In April 2024, the former lead vocalist of the famed heavy metal band Skid Row uploaded a cover of “I Will Always Love You” on YouTube. It surprised the internet, garnering 1.1 million views in just two months!
Erik Grönwall’s most recent album with Skid Row has the songs “Not Dead Yet” and “World on Fire.” He would appear to be the least probable vocalist to perform well on Whitney Houston’s cover. But his natural opposition to the pop world is immensely attractive in its ability to adapt, especially following Erik’s soul-stirring falsettos and captivating, innocent choruses.
After a soft beginning that demonstrates Erik’s smooth voice can perfectly smooth over Whitney’s crazy vocal runs while adding shine to their tones, Erik relinquishes tight control of the song, ending the second chorus with a rock star’s signature falsetto “Yeahh!” and paving the way for a blissful sax solo.
In the song’s last chorus, electric guitars flood Erik’s clean voice with weird harmonics until he achieves Whitney Houston’s famed high notes without using falsetto, giving him the pure, strong chest voice of a traditional rock singer.
Erik Grönwall is a rock and metal vocalist from Stockholm. He rose to prominence in his own country after winning the Swedish television competition “Idol” in 2009. He was 36 when his song went viral. Erik’s debut single, “Higher,” and his first album, also titled “Higher,” both hit #1 in Sweden as a result of the exposure he received from Pop Idol. “Higher” even made it to No. 2 in the year-end rankings.
Erik then took over as lead singer of the Swedish extreme rock/heavy metal band H.E.A.T., succeeding Kenny Leckremo, the band’s original singer. After spending 10 years with the band and recording four studio albums, he left in 2021 due to his diagnosis of acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in March of that year.
Erik had a brief period on Skid Row between 2022 and 2024 following a lengthy and difficult bone marrow transplant. He sang on the band’s first album in 16 years, titled “The Gang’s All Here.” Erik had to give up traveling with a well-known rock band because he didn’t want to stress his immune system while it was still recovering.
Erik stated in a fiery interview with Blabbermouth, “I just wanna say, before the media starts with all this f*****g clickbait s**t, let me be clear.” Pay close attention: I am not unwell. I’m not particularly opposed to touring. I enjoy traveling. I simply need to level things out. There have also been other occasions when we attempted, as a band, to find the proper combination. However, the day had come to an end, and I realized it was best for me to stand aside.
Erik was able to rely on YouTube for a job. Erik has 117k followers for vlogs, covers, and observations. Many of his vocal versions have gone viral, including “I Will Always Love You,” “Without You” by Mariah Carey, and “Livin’ On A Prayer” by Bon Jovi.