Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson (born October 29, 1987), better known by her stage name Tove Lo, is a Swedish singer-songwriter known for her raw, grunge-influenced approach to pop music.
Raised in the Djursholm district of Danderyd, Lo is an alumna of the music school Rytmus Musikergymnasiet. She formed the rock band Tremblebee in 2006. After it disbanded, Lo pursued a career in songwriting and earned a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music in 2011. Working with producers Alexander Kronlund, Max Martin, and Xenomania, she became a successful songwriter, while also recording and releasing her own compositions independently.
She co-wrote "Homemade Dynamite", from Lorde's sophomore studio album Melodrama.
Background[]
Early life[]
Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson was born on October 29, 1987, in Stockholm, Sweden. She grew up in the affluent Djursholm district of Danderyd Municipality, just north of Stockholm. Lo has described her childhood as "very protected" and her family as "pretty posh". In an interview with the BBC, she explained: "Growing up so safe, I think I was looking for something else."
Lo developed an early interest in music and formed a girl band with friends, writing her first song at age 10 or 11. By 15, she had compiled a collection of lyrics "nobody ever saw" and performed twice on stage before enrolling at Rytmus Musikergymnasiet, a music school in Stockholm. There, she befriended Caroline Hjelt, who would later form the duo Icona Pop. After graduating, Lo decided to pursue a career in music despite her parents’ preference for a different path.
Personal life[]
In October 2016, W magazine described Lo as "openly bisexual," calling it one of several aspects of her identity that had become part of her public persona. In January 2017, she told Attitude magazine: "Being open and owning my sexuality in both ways – with both men and women – I think that’s just never been a big deal," noting that she felt fortunate to have grown up in a liberal country. In March 2017, however, she told Out magazine that she had never been in a relationship with a woman.
Career[]
2006–13: Career beginnings and collaborations[]
In 2006, Lo began writing songs with Christian Bjerring, a guitarist from Rytmus. The pair then formed a math rock band, Tremblebee, with three other male students from the school. Tremblebee played together for "a few years" in bars across Sweden, independently releasing some of their songs, before breaking up. During her time with the band, Lo developed a passion for performing on stage, and was introduced to Swedish production duo The Struts. After the dissolution of Tremblebee, Lo's musical focus turned toward pop. She then decided to focus on her own tracks, spending six months in her shed studio producing a demo,[4] while doing session singing as a means of income. She also learned how to play the drums and garnered knowledge about music programming and record production during this time. Lo later spent time living with Icona Pop, in a suburb near Stockholm.
Lo later met an A&R who she handed her demo to. Lo initially met him upon the occasion of a party in Stockholm celebrating Icona Pop's first record deal, and later she met him by chance in a bar in London. The A&R liked Lo's demo and subsequently introduced her to a songwriting group which included The Struts and Hjelt. In 2011, Lo decided to pursue a career in songwriting and earned a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Music. This new career path led her to travel to Los Angeles, and work with Swedish producer Max Martin. In 2012, she collaborated with British production team Xenomania and Swedish producer Alexander Kronlund, co-writing Girls Aloud's "Something New", Icona Pop's "We Got the World" and tracks for the duo's self-titled debut album.
Lo then decided to manage an "artist indie career on the side", recording her more personal compositions and releasing them independently. She released her first single, "Love Ballad", in October 2012, and her second single, "Habits", in March 2013. The latter gained her a substantial online following. Lo was featured on Swedish disc jockey Lucas Nord's single, "Run on Love", released in June 2013 for his album Islands. She also featured on the single, "Strangers", by Seven Lions and Myon & Shane 54 for The Mortal Instruments: City of Bones film soundtrack (2013), and Seven Lions' extended play (EP), Worlds Apart (2014). Throughout 2013, Lo was mentored by Martin and his fellow Swedish producer Shellback. She also co-wrote Victoria Justice's "Gold", and tracks for Tal's À l'infini and Icona Pop's This Is... Icona Pop.
2014–15: Truth Serum and Queen of the Clouds[]
Due to the strength of her online following, Lo signed with Island and Polydor Records in 2014. She then shifted her focus to an international career, earning critical acclaim for her early live performances in London and at South by Southwest in the United States. Lo's debut EP, Truth Serum, was released on March 3, 2014. It became her first charting release in Sweden, peaking at number 13. The EP was a critical success, leading several media outlets to describe her as "a pop star in waiting". It spawned the singles "Out of Mind" and a re-release of "Habits", re-titled "Habits (Stay High)".
Later in 2014, Lo was featured on Swedish DJ Alesso's single "Heroes (We Could Be)" for his debut album Forever. The track became a commercial success, peaking at number five in Sweden, number six in the United Kingdom, and number 31 on the US Billboard Hot 100. That November, she served as the opening act for the third leg of Katy Perry's Prismatic World Tour and contributed the song "Scream My Name" to The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 1 soundtrack. Around the same time, she joined Max Martin's songwriting collective Wolf Cousins, contributing to albums by Cher Lloyd (Sorry I'm Late), Lea Michele (Louder), and Zara Larsson (1), as well as co-writing "What Are You Waiting For?" by The Saturdays. In December 2014, she announced a temporary break from performing to undergo surgery on her vocal cords, which had developed cysts. The procedure was successfully completed on January 3, 2015.
At the 2015 Grammys, Lo won Artist of the Year and Song of the Year for "Habits (Stay High)". That March, she was featured on Urban Cone's single "Come Back to Me" from their album Polaroid Memories. In May, it was announced that she would appear on Adam Lambert's album The Original High. Lo also co-wrote Ellie Goulding's hit single "Love Me Like You Do" and Hilary Duff's "Sparks", along with two other tracks from Duff's album Breathe In. Breathe Out. ("Stay in Love" and "One in a Million"). "Love Me Like You Do" earned Lo her first Grammy Award nomination, for Best Song Written for Visual Media at the 58th Annual Grammy Awards.
On October 2, 2015, a repackaged version of her debut album was released as Queen of the Clouds: Blueprint Edition, which included all tracks from the original along with songs from Truth Serum and her collaboration with Alesso, "Heroes (We Could Be)". To support the reissue, Lo embarked on a 16-date North American tour in September and October 2015. Later that year, she was awarded the STIM platinum guitar prize.
On December 4, 2015, Lo was featured on "Fun", a track from Coldplay's seventh studio album A Head Full of Dreams.
2016-18: Lady Wood and Blue Lips[]
Lorde invited Tove Lo to join her at the Osheaga Music & Arts Festival to sing "Homemade Dynamite" with her.
On February 19, 2016, Lo released "Scars", the lead single from the soundtrack to The Divergent Series: Allegiant. The following month, she was featured on the remix of "Desire" by English band Years & Years, which charted in Belgium and Sweden. In the same month, she appeared as a featured artist on Nick Jonas's "Close", the lead single from his third studio album Last Year Was Complicated. The track peaked at number 14 on the US Billboard Hot 100, was certified Platinum by the RIAA, and also reached the top 20 in Canada and New Zealand. On April 20, 2016, she was featured on Flume's single "Say It", which reached the top five in Australia and New Zealand. That year, she also co-wrote Ellie Goulding's "Still Falling for You", the lead single from the soundtrack to Bridget Jones's Baby.
On October 28, 2016, Lo released her second studio album, Lady Wood. It topped the Swedish Albums Chart and peaked at number 11 on the US Billboard 200. Its lead single, "Cool Girl", reached the top 30 in Australia, Sweden, and New Zealand, earning Platinum certification in Australia and Gold in the latter two countries. Five days before the album’s release, she announced the Lady Wood Tour, spanning twenty-one cities across Europe and North America beginning on January 6, 2017. To promote the album, she released two short films directed by Tim Erem. The first, Fairy Dust, premiered on October 31, 2016, but was temporarily removed from YouTube due to sexual content policies, a decision Lo criticized on Twitter. The second, Fire Fade, was released on August 25, 2017. In late 2016, she also opened for Maroon 5 on the North American leg of their Maroon V Tour while promoting Lady Wood.
Lo co-wrote and performed "Lies in the Dark" for the Fifty Shades Darker soundtrack, released on February 10, 2017. Six days later, it was announced that she would join Coldplay as an opening act on their A Head Full of Dreams Tour across Europe, the United States, and Canada, running from June to October 2017. That same year, she co-wrote "Homemade Dynamite" for Lorde's album Melodrama, which was released as the record’s third single on September 16, 2017.
On November 17, 2017, Lo released her third studio album, Blue Lips, which she described as a sequel to Lady Wood. Compared to her previous records, it was less commercially successful, peaking at number 138 on the US Billboard 200 and number 15 in Sweden. Its lead single, "Disco Tits", was released in September 2017. Later that year, she was featured on "Out of My Head", the lead single from Charli XCX's mixtape Pop 2, released in December.
On June 7, 2018, Lo issued a remix of "Bitches" featuring Charli XCX, Alma, Icona Pop, and Elliphant as the second single from Blue Lips. She was also featured on Muse’s "Get Up and Fight" from their album Simulation Theory, released on November 9, 2018.