Snoh Aalegra, born in Sweden to Iranian parents, characterizes her sound as cinematic soul. With an expressive yet restrained style rooted in modern R&B, she first gained traction via the 2017 album Feels and the follow-up Ugh, Those Feels Again, released in 2019 and anchored by the chart-topping Adult R&B Songs single “I Want You Around.” Her next project, TEMPORARY HIGHS IN THE VIOLET SKIES, arrived in 2021 and marked her strongest commercial showing to date while collecting two Grammy nominations. She later issued the 2021 standalone single “DO 4 LOVE,” which earned its own Grammy nod and received a remix from Black Coffee two years afterward.
Raised in Uppsala and now based in Los Angeles, Aalegra secured early backing from producer No I.D., who signed her to ARTium Recordings. In 2014 she contributed to Common’s ARTium/Def Jam release Nobody’s Smiling, then issued her own debut EP, There Will Be Sunshine, on Epic. Common repaid the collaboration on the standout track “Bad Things.” Early the next year she dropped the RZA-produced “Emotional” and joined Vince Staples on “Jump Off the Roof.” The 2016 mini-album Don’t Explain heightened expectations for Feels, which surfaced in October 2017 and included guest spots from Staples, Vic Mensa, and Logic.
Several follow-up singles, among them the Adult R&B Songs number one ballad “I Want You Around,” paved the way for Ugh, Those Feels Again. Issued in August 2019 through Kobalt’s AWAL imprint, the album debuted at number 73 on the Billboard 200 and number 39 on the R&B/Hip-Hop chart. That success brought two Grammis nominations in Sweden for Artist of the Year and Album of the Year. Throughout 2020 Aalegra appeared on recordings by dvsn, Alicia Keys, and Giveon.
Remaining with ARTium, she entered a joint venture with Roc Nation that began with the 2021 single “Dying 4 Your Love.” TEMPORARY HIGHS IN THE VIOLET SKIES followed that July, featuring multiple appearances by Tyler, The Creator and one by James Fauntleroy. The set opened at number 45 on the Swedish albums chart, reached number 24 on the Billboard 200 and number 16 on the R&B/hip-hop tally in the United States, and earned a Grammy nomination for Best R&B Album; “Lost You,” which peaked at number six on Adult R&B Songs, was nominated for Best R&B Performance. In Sweden the album also captured the Grammis for Soul/R&B of the Year. Aalegra continued her momentum with “DO 4 LOVE,” a luminous, heartfelt reimagining of Bobby Caldwell’s “What You Won’t Do for Love.” The track received a Best Traditional R&B Performance nomination at the 65th Annual Grammy Awards, and Black Coffee delivered an official remix in 2023.
