Madcon released their first single, "God Forgive Me", in 2000 for
Virgin Records, but their first commercial breakthrough came with the hit single "Barcelona" in 2002, which they issued with long-time collaborators
Paperboys on the "Bonnier Amigo" record label, a division of
Cosmos Music Group, headquartered in
Stockholm,
Sweden. In 2004, the duo released their first official album, ''It's All a Madcon'', through AA-Recordings/Bonnier Amigo label, for which they won a Norwegian Grammy and several other awards. In 2005, Madcon became a TV personality on the Nordic music channel "The Voice" while working on their music in the studio. The show "The Voice of Madcon", a behind-the-scenes look at the duo, was a great success for both Madcon and the network. In the autumn of 2007, Baqwa was invited to take part in the popular TV talent show
Skal vi danse?, the Norwegian version of
Strictly Come Dancing, eventually winning that year's series, the third season of the TV program. Their second album,
So Dark, The Con of Man, was released on December 3, 2007: in the United Kingdom, it reached number 137 on the album charts, and in Norway was certified gold in 3 hours and platinum in 3 days. The LP featured the soul singer
Noora Noor and their friends "Paperboys" on two songs. In 2007, the duo released an interpolation of the 1967 song "
Beggin'" by
The Four Seasons, earning the group several #1 chart positions in France, Portugal, Norway, and Russia and a global position of #2 on the European
Billboard Hot 100 chart. This version of the song reached also gold sales in the United States. In addition, they achieved 9× platinum in Norway and were No. 1 on the official Norwegian sales charts for 12 weeks, making "Beggin'" one of the biggest hits of all time in Norway. This cover of the song was created by
3Elementz (now
ELEMENT), who also produced the eponymous single of the album, "So Dark, The Con of Man". Madcon led the World Music Awards on November 10, 2008, and won the World's Best Selling Norwegian Artist Award. After several negotiations, their label Bonnier Amigo signed a licensing agreement with
Sony BMG for Central Europe, Great Britain, Australia, and New Zealand, with
Universal Republic in the U.S., with
Warner Music in Spain, and with
Just Music in South Africa. Madcon has also hosted the Norwegian version of ''
Don't Forget the Lyrics!, Kan du Teksten?'', on the Norwegian television channel "
TV 2". The duo's third album,
Inconvenient Truth, was released all over Europe in early-to-mid 2009 and was also produced by "ELEMENT"; the group also saw other major releases, including in the U.S., Japan, and Australia. Madcon performed their song "Glow" as the background of the "Eurovision 2010 Flashmob Dance", broadcast in the
Eurovision Song Contest 2010 interval act. The single became one of the biggest hits of all time in Norway, reaching more than 10× platinum status in Norway and the same certification in Germany; also this recording was produced by ELEMENT. They reached platinum status also with their 2010 hit single "
Freaky Like Me", featuring
Ameerah and produced by Dutch musician '''DreamRoc'a
, also known as Sha Arjang Shishegar''' or
TJ Oosterhuis; "Freaky Like Me" is the group's third biggest international hit. In 2011, the duo was awarded the International Band of the Year during the "ESKA Music Awards 2011" in
Poland. In 2012, Madcon was referred to as "moccha men" during the ceremony of
Spellemannsprisen, a Norwegian award for musicians; the comment was apparently made as an inoffensive joke, but was perceived as racist at some level. They wrote on Facebook the next day that the case had now been settled and closed. In 2012, Wolde-Mariam was a mentor on the Norwegian version of
The Voice, known as
The Voice: Norges beste stemme, a TV program also broadcast on TV 2. In 2015, Madcon released the song ''
Don't Worry'' featuring
Ray Dalton.
Films and television series featuring Madcon's interpolation of "Beggin'" Madcon's interpolation of the song "Beggin'" was also used in the movies
Step Up 3,
Street Dance 3D,
Just Go With It, and the theatrical trailer for
Bad Teacher. It was sung by Philip Phillips on
American Idol in 2012 and by Bill Downs and Max Milner in the battle rounds of
The Voice UK series 1. In 2021, Madcon appeared on the Norwegian
television series Exit during the 7th episode of the second season, portraying a musical duo invited to play at an open-air party. They are heard performing, among other songs, their interpolation of "Beggin'". ==Musical styles==