Svala

Born into Iceland's music industry, Svala grew up with her father Bo Halldorsson, a prominent singer and producer whose local renown matches that of the country's president. As a youngster she performed commercial jingles to earn spending money and made her first album appearance at age seven, contributing to one of his Christmas releases. Two years afterward she recorded a holiday duet with him on another album, and that track endures as one of Iceland's most popular seasonal songs. Her cited influences range from Patsy Cline, Fleetwood Mac, the Carpenters, Ella Fitzgerald, Lionel Ritchie, and Madonna to R&B figures including Mary J. Blige, Joe, and Sisqo. She first performed with the Icelandic electronic band Scope, which issued an album available only in Iceland during the mid-'90s and served as opening act for the Prodigy and Saint Etienne; the group's cover of Jean Carne's "Was That All It Was?" became a domestic hit. She also recorded with the Motown cover band Bubbleflies. Mr. Mig, whose credits include Vitamin C and LeAnn Rimes, produced The Real Me at Sigma Sound Studios in Philadelphia. Early in 2001 Svala received an amicable first taste of the United States when she accompanied fellow Priority Records artist Shag to an Outkast concert in Los Angeles. Later that year she appeared at the NARM convention, and Nigel Dick—whose résumé lists Ricky Martin, Britney Spears, and Backstreet Boys—directed her initial video for "The Real Me."