Anna Bergendahl

Anna Bergendahl entered the public eye as a Swedish pop vocalist after competing on the 2008 season of the Swedish Idol series, where she placed fifth. Born in Stockholm on December 11, 1991, she had already demonstrated strong audience appeal by the end of that year, with four of her live performances—“Release Me,” “Save Up All Your Tears,” “Bleeding Love,” and “Over the Rainbow”—appearing on the Swedish singles chart. In 2009 she secured a deal with Lionheart Records, setting the stage for further exposure.

Her profile expanded sharply in 2010 when she claimed victory at Melodifestivalen with the ballad “This Is My Life,” written by Kristian Lagerström and Bobby Ljunggren, the latter a longtime Melodifestivalen contributor with an extensive history of prior success. The track, which held the top position on the Swedish singles chart for four consecutive weeks, propelled her to Eurovision, where she represented Sweden and finished eleventh. One month after the contest she issued her debut album, Yours Sincerely, a set of English-language material issued through Universal Music that promptly reached number one on the Swedish albums chart.