# Markoolio

Marko Kristian "Markoolio" Lehtosalo (born 1 January 1975 in Lahti, Finland) is a Swedish-Finnish singer, musician, songwriter, actor, and comedian. His stage name Markoolio is a portmanteau of his first name Marko and the stage name of the American rapper Coolio.

## Biography

When Lehtosalo was six months old, his family migrated from Finland to Sweden where he grew up completing primary and secondary school in the small Stockholm suburb of Orminge. Following the completion of his compulsory military service as a coastal ranger sniper in Ekenäs, Finland, he returned to Sweden. There, he was allegedly discovered by producers when rapping on a commuter train in Stockholm; however, this story has been revealed to be a fabrication.
Markoolio is known in particular for his humorous songs dealing with partying, drinking, and girls such as "Sommar och sol" ("Summer and sun"), "Vi drar till fjällen" ("We're headin' for the mountains") and "Sola och bada i Piña Colada" ("Sunbathing and swimming in Piña Colada"); his songs mocking contemporary life and phenomena such as "Åka Pendeltåg" ("Riding the commuter train") and "Värsta schlagern" ("The goddam' Schlager [song]"); and songs relating to his native Finland such as "Drömmen om Finland" (The dream of Finland) and "Jag orkar inte mer" (I can't take it anymore).
Markoolio has released nine studio albums, hosted and participated in numerous television and radio programs, and won several prizes and awards such as Male Artist of the Year at the Swedish Nickelodeon Kids Choice Awards 2007. He is also the owner of a nightclub and the board member of British company Netgames Holdings which he reportedly owns 3.3 percent of. Markoolio was one of the hosts for Talang on TV4 in 2009. He also played the titular character of Doktor Mugg and starred as Tyke Mörbult in Hem till Midgård. Markoolio was formerly a contestant on Let's Dance 2013, a contest he subsequently won, dancing with Cecilia Ehrling.
On 19 November 2013, Markoolio tried to disrupt the sleep of the Portugal national football team ahead of the second leg of their World Cup play-off with Sweden. He started a "private concert" at 7:15 a.m. in front of the Portuguese team's hotel.

## Discography
### Albums

| Year | Album Information | Peak position SWE | IFPI Certification |
| 1998 | Sticker hårt | 4 | Platinum |
| 1999 | Dikter från ett hjärta | 3 | 3× Platinum |
| 2001 | Tjock och lycklig | 1 | 2× Platinum |
| 2003 | I skuggan av mig själv | 1 | Platinum |
| 2004 | Suomessa Syntynyt | — | |
| 2004 | Bäst Off | 9 | Gold |
| 2007 | Värsta plattan | 2 | Platinum |
| 2008 | Jag är konst | 30 | |
| 2012 | Jag är Markoolio | 3 | |

### Singles

| Year | Single | Chart peak | Album | Certification |
| Year | Single | Sweden | Album | Certification |
| 1998 | "Sommar och sol" | 2 | Sticker hårt | |
| 1998 | "Drömmen om Finland" | 21 | Sticker hårt | |
| 1999 | "Vi drar till fjällen" | 1 | Sticker hårt | Gold |
| 1999 | "Åka pendeltåg" | 15 | Sticker hårt | |
| 1999 | "Sola och bada i Piña Colada" | 12 | Dikter från ett hjärta | Gold |
| 1999 | "Millennium 2" | 1 | Dikter från ett hjärta | 3× Platinum |
| 2000 | "Gör det igen" | 2 | Dikter från ett hjärta | Platinum |
| 2000 | "Mera mål!" (feat. Arne Hegerfors) | 1 | Dikter från ett hjärta | 3× Platinum |
| 2001 | "Rocka på" (with The Boppers) | 1 | Tjock och lycklig | 2× Platinum |
| 2002 | "Vi ska vinna!" (feat. Excellence) | 3 | Tjock och lycklig | 2× Platinum |
| 2002 | "Jag orkar inte mer!" | 2 | Tjock och lycklig | Gold |
| 2003 | "Vilse i skogen" | 1 | I skuggan av mig själv | 6× Platinum |
| 2004 | "In med bollen" | 1 | Bäst off | Platinum |
| 2007 | "Värsta schlagern" (with Linda Bengtzing) | 1 | Värsta plattan | 2× Platinum |
| 2007 | "Ingen sommar utan reggae" | 1 | Värsta plattan | 2× Platinum |
| 2007 | "Emma, Emma" (with Tilde Fröling) | 17 | Värsta plattan | |
| 2007 | "Idollåten" | 24 | Värsta plattan | |
| 2008 | "Sverige, det bästa på vår jord" | 1 | Jag är konst | |
| 2008 | "The Markoolio Anthem" | 4 | Jag är konst | |
| 2009 | "Kärlekssång från mig" | 32 | Jag är konst | |
| 2012 | "Borta bra men hemma bäst" | — | Jag är Markoolio | |
| 2012 | "En vecka i Phuket" | — | Jag är Markoolio | |
| 2014 | "Fredagslåten" | — | Non-album singles | 2× Platinum |
| 2017 | "Bastukungen" | — | Non-album singles | Platinum |
| 2017 | "Tomtar på loftet" | — | Non-album singles | |
| 2017 | "Ge oss mål" | — | Non-album singles | |
| 2019 | "Modell" | — | Non-album singles | |
| 2022 | "Kassanova" (with Young Earth Sauce) | 59 | Non-album singles | |
| 2023 | "Vatten & eld" | 7 | Non-album singles | |