Tove Lo

Swedish pop artist Tove Lo caught the world's attention with the 2013 single "Habits (Stay High)", a breakup diary as musically seductive as it was socially incorrect. Born Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson in Stockholm, she embraced music from an early age, writing her first songs at ten and gravitating to poetry and literature in grade school. As a teenager she entered the music school Rytmus Musikergymnasiet; a friend and classmate there was Caroline Hjelt, later of the dup Icona Pop. After graduation she pursued her career in earnest, initially joining Tremblebee, a "math rock" band with an otherwise male lineup. After their demise she began making demos in her Stockholm home studio; her friendship with the now-successful Icona Pop led her to make industry connections and ultimately to move to Los Angeles, where she worked with a number of producers. During 2012-13 she released her first single "Love Ballad" followed by the debut of "Habits," which earned some underground attention. Meanwhile she racked up a number of songwriting credits, notably two cowrites on Icona Pop's hit debut. During 2014 she signed a major-label deal with Island/PolyGram, and that year saw the Euopean release of the EP Truth Serum, including "Habits" which went Top 20 in Sweden. Her formal debut, the album Queen of the Clouds came out later that year, once again including "Habits" which now became an international hit, peaking at Number Three in the U.S. Combining sleek EDM production with classic pop roots, the confessionaly-themed album was divided into three sections: "The Sex," "The Love" and "The Pain." With further hits in "Talking Body" and "Timebomb" the album established Lo as a star; even a medical break in January 2015 to remove cysts from her vocal cords didn't stop her momentum. For the next year she'd be virtually impossible to miss, as she collaborated with major artists ranging from Elle Goulding (co-writing three songs including the Grammy-nominated "Love Me Like You Do") to Hilary Duff (co-writing the single "Sparks") to Coldplay (singing on the album track "Fun"). She also cowrote and sang on Nick Jonas' spring 2016 hit, "Close." Her next hit "Cool Girl" appeared in August 2016 as the teaser for her album Lady Wood. The song evinced Lo's desire to go in a darker techno direction, and showed that her flair for provocative lyrics was intact.