In April 2024, the ex-frontman of legendary heavy metal band, Skid Row, posted a viral cover of “I Will Always Love You” on YouTube — shocking the internet entirely whilst racking up 1.1M views in just a couple of months!
Erik Grönwall, whose recent album with Skid Row includes the tracks “Not Dead Yet” and “World on Fire,” might seem the most unlikely singer to conquer the Whitney Houston cover in question. But his innate antithesis to the pop scene is wildly enchanting in its malleability, especially after Erik’s soul-stirring falsettos and fascinating, angelic choruses.
After a tender start proves Erik’s seamless voice can traverse Whitney’s insane vocal runs impeccably, whilst buffing luster into their tones, Erik loosens the reins on his tight control of the song, finishing the second chorus with a rock star’s trademark falsetto “Yeahh!” and making way for a blissful saxophone solo.
Electric guitars swarm the song’s final chorus, plumping Erik’s crystal-clear voice with supernatural harmonies before Erik hits Whitney Houston’s iconic high notes without a shred of falsetto — the pure, powerful chest voice of a classic rock vocalist.
Stockholm-born rock and metal singer Erik Grönwall, aged 36 at the time of his viral cover, shot to fame in his native country in 2009 after winning the Swedish TV show “Idol.” Off the back of his Pop Idol hype, Erik’s debut single, “Higher” and debut, eponymous album both peaked at #1 in the Swedish charts, with “Higher” immortalizing itself in the #2 position of the Year-end charts.
One year later, Erik joined Swedish hard rock / heavy metal band H.E.A.T. as their lead frontman, replacing original vocalist Kenny Leckremo and recording four studio albums with the band over a ten-year run, until Erik’s departure in 2021, after being diagnosed with acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL) in March that year.
After a bone marrow transplant and long-winded recovery process, Erik joined Skid Row for a short stint between 2022-24, recording vocals for the band’s first album in 16 years: “The Gang’s All Here.” Unfortunately, Erik couldn’t risk his recovering immune system being battered by the pressures of touring with a world-class rock band, so he decided to call it quits.
In a powerful statement with Blabbermouth, Erik revealed: “I just wanna say, before the media starts with all this f*****g clickbait s**t, let me be perfectly clear. Listen carefully: I am not sick. And it’s not like I don’t wanna tour. I love being on the road. I just need a better balance. And, of course, we have tried to find the right balance together as a band multiple times. But at the end of the day, I realized that it was better for me to just step aside.”
Thankfully, Erik had a YouTube career to fall back on. Posting covers, vlogs and insights to his audience of 117k subscribers, numerous of Erik’s vocal covers have gone viral, including “I Will Always Love You,” “Without You” by Mariah Carey and “Livin’ On A Prayer” by Bon Jovi.