Interested in becoming a musician, Loreen finished fourth in theIdol 2004 television competition. The following year, she released her first single, "The Snake", with the bandRob'n'Raz, and became a television presenter onTV400. While working as a segment producer and director for several Swedish reality TV shows, she enteredMelodifestivalen 2011 with the song "My Heart Is Refusing Me", which became a top 10 hit in Sweden. She had two top 20 hits in Sweden with the singles "Crying Out Your Name" (2012) and herMelodifestivalen 2017 entry "Statements".
Lorine Zineb Nora Talhaoui was born on 16 October 1983 inÅkersberga, Sweden toMoroccanBerber parents.[6][7] Early in her life, Loreen moved toVästerås. She grew up there, and calls it her hometown.[8][9] She spent most of her teenage years in Gryta, a residential area in the city.[10][11]
Loreen became known to Swedish audiences after taking part in the SwedishIdol 2004, under the name Lorén Talhaoui. During the qualification round, she placed third with the public vote. She would have been eliminated, but received a wildcard from the judges, allowing her to compete in the program.[12] She finished fourth overall, and was eliminated during the eighth week.[13] AfterIdol, in 2005, she released a promotional single, "The Snake", with the groupRob'n'Raz. That same year, she also presented the TV showLyssna, broadcast by the Swedish stationTV400.[14] She then took a hiatus from more visible roles, and worked as a segment producer and director for reality TV shows such asTV3'sVärsta pojkvänsakademin [sv],TV4'sMatakuten [sv] andSVT'sFrufritt [sv].[15]
Loreen returned to the public eye when she took part inMelodifestivalen 2011 with the song "My Heart Is Refusing Me", which she co-wrote with Moh Denebi and Björn Djupström.[16] After coming fourth in the second semi-final inGothenburg on 12 February 2011, she competed in the Second Chance round,[17] but failed to qualify for the final after a sing-off withSara Varga.[18][19] The song was released on 11 March 2011 and became a hit on theSwedish Singles Chart, debuting and peaking at number 9.[20] Following Loreen's success a year later, the song re-entered the chart, peaking at number 22 in May 2012.[20]
In the first semi-final ofMelodifestivalen 2012 on 4 February, Loreen advanced directly to the final round with her entry "Euphoria",[21] written byThomas G:son andPeter Boström.[22] She won the national final on 10 March with a combined total of 268 points andrepresented Sweden in theEurovision Song Contest 2012 inBaku, Azerbaijan.[23] The song won the competition with a total of 372 points from 40 voting countries out of 42 (Italy was the exception, and Sweden could not vote for itself).[24] According to online betting companies, she was the favourite to win the contest.[25][26] On 3 June 2012, "Euphoria" charted at number three on theUK Official Singles Chart, the highest chart position for a non-UK Eurovision entry sinceJohnny Logan's "Hold Me Now" in 1987. The single sold 62,148 copies in its first week in the United Kingdom.[27] "Euphoria" is also noted for having a consistent chart presence in the UK, remaining in the top 20 for weeks after the competition, which was rare for a Eurovision song.[28][29][30] On 21 June 2012, Loreen made an appearance at the MTV World Stage inGothenburg. The title of her debut album,Heal, was confirmed in late August 2012.[31] Released on 24 October 2012,Heal debuted atop theSverigetopplistan Albums Top 60.[32] It was certified platinum in Sweden during its second week, denoting domestic shipments exceeding 40,000 units.[33]A remix version of "My Heart Is Refusing Me" was released on 8 October 2012 as the second European single from the album. On the same day, "Crying Out Your Name" was released as the fourth single in her native Sweden.[34]
In October 2013, Loreen was nominated for fiveWorld Music Awards.[43] Later that month,Art on Ice announced she would be one of the artists performing on their 2014 tour, which had the concept of combining live music with performances from figure skaters.[44] The tour took place in Finland, Sweden and Switzerland.[45][46][47][48][49]
In January 2014, SwedishSVT resurrected their prize winning seriesSápmi Sessions [sv;smn] in which well known Swedish artists travelNorth to meet their talented counterparts within theSami population, and embark on a new collaboration.[50] They have never met before, but have three days to write and record a whole new song together.[51] Loreen herself was the subject of the first episode, working with Iŋgá-Máret Gaup-Juuso and coming up with the song "Son" for her new album.[50][52]
Loreen embarked on theTour XIV in April 2014 and performed in several European countries.[53] On 7 April, during a concert inAmsterdam, Loreen announced that "Jupiter Drive" and "Dumpster" had been chosen as the next singles for her next album, to be released in August 2014.[54][55] That same month it was announced that Loreen had started planning her second studio album, working with producers such asTaped Rai, Ted Krotkiewski,Tobias Fröberg and Tim Denéve.[54][56] In May 2014, Loreen announced her firstconcert residency:En Euforisk Jul.[57] The show was performed at the Moriska Paviljongen in Malmö, Sweden from 26 November and concluded on 20 December[58][59] and was aChristmas show.[57][60] Loreen grossed more than US$372.000 (2.885.139,00SEK) andEn Euforisk Jul was the 16th biggest selling tour by a Swedish singer in Sweden in 2014.[61][62] During her visit toMontenegro in July 2014 she announced her album was to be released probably in October 2014.[63][64] She headlined the Celebration of Budva Tourist Organization and the National Day event at theJaz Beach inBudva. During an interview withPrva.rs, she said: "The new album is coming out in October and after that there will be a lot of touring. It's very different from "Euphoria", it's a lot dirtier and morehip hop."[64] In summer 2014, Loreen was nominated for threeRockbjörnen.[65] Additionally, Loreen performed at the11th Kristallen in Sweden, where she sang a cover ofRodríguez's "Sugar Man", as part of the ceremony's "In Memoriam" segment.[66] On 20 September, Loreen performed at Eurasian Music Awards at theCentral Stadium inAlmaty, Kazakhstan.[67][68][69] Loreen performed at Eurovision Gala Night at theCasino Luxembourg inLuxembourg and she confirmed that the single of her new album was coming soon in March 2015.[70][71][72] On 27 February, it was announced that Loreen's new single "Paper Light (Higher)" was to be released on 5 March 2015 inScandinavia and worldwide on 9 March.
Loreen performing at the 2015Life Ball in Vienna, Austria.
On 11 August 2015, Loreen revealed a new single, titled "I'm in It with You" released on 14 August 2015,[83] and received generally positive reviews from contemporary music critics.[84][85][86] However, the official music video, inspired by the 1979 filmOver the Edge,[87] received generally negative reviews by fans and critics.[88][89] On 17 December 2015, Loreen announced her next single "Under ytan" ("Under the Surface"), a cover of the original song byUno Svenningsson. This was her first official Swedish-language release and was available in the Nordics on 18 December and worldwide the week after.[90] "Under ytan" received critical acclaim[91][92][93] but was met with poor commercial reception.
In 2016, Loreen returned to Eurovision stage when she performed at the "Eurovision The Party" event that took place at the Stockholm'sTele2 Arena on the night of theupcoming Eurovision final and was broadcast via online worldwide.[94] During an interview inBulgaria in 2016, Loreen stated that she and her team are working "heavily" in new music to be released later in 2016 or early 2017.[95]
Loreen in 2017
On 30 November 2016, it was revealed that Loreen would compete inMelodifestivalen 2017 with the song "Statements" for a chance to represent Sweden again at theEurovision Song Contest 2017.[96] On 25 February 2017, she qualified for theAndra Chansen round,[97] but did not qualify directly to the final from her Melodifestivalen semi-final and was put in the Andra Chansen round. After this, she lost her Andra Chansen duel againstAnton Hagman and was subsequently eliminated from the competition.[98] During interviews during Melodifestivalen, she confirmed that an EP would be released in Spring and another in Autumn.[99] She was also signed toBMG Scandinavia under management purposes for her upcoming studio album.[100]
On 14 July 2017, Loreen released a new single called "Body".[101][102] She also revealed that "Body" was serving as lead single from her first EPNude, which was released on 25 August 2017.[103][104] On 11 August 2017, "Jungle" featuringElliphant, was released as a second song fromNude.[105] It was also announced that her sophomore album would be released on 17 November 2017 with the lead single on 22 September 2017,[106] but the first single, "71 Charger" was delayed without reason and released a week later, on 29 September 2017. The second single, "Hate The Way I Love You" was released on 27 October 2017 to critical acclaim.[107] It was also revealed that the album would be calledRide and was released on 24 November 2017, a week behind its intentional release date.[108]
In October 2019, Loreen released a cover of Julia Jonas' "Walk With Me" by forEllos.[109]
2020–2024:Så mycket bättre, acting debut, Melodifestivalen and Eurovision return
In order to celebrate theMelodifestivalen Hall of Fame, on 29 February 2020, Loreen performed "Fiction Feels Good", a reimagined medley of her Melodifestivalen entries to that point: "Euphoria", "My Heart Is Refusing Me" and "Statements", on theAndra Chansen show.[110] In June 2020, she made acameo onDavid Dobkin'sEurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga, along with other Eurovision winners, which premiered onNetflix.[111] On 30 April 2020, it was announced Loreen was joining the Swedish TV showSå mycket bättre to be aired in Autumn. Songs released from the show were under her new labelUniversal Music Group with whom she signed with in 2020.[112] Later in the year, it was announced she would be part of the Netflix filmJJ+E to be released 8 September 2021, portraying Maria, the main character's mother.[113][114]
In March 2021, Loreen released her first self-written Swedish single "Sötvattentårar", and embarked on a Swedish tour later that year.[115][116] On 29 March 2022, Loreen announced a partnership withLexus Sweden for her single "Neon Lights" as part of the Lexus NX campaign. The song was released on 13 May.[117]
On 30 November 2022, it was announced that Loreen would compete inMelodifestivalen for a fourth time with the song "Tattoo".[118] She participated in the fourth heat of the competition on 25 February 2023. During her performance, an environmental activist invaded the stage, which resulted in Loreen restarting her performance a few minutes later.[119] She won the fourth heat of the competition, allowing her to progress to the final on 11 March 2023.[120] The song was released on digital platforms that same evening. It debuted at number one in Sweden, becoming her second Swedish number one single.[121] She later won the competition with 177 points, thus becoming the Swedish representative for theEurovision Song Contest 2023 inLiverpool.[122][123][124] "Tattoo" went on to win the contest with 583 points, earning Sweden its seventh Eurovision win and making Loreen the first woman and the second performer to have won the competition twice.[125][126]
On 1 April 2023, Loreen was a guest celebrity judge in the episode "Dragodifestivalen" of the Swedish language reality television seriesDrag Race Sverige broadcast onSVT1 andSVT Play.[127] Her song "Is It Love" was released on 13 October 2023 worldwide and was produced by Swedish record producer and songwriter,Rami Yacoub. The single was the first release since she signed with her new management, TaP Music.[128][129] In April 2024, she was awarded the Government's Music Export Prize by theMinistry for Foreign Affairs for her contribution to "spreading a modern and positive image of Sweden abroad".[130] In May 2024, a European tour set to start in 2025 was announced alongside a new song "Forever" which was performed at theEurovision 2024 Grand Final, held inMalmö,[131] and released on 10 May 2024.[132]
On 19 February 2025, it was announced that Loreen would release a new collaborative project titled "SAGES" with Icelandic artistÓlafur Arnalds. The double single "In The Sound of Breathing/Opening" was released 7 March 2025 accompanied by a music video directed by Thora Hilmarsdóttir. The full EP was released 21 March 2025.[133] ARecord Store Day exclusive vinyl of the EP is scheduled to be released 18 April 2026. The vinyl includes a new SAGES track "Echoes" and a selection of remixes.[134]
In July 2025, it was announced that Loreen had been signed byPolydor France. Alongside the signing announcement, the single "Echoes"[F] was announced for release on 4 July. The single was featured in the video gameSplit Fiction developed byHazelight Studios.[3] Shortly following the release of "Echoes", Loreen released the single "Pum Pum" withDavid Guetta andDimitri Vegas on 18 July.[135]
In January 2026, Loreen's third studio albumWildfire was announced for release on 27 March 2026. The first single "Feels Like Heaven" was released on 23 January.[136]
During the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 inBaku,Azerbaijan, Loreen was the only entrant to meetlocal human rights activists. She later told reporters that "human rights are violated in Azerbaijan every day. One should not be silent about such things."[137] An Azerbaijan government spokesman responded critically, saying the contest should not "be politicised",[137] and requested that theEBU prevent such meetings.[138] Swedish diplomats replied that the EBU, the Swedish broadcasterSVT and Loreen had not acted against the competition's rules.[139]
In July 2012, Loreen performed atSlavianski Bazaar in Belarus, where Belarusian presidentAlexander Lukashenko was in attendance. During her visit to the country, she met with the wife of political prisonerAles Bialiatski,Viasna representatives and independent journalists, and in a two-hour meeting expressed her support of political prisoners and signed the petition to ban the death penalty in the country.[140] Loreen later stated she was fully aware of the risks coming with "speaking out," including the possibility of being stopped or arrested at the airport when trying to return home.[141]
^Westerbergh, Nora Nergiz (10 March 2012)."Musikläraren tror på seger".Vestmanlands Läns Tidning. Archived fromthe original on 25 December 2012. Retrieved11 June 2012.
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