| Vincent Pontare | |
| Alias: | Vargas |
| Background: | solo_singer |
| Birth Name: | Fred Vincent Pontare |
| Birth Date: | 1980 5, df=yes |
| Origin: | Solna, Sweden |
| Years Active: | 2006–present |
| Label: | Universal |
Fred Vincent Pontare (born 13 May 1980) is a Swedish songwriter, producer, and singer.[1] He is also known by the mononym Vincent. He regularly collaborates with Salem Al Fakir as songwriting, producer, and duo Vargas & Lagola.[2] Together, they have worked with many pre-eminent artists, including: Avicii, Axwell Ʌ Ingrosso, Madonna, Seinabo Sey and Lady Gaga. In addition to their songwriting and production work, they release alternative pop music as Vargas & Lagola.[3]
In August 2017, they were featured artists on Avicii's "Friend of Mine" from EP Avīci (01) which they co-wrote.[4]
Vincent Pontare started his musical career a solo artist under the mononym Vincent releasing his debut single "Paradise" in 2006 and the albums Lucky Thirteen (2007) and Godspeed (2011). Other hits as Vincent included "Don't Hate on Me", "Miss Blue" and "Baby Hurricane". In 2008 Pontare won the STIM Platinum guitar prize.[5] His career in writing songs for other artists began to gain momentum in 2012 when he co-wrote Swedish House Mafia’s "Save The World" and "Reload" performed by Sebastian Ingrosso & Tommy Trash.
Among the first co-writes with Salem Al Fakir are Avicii’s 2013 Billboard Hot 100 single "Hey Brother" and "Younger" by Seinabo Sey.[6] On Katy Perry's 2013 album Prism he co-wrote and produced "Love Me" with Bloodshy, Magnus Lidehäll and Camela Leierth.[7]
At the 2014 Swedish Grammy Awards Vincent Pontare, Salem Al Fakir and Magnus Lidehäll were awarded Composer of the Year after writing for Veronica Maggio’s album Handen i fickan fast jag bryr mig and the Petter album Början på allt, and work with artists like Galantis.[8] In 2014 he wrote numerous songs on Mapei’s album Hey Hey and Avicii’s "The Days" and "Divine Sorrow" (with Wyclef Jean).[9] Pontare followed up with another successful year in 2015 co-writing most songs on Seinabo Sey’s highly acclaimed debut album Pretend and songs for Madonna’s Rebel Heart album.[10] [11] He also collaborated on David Guetta's single "Bang My Head" with Sia and Fetty Wap.
Vargas & Lagola have co-written some of the biggest hits by Axwell Ʌ Ingrosso – "More Than You Know", "Sun Is Shining", "Dreamer" and more - taken from their 2017 album More Than You Know.[12] The duo have also contributed to two songs on Swedish rock band Ghost's Billboard 200-charting and Grammy Award-nominated album Prequelle, including the album's second single "Dance Macabre" which topped Billboard's Mainstream Rock Chart.[13] [14] [15]
In 2018, the same moment as Vargas & Lagola blazed onto the alternative pop scene with the hit single "Roads", they shared the no.1 spot as Sweden's most streamed songwriters for songs including Avicii – "Without You" (featuring Sandro Cavazza) and "Waiting For Love".[16] After working closely with Avicii for several years, Al Fakir and Pontare played a key role in finishing up the 2019 posthumous Avicii album TIM and are featured artists on three of the album songs.[17] On 5 December 2019, Vargas & Lagola performed at Avicii's Tribute Concert in Stockholm.[18]
Vargas & Lagola's debut album The Butterfly Effect was released in January 2020.[19]
Vincent Pontare is the son of the renowned Swedish musician Roger Pontare (born Roger Johansson). Vincent has a brother called Viktor Pontare.
Vincent Pontare is married to Agnes, whom he has been dating since 2009.
| Year | Album | Peak position (SWE) | Certification | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| width=30 | 2007 | Lucky Thirteen
| width=30 | |||
| width=30 | 2011 | Godspeed
| width=30 |
| Year | Single | Peak position | Album | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| SWE [20] | FIN | GER | SWI | |||
| 2006 | "Paradise" | 23 | – | Lucky Thirteen | ||
| 2007 | "Don't Hate on Me" | 7 | ||||
| 2008 | "Miss Blue" | 6 | 19 | 39 | 23 | |
| "This Is for You" | 74 | – | Non album release | |||
| 2010 | "Baby Hurricane" | Godspeed | ||||
| 2011 | "The Moment I Met You" | |||||
| "Put Your Money Where Your Money Is" | ||||||
| Year | Artist | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2005 | Agnes | "I Believe" | Agnes |
| 2009 | Matt Dusk | "Don't Hate on Me" | Good News |
| 2011 | Agnes | "Don't Go Breaking My Heart" | |
| 2012 | Swedish House Mafia | "Save The World" | Until Now |
| Sebastian Ingrosso & Tommy Trash | "Reload" | ||
| Dada Life | "Kick Out the Epic Motherfucker" | The Rules of Dada | |
| Nause | "Hungry Hearts" | ||
| Agnes | "All I Want Is You" | Veritas | |
| "Human Touch" | |||
| "Got Me Good" | |||
| "Nothing Else Matters" | |||
| 2013 | Katy Perry | "Love Me" | Prism |
| Avicii | "You Make Me" | True | |
| "Hey Brother" | |||
| 2014 | John Martin | "Anywhere For You" | |
| Galantis | "Smile" | Galantis (EP) | |
| "You" | |||
| "Help" | |||
| Dada Life | "Born To Rage" | rowspan="2" | |
| "One Smile" | |||
| Mapei | "Blame It On Me" | Hey Hey | |
| "Believe" | |||
| "What's Innit 4 Me" | |||
| Wyclef Jean | "Divine Sorrow" | ||
| Avicii | "The Days" | The Days/Nights | |
| David Guetta | "Bang My Head" | Listen | |
| 2015 | Madonna | "HeartBreakCity" | Rebel Heart |
| "Wash All Over Me" | |||
| "Messiah" | |||
| "Rebel Heart" | |||
| Sharks | "The Rebel" | ||
| Galantis | "Gold Dust" | Pharmacy | |
| "Dancin' To The Sound Of A Broken Heart" | |||
| "Kill Em' With The Love" | |||
| "Call If You Need Me" | |||
| "You" | |||
| Avicii | "Waiting For Love" | Stories | |
| Seinabo Sey | "Younger" | Pretend | |
| "Poetic" | |||
| "Hard Time" | |||
| "Sorry" | |||
| "Ruin" | |||
| "Pistols At Dawn" | |||
| 2016 | MishCatt | "Another Dimension" | Highlighter |
| Miike Snow | "Heart Is Full" | iii | |
| 2017 | Johnossi | "On A Roll" | Blood Jungle |
| Avicii | "Friend of Mine" | Avīci (01) | |
| "Without You" | |||
| Toby Radall | "Hold You Down" | ONE. | |
| Axwell Ʌ Ingrosso | "More Than You Know" | More Than You Know | |
| "Something New" | |||
| "This Time" | |||
| "Renegade" | |||
| "Sun Is Shining" | |||
| "On My Way" | |||
| "Dreamer" | |||
| Axwell | "Barricade" | ||
| 2018 | Seinabo Sey | "I Love You" | I'm a Dream |
| "Never Get Used To" | |||
| "I Owe You Nothing" | |||
| "Breathe" | |||
| "Good In You" | |||
| Ghost | "Dance Macabre" | Prequelle | |
| "Life Eternal" | |||
| MagnusTheMagnus | "It Don't Impress Me" | rowspan="2" | |
| "Calling" | |||
| David Guetta | "Light Headed" | 7 | |
| RØMANS | "Glitter & Gold" | ||
| Salvatore Ganacci | "Kill A Soundboy" | ||
| 2019 | Gryffin | "You Remind Me" | Gravity |
| Frank Walker & Astrid S | "Only When It Rains" | ||
| PRETTYMUCH | "Eyes Off You" | Phases - EP | |
| Avicii | "Peace Of Mind" | TIM | |
| "Tough Love" | |||
| "Excuse Me Mr Sir" | |||
| Otto Knows | "About You" | ||
| Ghost | "Kiss The Go-Goat" | Seven Inches of Satanic Panic | |
| "Mary On A Cross" | |||
| Agnes | "Intro" | Nothing Can Compare | |
| "I Trance" | |||
| "Not Dangerous" | |||
| "Interlude (What Is Wrong)" | |||
| "Limelight" | |||
| "Interlude (I Like To Sing)" | |||
| "Nothing Can Compare" | |||
| Mapei | "Ether" | Sensory Overload | |
| 2020 | Galantis | "Steel" | Church |
| "Unless It Hurts" | |||
| "Never Felt A Love Like This" | |||
| Agnes | "Goodlife" | ||
| Year | Artist | Title | Album |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | Danny | "If Only You" | Heart Beats |
| 2008 | Amanda Jenssen | "Do You Love Me?" | Killing My Darlings |
| 2010 | Andreas Grega | "Dom hade mycket att säga" | En sak i taget |
| 2013 | Veronica Maggio | "Sergels torg" | Handen i fickan fast jag bryr mig |
| "Jag lovar" | |||
| "Hela huset" | |||
| "Va kvar" | |||
| "Låtsas som det regnar" | |||
| "Hädanefter" | |||
| "Dallas" | |||
| "Bas gillar hörn" | |||
| "I min bil" | |||
| Petter | "Mighty" | Början på allt | |
| "Början på allt" | |||
| "April" | |||
| "Håll om mig" | |||
| "Tills döden skiljer oss åt" | |||
| "King" | |||
| "Maj" | |||
| "Arbete" | |||
| "Alla vet" | |||
| "Fristad" | |||
| "Juni" | |||
| "Sitter på en dröm" | |||
| "Minnen del II" | |||
| "Släpp mig fri" | |||
| Rasmus Seebach | "I min t-shirt" | Ingen kan love dig i morgen | |
| 2016 | Veronica Maggio | "Den första är alltid gratis" | Den första är alltid gratis |
| "Vi mot världen" | |||
| "Pang pang" | |||
| 2018 | Petter | "Kliv på!" | Lev nu |
| "Lev nu dö sen" |
| Year | Awards | Category | Nomination | Outcome | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2008 | Swedish Grammy Awards | Best Newcomer | Himself | [21] | |
| Producer of the Year | Himself | ||||
| Best Dance/Hiphop/Soul | Himself | ||||
| 2014 | Swedish Grammy Awards | Composer of the Year | Himself (with Salem Al Fakir & Magnus Lidehäll) | [22] | |
| The Swedish MPA Awards | International Success of the Year | Himself (with Salem Al Fakir & Magnus Lidehäll) | [23] | ||
| 2015 | Swedish Grammy Awards | Composer of the Year | Himself (with Salem Al Fakir & Magnus Lidehäll) | [24] | |
| The Swedish MPA Awards | International Success of the Year | Himself (with Salem Al Fakir) | [25] | ||
| 2016 | Swedish Grammy Awards | Composer of the Year | Himself (with Salem Al Fakir, Magnus Lidehäll & Seinabo Sey) | [26] | |
| 2018 | Swedish Grammy Awards | Composer of the Year | Vargas & Lagola | [27] | |
| The Swedish MPA Awards (together with STIM) | Most Played Song 2017 | Axwell Ʌ Ingrosso – "More Than You Know" | [28] | ||
| The Swedish MPA Awards | Song of the Year | Avicii - "Without You" (feat. Sandro Cavazza) | [29] | ||
| 2019 | The Swedish MPA Awards (together with STIM) | Most Played Song 2018 | Avicii - "Without You" (feat. Sandro Cavazza) | [30] | |
| 2020 | Swedish Grammy Awards | Producer of the Year | Himself Tim Bergling, Salem Al Fakir, Albin Nedler, Kristoffer Fogelmark, Carl Falk, Lucas von Bahder, Marcus Thunberg Wessel | [31] | |
| Swedish Grammy Awards | Composer of the Year | [32] | |||