Tove Lo

Tove Lo, recognized as an award-winning artist and Grammy-nominated songwriter, shapes confessional pop that draws from grunge influences alongside the clear sonic traditions of her native Sweden. Her 2013 breakthrough track “Habits (Stay High)” distinguished itself through candid portrayals of substance use and intimacy while oscillating between exuberance and melancholy, securing multi-platinum status and serving as an apt showcase for her unfiltered approach. Subsequent releases sustained this vein of honest self-examination: the 2014 debut full-length Queen of the Clouds and 2017’s BLUE LIPS reinforced her skill at dissecting the shadowed aspects of romance with incisive, compelling, and melodic compositions. Sunshine Kitty, issued in 2019, adopted a brighter tone while retaining sharp edges, and Dirt Femme in 2022 added depth to explorations of womanhood. Frequently sought for guest appearances, she has joined forces with Coldplay, Charli XCX, and Nick Jonas; her songwriting credits encompass material for Lorde and Icona Pop, plus the Grammy-nominated Ellie Goulding single “Love Me Like You Do.” In 2024 she joined SG Lewis for the collaborative EP Heat.

Born Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson on October 29, 1987, in a Stockholm suburb, she received the nickname Tove Lo at age three from her godmother, inspired by a lynx the child admired at the zoo (“lo” meaning lynx in Swedish). Early on she composed poems and brief narratives, completing her initial songs by eleven. During childhood she absorbed the unvarnished intensity of Courtney Love and Kurt Cobain, both individually and as a couple, while also drawing from Robyn, Lykke Li, Jeff Buckley, and Charlotte Gainsbourg. She attended the esteemed Rytmus Musikergymnasiet, a music-specialized secondary school akin to Britain’s BRIT School, where she met future Icona Pop member Caroline Hjelt. After finishing in 2006, Lo performed with fellow Rytmus graduates in the math-rock outfit Tremblebee; once that five-piece disbanded in 2009 she concentrated on solo material, spending half a year in a backyard studio crafting demos while also working as a backing vocalist.

At an Icona Pop celebration marking their initial record contract, she passed her demo to a label representative, which yielded a Warner Chappell publishing agreement and a Los Angeles trip to collaborate with fellow Swede Max Martin, the renowned pop architect who later served as both mentor and recurring partner. In October 2012 she independently issued her first single, the upbeat, rhythm-focused “Love Ballad,” which highlighted her vocal power. The following year brought “Habits (Stay High),” a brooding post-breakup song whose online momentum prompted a Universal deal; that track and the stylistically similar “Out of Mind” appeared on the 2014 EP Truth Serum, which climbed to number 13 on the Swedish Albums Chart while “Habits” reached number 13 domestically and number six in the U.K. Concurrently she began building a songwriting résumé through contributions to Icona Pop and Victoria Justice.

Queen of the Clouds arrived in September 2014, spotlighting “Habits,” which ascended to number three on the Billboard Hot 100, alongside additional stark reflections on love and loss. The album achieved Top Ten placement in Sweden and Top 20 status in both the U.S. and U.K.; the follow-up single “Talking Body” matched that commercial trajectory. Her 2014 Alesso collaboration “Heroes (We Could Be)” topped the U.S. dance chart and entered the Top Ten in Sweden and the U.K. Late that year she supplied a track to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay, Pt. 1. She also belonged to Martin’s Wolf Cousins collective and penned material for Cher Lloyd, Lea Michele, and the Saturdays.

January 2015 saw Lo undergo vocal-cord cyst surgery, requiring two months of vocal rest. That same month marked the release of Ellie Goulding’s “Love Me Like You Do,” co-written by Lo with Martin and others for the Fifty Shades of Grey soundtrack; it topped the U.K. chart, reached the U.S. Top Ten, and earned a Best Song Written for Visual Media nomination at the 58th Grammy Awards. She claimed two Swedish Grammis that year—Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for “Habits (Stay High)”—before releasing a deluxe edition of Queen of the Clouds and launching her first headlining tour. Toward year’s end she contributed vocals to Coldplay’s seventh album, A Head Full of Dreams.

Throughout 2016 Lo teamed with Broods and Flume; her duet with Nick Jonas, “Close,” entered the Top 20 in Canada, New Zealand, and the U.S., where it received platinum certification. She co-wrote another Goulding track, “Still Falling for You,” for the Bridget Jones’ Baby soundtrack, and supplied “Scars” to The Divergent Series: Allegiant. October brought her second album, Lady Wood, which paired sleek synth-pop textures with characteristically frank lyrics; propelled by “Cool Girl” and “True Disaster,” it topped the Swedish chart and reached number 11 on the Billboard 200.

In 2017 she contributed “Lies in the Dark” to the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack and co-wrote Lorde’s “Homemade Dynamite.” November saw the release of BLUE LIPS, positioned as a companion to Lady Wood and led by the single “Disco Tits”; the set peaked at number 138 on the Billboard 200 and number 15 in Sweden. Lo also produced two short films, Fire Fade and Fairy Dust, incorporating songs from the album. December found her on Charli XCX’s Pop 2 track “Out of My Head.” In June 2018 she reciprocated with a remix of “bitches” featuring XCX, Icona Pop, Alma, and Elliphant.

Sunshine Kitty, her fourth album, appeared in September 2019. Collaborations with Kylie Minogue and Jax Jones framed songs that captured a more optimistic and self-assured outlook. A Top 20 success in Sweden, it reached number 61 in the U.S. and 59 in the U.K.; the video for “Glad He’s Gone” earned a Best Music Video nomination at the 62nd Grammy Awards. Subsequent standalone releases included “Bikini Porn” and a Swedish-language cover of “Jag kommer” that charted Top 40 domestically; these tracks plus unreleased material formed the May 2020 deluxe Paw Prints edition. She also joined Sean Paul on the dance single “Calling On Me.”

While preparing her next project, Lo appeared in the screen adaptation of Vilhelm Moberg’s 1949 novel The Emigrants and partnered with Martin Garrix on 2021’s “Pressure.” Early 2022 brought “How Long,” featured on the Euphoria soundtrack. In August she executive-produced Pussy Riot’s debut mixtape; her own fifth album, Dirt Femme, followed in October. Issued on her Pretty Swede imprint, it emphasized reclamation of femininity’s gentler facets and revisited dance-oriented textures from earlier work through contributions by SG Lewis, First Aid Kit, and Channel Tres, landing at number 11 on Sweden’s Album Chart and number 24 on Billboard’s Top Independent Albums Chart. Early 2023 yielded standalone singles such as “Borderline,” co-written with Dua Lipa, and “I Like U.” May 2024 saw her and SG Lewis appear on Nelly Furtado’s “Love Bites,” after which the duo released their own joint EP, Heat.