Ana Johnsson

Ana Johnsson made her foray into the limelight on the first season of the Swedish edition of Popstars, where she performed in the chart-topping girl group Excellence. She left the group in 2002 in order to pursue a solo career, exchanging the group's syrupy-sweet Europop for gritty Avril Lavigne-style teen pop. Johnsson's first single, "The Way I Am," peaked at number 17 on the Swedish charts in 2003, and her debut album, Cuz I Can, came out one year later. Neither the album nor the single sold particularly well; nonetheless, an executive at Columbia Tristar contacted Johnsson...