Clara Mae

Swedish pop vocalist Clara Mae, who once belonged to Ace of Base and penned tracks for EDM figures such as David Guetta and Tiësto, launched her independent career with a series of solo releases during the mid-2010s. Her inaugural full-length project, Drunk on Emotions, surfaced in 2020 and paired polished electronic production with the fresh, emotive quality of her voice.

Clara Mae Hagman entered the world in Gävle in 1991 and cultivated a passion for song early on, eventually taking part in nationwide vocal contests while still a teenager. Ace of Base, the storied Swedish pop ensemble, recruited her along with fellow singer Julia Williamson in 2009 to fill the roles vacated by original members Jenny and Linn Berggren. Hagman contributed to the group’s lone album during her tenure, 2010’s The Golden Ratio, yet the affiliation proved fleeting; communication from the founding members ceased without explanation, leaving both newcomers sidelined as the reconstituted band quietly dissolved.

Hagman promptly turned to independent work, adopting the professional name Clara Mae in 2014 and rolling out singles at a measured pace. That same year brought her first release, “Changing Faces,” with “Avalon” appearing in 2015. Around the same period she secured songwriting placements alongside David Guetta and Tiësto, and she reached the Billboard dance/electronic Top 30 as a featured artist on KREAM’s “Taped Up Hearts” in 2016. The introspective, piano-accented electronic cut “Strip” arrived in 2017, setting the stage for her introductory EP, Sorry for Writing All the Songs About You, the following year.

Early 2020 saw Clara Mae return to the same Billboard Hot Dance/Electronic Songs Top 30 with “More Than OK,” a joint effort involving R3hab and Frank Walker. Her debut album, Drunk on Emotions, emerged on Big Beat Records that August. A streamlined edition titled Drunk on Emotions (Stripped) followed before the year concluded.