Tove Lo

Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson, known professionally as Tove Lo ( Swedish pronunciation: [ˈtûːvɛ ˈluː]), is a Swedish singer, songwriter, and actress.

Early Life
Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson was born in Helsingborg, Scania County, Sweden, on October 29, 1987. She is the daughter of iZettle co-founder Magnus Nilsson and psychologist Gunilla Nilsson Edholm, and has one older brother.

Tove Lo, her lifelong nickname and stage name, was given to her by her godmother when she was three years old because of her love for lynxes (singular: "lo" in Swedish). She explained: "There was this lynx at a zoo that was called Tove, and that I totally fell in love with. It was my dear godmother who decided to call me Tove Lo, after that lynx. It stuck." Lo moved to the affluent Djursholm district of Danderyd Municipality, just north of Stockholm when she was six years old.

She describes her childhood as being "very protected" and her family as "pretty posh". The singer excelled in social sciences at school and grew fond of literature, writing poetry and short stories. In an interview with the BBC, she explained, "Growing up so safe, I think I was looking for something else." Her mother sought treatment for her bulimia through a therapist when she was in her teens. She cut herself several times after her first serious relationship ended because she was embarrassed.

Lo developed a love for music and formed a girl band with her friends. She wrote her first song with them when she was about 10 or 11 years old. Lo had written "all these lyrics that nobody ever saw" by the age of 15 and had performed twice on stage before enrolling at Rytmus Musikergymnasiet, a music school in Stockholm. During her time at Rytmus, she met Caroline Hjelt, who would later form the Swedish duo Icona Pop. She graduated from the school after two years and was confident that her career would be in music, despite her parents' desires that she do something else.

2006–2013: Career beginnings and songwriting
Lo began writing songs with Christian Bjerring, Rytmus guitarist, in 2006. Tremblebee, a math rock band, was formed by the pair and three other male students at the school. They performed in clubs across Sweden for three years, independently publishing some of their songs, until breaking up in 2009. Lo developed a passion for performing on stage while with the band and was introduced to Swedish production duo The Struts. After Tremblebee split, Lo's musical focus shifted to pop. She made the decision to work on her own songs, spending six months in her shed studio producing a demo whilst doing session singing to support herself. She studied music programming and record production, as well as learning to play the drums. Lo later lived in a suburb near Stockholm with the duo Icona Pop.

Lo met an A&R man at a party celebrating Icona Pop's first record deal in Stockholm and handed him her demo. They met each other again by chance in a London bar. He liked her demo and invited her to a songwriting group that includes The Struts and Hjelt. Lo decided to pursue a career as a songwriter in 2011 and signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music. This new career path took her to Los Angeles, where she worked with Swedish producer Max Martin. She worked with British production team Xenomania and Swedish producer Alexander Kronlund in 2012, co-writing "Something New" by Girls Aloud, "We Got the World" by Icona Pop, and tracks for the duo's self-titled debut album.

Lo then chose to manage a "indie career on the side", recording her more personal songs and releasing them independently. She released her first song, "Love Ballad", in October 2012, and her second single, "Habits", in March 2013. The latter earned her a significant online following. Lo was mentored by Max Martin and Shellback, fellow Swedish producer, throughout 2013. She appeared on Swedish DJ Lucas Nord's single "Run on Love," which was released in June 2013 as part of his album Islands. She also worked with Seven Lions and Myon & Shane 54 on the single "Strangers" for The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones film soundtrack (2013), as well as Seven Lions' extended play (EP), Worlds Apart (2014). She also co-wrote "Gold" by Victoria Justice and tracks for Icona Pop's This Is... Icona Pop

2014–2015: Truth Serum and Queen of the Clouds
Because of the strength of her online following and the success of "Habits," Universal Music offered Lo a record deal, and she released her first single, "Out of Mind," in October 2013. She was eventually signed to Island Records and Polydor Records. Lo then shifted her focus to a worldwide singing career, receiving critical acclaim for her first live performances in London and at South by Southwest in the United States. Truth Serum, Lo's debut EP, was released on March 3, 2014. It was her first chart-topping release in Sweden, when it peaked at number 13. The EP was also a critical triumph, with some news outlets referring to Lo as "a pop sensation in the making." It yielded three songs, the first of which, "Out of Mind," peaked at number 39 on the Finnish Airplay Chart. The next singles were "Habits (Stay High)" and its remixed version by Hippie Sabotage, renamed "Stay High." It represented Lo's worldwide breakthrough into popular success, peaking at 13 in Sweden and 6 in the United Kingdom. Later, the singer was named as VH1's You Oughta Know and iHeartRadio's On the Verge performer. In June 2014, she made her live television debut on Late Night with Seth Meyers, performing "Habits (Stay High)."

Lo's debut album, Queen of the Clouds, was released on 24 September 2014 to generally positive reviews. It debuted at number 14 on the US Billboard 200, selling 19,000 copies in its first week, and received a Platinum certification by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) in 2016. The album peaked at number 17 in the United Kingdom and number six in Sweden, where the Swedish Recording Industry Association (GLF) certified it platinum for sales of 40,000 units. Serving as the album's lead single, a United States release of "Habits (Stay High)" became a sleeper hit. It was Lo's commercial breakthrough there, peaking at number three on the US Billboard Hot 100. The album's second single "Talking Body" peaked at number 12 on the US Billboard Hot 100, number 16 in Sweden, and number 17 in the United Kingdom. Her next singles were "Timebomb" and "Moments".

2016-2018: Collaborations, Lady Wood and Blue Lips
On 28 October 2016, the singer released her second studio album, Lady Wood. It topped the album chart in Sweden and peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard 200. Its lead single, "Cool Girl", entered the top 30 in Australia and was certified Platinum. In New Zealand and Sweden it also made the top 30 where it was certified Gold. Five days before to the album's release, Lo announced a European and North American solo tour, the Lady Wood Tour. It would take the singer to twenty-one cities across two continents, beginning on 6 January 2017. To promote the record, she released two short films directed by Tim Erem featuring tracks from the album. The first, Fairy Dust, was uploaded to YouTube on 31 October 2016 but was removed for a few hours because of the site's policies on sexual content. The singer addressed the situation via Twitter, stating that she was not even naked on the clip.[84][85] The next clip, Fire Fade, was released on 25 August 2017. In late 2016, Lo was an opening act for Maroon 5's The Maroon V Tour across the United States and promoted her album Lady Wood.

On 17 November 2017, Lo released her third studio album, Blue Lips, which she referred to as the sequel to Lady Wood. Compared to Lo's earlier releases, the record was less successful, peaking at number 138 on the US Billboard 200 and at number 15 in Sweden.

2019-present: Sunshine Kitty and film acting debut
On 31 May 2019, Lo announced through a press release that her fourth studio album is titled Sunshine Kitty. The record's lead single, "Glad He's Gone", was released that same day alongside its lyric video. On 1 August, Lo announced that the album would be released on 20 September 2019. The second single, "Bad as the Boys" featuring Finnish musician Alma, was released the following day. Lo released the third single on 28 August 2019, "Jacques", a collaboration between her and British DJ Jax Jones. She then released "Really Don't Like U", featuring Australian musician and songwriter Kylie Minogue, on 6 September 2019. Five days earlier, Lo appeared in Alma's song "Worst Behaviour". On 15 January 2020, she released the single "Bikini Porn", which B-side is "Passion And Pain Taste The Same When I'm Weak" In March 2020, Lo released an English cover of Veronica Maggio's song "Jag kommer" in partnership with Spotify for their It's Hits playlist. The song reached the top 40 in Sweden, Norway, and New Zealand. In May 2020 she released the Paw Prints Edition of Sunshine Kitty, a reissued version featuring 8 new songs including "Bikini Porn", her cover of "Jag kommer", and new single "sadder badder cooler". On 5 February 2021, Martin Garrix released the track "Pressure", which features Lo. Lo made her feature film acting debut in the 2021 Swedish-language film adaptation of Vilhelm Moberg's The Emigrants.

Personal Life
An interview and profile of Tove Lo in W magazine in October 2016 referred to her as "openly bisexual", citing that as one of several identifiers "she once took for granted but are now very much part of her public persona."In an interview with Attitude in January 2017, Lo referred to her own bisexuality: "Being open and owning my sexuality in both ways—with both men and women—I think that's just never been a big deal", adding that she was very lucky growing up in a liberal country. In March the same year, the singer gave an interview with Out magazine, stating she had never been in a relationship with a woman.

On 26 July 2020, Lo announced on her Instagram story that she and her boyfriend Charlie Twaddle got married. Lo later posted pictures of the wedding on her Instagram with a caption where she states that she is "the happiest she has ever been".

Public Image
Lo says she created a media image for herself that is synonymous with her true identity. She has a prominent tattoo along her left upper arm of a girl harnessed to the back of a bumblebee. It is from the cover of Jack Off Jill's album Clear Hearts Grey Flowers; the album cover was designed by Mark Ryden. Frequently barefoot during her live performances, Lo's look is often compared to that of her style icon Janis Joplin. Her other style influences include hippie fashion, and the fashion of older rock singers, the people of Stockholm and Edie Sedgwick. According to Elle writer Rebecca Moss, Lo is "a true '90s child unwilling to part with her early iconography". Lindsey Rhoades of The Village Voice writes, "Tove Lo rocks a specific brand that veers slightly from most other women in pop—she paints herself as the hard-drinking, hard-drugging, DTF party girl, admitting the somewhat destructive nature of these preoccupations but celebrating them all the same." In 2014, Lo's first clothing line, which she also modelled, is based on the lyrics of her EP, Truth Serum.

Lo has voiced her frustration over censorship in the United States, including her lyrics, although she understands it is the only way to get her songs played on the radio. The artist has also commented that, "[...] in Sweden, we don't really censor that way. You hear every swear word, in Swedish and English, on the radio, and kids will be singing along." During tours in 2015, Lo began flashing her bare breasts in live performances, particularly during the song "Talking Body", and she has continued to do so. "I started just by showing a little bit of boob or just being sassy, and everyone got so excited and then one night I just did it," she told MTV News at Bonnaroo. The singer has often said in interviews that she is unapologetically proud of her body. Lo is often asked about being a negative role model for women, given the many sexual and drug references in her lyrics. The artist has commented she finds it normal to talk about sex since she grew up in a country where that is considered "normal and not shameful", and many of her fans like the way she expresses herself. Lo also believes she receives these kinds of comments due to gender double standards, adding that: "I felt like I was getting asked all these questions because I'm a girl. ... It would be insulting to ask a guy that. Which it is to a girl as well.