Jonas Åkerlund

Jonas Åkerlund
Born	Hans Uno Jonas Åkerlund (1965-11-10) 10 November 1965 Bromma, Stockholm, Sweden
Occupation	Film director, music video director, drummer
Years active	1983–present

Hans Uno Jonas Åkerlund (Swedish pronunciation: [hɑːns ʉ̟ːnʊ juːnas oːkɛɭɵnd], born 10 November 1965) is a Swedish director and drummer. He is best known for directing music videos, which are often mock forms of movie trailers and short films. His video for Madonna's song "Ray of Light" won a Grammy Award for Best Music Video, Short Form, and a record seven awards at 1998 MTV Video Music Awards, including the Video of the Year.

Career

Åkerlund was a member of the Swedish black metal band Bathory from 1983 to 1984. He also directed Candlemass' first video "Bewitched". He first found fame as the main video director for Roxette. In 1997, he directed the acclaimed 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 for the song "Ray of Light", and has since worked with acts such as Metallica, Christina Aguilera, U2, Blink-182, P!nk, Rammstein, Britney Spears, and Lady Gaga. He 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 her documentary film I'm Going to Tell You a Secret and her concert special The Confessions Tour: Live from London. Among his more recent works were 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!".

Videography

1988

"Bewitched" for Candlemass

1989

"Whats 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

"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

"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

"Try" (15-minute alternate version to "Try, Try, Try")

"Beautiful Day" (version 1: airport) for U2

"Black Jesus" for Everlast

"Still" (version 2: white hair) for Macy Gray

2001

"Gets Me Through" for Ozzy Osbourne

"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

"Help Me" for Nick Carter

"Fuel For Hatred" for Satyricon

"Me Julie" for Ali G and Shaggy

"If I Could Fall In Love" for Lenny Kravitz

"Beautiful" for Christina Aguilera

2003

"Beautiful Day" (version 2: Eze) for U2

"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

"Tits On The Radio" for Scissor Sisters (internet video only)

2005

"Rain Fall Down" for The Rolling Stones

2006

"Jump" for Madonna

"One Wish" for Roxette

"Mann gegen Mann" for Rammstein

"Country Girl" for Primal Scream

2007

"Wake Up Call" for Maroon 5

"Good God" for Anouk

"Same Mistake" for James Blunt

"Watch Us Work It" for Devo

2008

"No. 5" for Hollywood Undead

"Undead" for Hollywood Undead

"Sober" for Pink

2009

"Paparazzi" for Lady Gaga

"When Love Takes Over" for David Guetta feat. Kelly Rowland

"We Are Golden" for Mika

"Celebration" for Madonna

"Pussy" for Rammstein

"Fresh Out the Oven" for Jennifer Lopez and Pitbull

"Ich tu dir weh" for Rammstein

(Won the 2011 Echo for best video national)

2010

"Telephone" for Lady Gaga feat. Beyoncé

"Hot-N-Fun" for N*E*R*D feat. Nelly Furtado

"Let Me Hear You Scream" for Ozzy Osbourne

"Who's That Chick?" for David Guetta feat. Rihanna (Day Version)

"Who's That Chick?" for David Guetta feat. Rihanna (Night Version)

2011

"Hold It Against Me" for Britney Spears

"Hear Me Now" for Hollywood Undead

"Moves Like Jagger" for Maroon 5 feat. Christina Aguilera

"Girl Panic!" for Duran Duran

"Mein Land" for Rammstein

2012

"Daylight" for Maroon 5

"Doom And Gloom" for The Rolling Stones

2013

"Haunted" for Beyoncé

"Superpower" for Beyoncé feat. Frank Ocean

2014

"Magic" for Coldplay

"Get Her Back" for Robin Thicke

"True Love" for Coldplay

On the Run Tour: Beyoncé and Jay Z for Beyoncé and Jay-Z

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

Filmography

• Try (2000)
• Spun (2002)
• Madonna: I'm Going to Tell You a Secret (2005)
• Madonna: Confessions Tour - Live from London (2006)
• Madonna: The Confessions Tour (2007)
• Horsemen (2009)
• Small Apartments (2012)
• Paul McCartney's Live Kisses (2012)
• On the Run Tour: Beyoncé and Jay Z (2014)
• The 1989 World Tour Live (2015)

Books

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

Awards

• 2014 – Grammy – Best Music Film: Paul McCartney’s "Live Kisses"
• 2011 – Echo Awards – Best National Video: Rammstein "Ich tu dir weh"
• 2010 – MVPA Awards – Best Collaboration: Lady Gaga feat Beyoncé "Telephone"
• 2009 – MVPA Awards – Lady Gaga "Paparazzi"
• 2008 – MVPA Awards – James Blunt "Same Mistake"
• 2008 – Grammy – Best Long Form Music Video: Madonna NBC Special "The Confessions Tour"
• 2008 – Silver Addy – Dell "Work it Out"
• 2007 – MVPA Hall of Fame – Prodigy "Smack My Bitch Up"
• 2004 – MVPA Awards – Robbie Williams "Come Undone"
• 1999 – Grammy – Best Short Form Music Video: Madonna "Ray of Light"
• 1998 – MTV Video Music Award – Madonna "Ray of Light" (five awards including Video of the Year and Best Female Video)
• 1998 – MTV Video Music Award – Best Dance Video: The Prodigy "Smack My Bitch Up"

External links

• Jonas Åkerlund at the Internet Movie Database
• Jonas Åkerlund at the Swedish Film Database
• Jonas Åkerlund at the MVDbase.com
• CNN interview with Jonas Åkerlund
• Jonas Åkerlund official web page
• R.A.F. official web page