ö (2001) and Sussie's In the Sun (2005). Lili & Susie hit the singles chart in 2009 for the first time in over a decade and a half with their Top Ten comeback hit "Show Me Heaven." The comeback single was accompanied by the release of a new greatest-hits collection, Nu Och Då: Det Bästa med Lili & Susie (2009). ~ Jason Birchmeier