In 2014, MØ collaborated with Australian rapperIggy Azalea on the single "Beg for It", which peaked at number 27 on the USBillboard Hot 100, earning MØ her first entry on the chart. The following year, she co-wrote and provided vocals for theMajor Lazer andDJ Snake collaboration "Lean On", which became an international success, charting at number one in several countries, number two in the United Kingdom, and number four in the United States. In 2016, MØ was featured onSnakehips's single "Don't Leave", and another Major Lazer single "Cold Water" with Canadian singerJustin Bieber; the latter debuted at number one on theUK Singles Chart and number two on the USBillboard Hot 100.
MØ earned her first commercially successful solo single with 2016's "Final Song", which reached the top 10 in Denmark and Norway and the top 15 in Australia and the United Kingdom. She has since released the extended playWhen I Was Young (2017), and the studio albumsForever Neverland (2018),Motordrome (2022) andPlæygirl (2025).
Karen Marie Aagaard Ørsted Andersen[1][2] was born inUbberud, nearOdense,[3] and she grew up inEjlstrup on the island ofFunen, Denmark.[1] Her father, Frans Ørsted,[4] is a psychologist,[5] and her mother, Mette Ørsted, is a teacher. She has an older brother, Kasper, who is a doctor.[1]
In 2006, MØ released an EP, titledThe Edmunds, which included tracks such as "Garbage King" and "Polly Get Your Gun".[citation needed] MØ also released several other side projects during 2008–10 including titles such asA Piece of Music to Fuck to[8][9] andThe Rarities.[citation needed] MØ and her friend Josefine Struckmann Pedersen formed duo MOR in 2007, and released two EPs,Fisse I Dit Fjæs (Pussy in Your Face) andVanvidstimer (Madness Hours), in 2009 and 2011, respectively.[10][11] MOR disbanded on 7 September 2012, for personal reasons.[12]
2012–2015:No Mythologies to Follow and collaborations
In 2012, MØ began creatinga cappella pop songs and began collaborating with producerRonni Vindahl.[13] On 14 January 2013, MØ released her debut single, "Glass".[14] On 15 March 2013, she released "Pilgrim" with the B-side "Maiden".[15] "Pilgrim" was recognised as P3s Uundgåelige (P3 Unavoidable), a label given to rising artists by Danish radio stationDR P3, as it peaked at number eleven on theDanish Singles Chart.[16][17] On 27 March 2013, she performed live on television at the Danish P3 Guld Awards.[18]
On 7 June 2013, she released the single "Waste of Time".[19] On 18 August 2013, it was confirmed through producer and DJAvicii's manager Ash Pournouri that MØ had co-written and provided vocals on a track called "Dear Boy"[20] which was later featured on Avicii's debut album,True.[21] On 30 August 2013, she released the single "XXX 88".[22] MØ's debut extended play,Bikini Daze, was released on 18 October 2013.[23] In October 2013, she supportedAlunaGeorge on UK tour dates.[24] The single "Don't Wanna Dance" debuted onBBC Radio 1 on 16 January 2014 asZane Lowe's Hottest Record.[25]
MØ's debut studio album,No Mythologies to Follow, was released on 7 March 2014.[26] On the review aggregate siteMetacritic, the album has a Metascore of 77 out of 100 indicating "generally favorable" reviews.[27] Music blogPretty Much Amazing called the album "complex and euphoric",[28] whileThe Guardian noted that "what MØ lacks in originality, she makes up for with warlike ardour".[29]No Mythologies to Follow debuted at number 58 on theUK Albums Chart,[30] selling 1,438 copies in its first week.[31]
MØ began touring in Europe and the United States in support of the album, ending in June. On 2 June 2014, she made her US television debut onJimmy Kimmel Live!, where she performed the songs "Don't Wanna Dance" and "Pilgrim".[32] "Walk This Way" was released on 16 June 2014 as a single fromNo Mythologies to Follow.[33] On 23 June, MØ announced additional United States and Canadian tour dates beginning in September.[34] In November 2014, she won four awards at theDanish Music Awards: Danish Album of the Year, Danish Solo Artist of the Year, Danish Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Danish Music Video of the Year.[35]
In 2014, MØ was featured on Australian rapperIggy Azalea's song "Beg for It", which was released as the lead single from Azalea's reissue album,Reclassified.[36] Azalea and MØ performed the song for the first time onSaturday Night Live on 25 October.[37] MØ was also featured onElliphant's "One More", which was officially released as a single on 22 September 2014. The official music video was released a day later, 23 September.[38] MØ also co-wrote the song "All My Love" byMajor Lazer, featuring vocals from American singer and songwriterAriana Grande.[39]
MØ co-wrote and provided vocals for another Major Lazer song, "Lean On" withDJ Snake, which was released in March 2015.[40] The single topped the charts globally in MØ's native Denmark,[41] Australia,[42] Finland,[43] Iceland,[44] and the Netherlands,[45] while reaching the top five in several countries, including France,[46] Germany,[47] Sweden,[48] the United Kingdom[49] and the United States.[50] According to theIFPI, "Lean On" was the fifth best-selling song of 2015 worldwide, and one of thebest-selling singles of all time, with global sales of 13.1 million.[51]Spotify named it as the most streamed song of all time, and has over one billion streams globally as of June 2017.[52][53] The music video for "Lean On" premiered on April 30, 2015, and became aviral success with over 2.5 billion views onYouTube,[54] making it the32nd most viewed video on the site.[55]
2015–2017:When I Was Young EP, and more collaborations
On 1 October 2015, it was announced that the first single from MØ's upcoming second studio album, "Kamikaze", produced byDiplo, would be released on 15 October 2015.[56] On 14 October, the single made its world premiere on aBBC Radio 1 segment hosted byAnnie Mac before the studio version was released the following day.[57] "Kamikaze" charted in Denmark,[58] the United Kingdom,[59] Australia[60] and Belgium.[61] On 13 May 2016, "Final Song", the second single from MØ's second album, was released and also made its world premiere on the same radio segment hosted by Mac.[62] The song was co-written with Swedish singerNoonie Bao and English singerMNEK.[63] It became MØ's first top 40 single as a lead artist in the United Kingdom, with the song reaching number 14 on theUK Singles Chart.[64]
On 22 July 2016,Major Lazer released the single "Cold Water" which features Canadian singerJustin Bieber and MØ,[65] marking the fourth time she has worked with Lazer. In the United States, "Cold Water" debuted at number two on theBillboard Hot 100, becoming MØ's second top 10 and her third top 40 single.[66] It is also her highest-charting single in the United States.[67] MØ is the highest-charting Danish act along withJørgen Ingmann ("Apache") andLukas Graham ("7 Years"), who all reached number two on theBillboard Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, "Cold Water" debuted at number one on theUK Singles Chart.[68] The song became MØ's first number-one single, and she is only the fourth Danish act to reach number one in the UK. Additionally, it is the first time two Danish acts have reached number one in the same year (with the other being Lukas Graham's "7 Years").[69]
On 17 September 2016, MØ announced the release of her new track titled "Drum". It had made special appearances in previous concerts and shows.[70] The song was produced by American producerBloodpop also co-written by English singerCharli XCX alongsideNoonie Bao.[71] In October 2016, the song's official audio was released.[72] On 6 January 2017, English electronic duoSnakehips premiered their new track "Don't Leave" which features vocals from MØ. The official lyric video was also released the same day.[73] On 10 March 2017, she was featured on Charli XCX's "3AM (Pull Up)" taken from her mixtape,Number 1 Angel.[74] She was featured alongsideSophie on the song "9 (After Coachella)" byCashmere Cat, which was the fifth single from his debut album,9.[75] On 21 April 2017, "Nights with You", the third single from her upcoming second studio album, was officially released worldwide[76] after premiering onMistaJam'sBBC Radio 1 show the previous day.[77]
On 26 October 2017, MØ released her second extended play, titledWhen I Was Young, as a surprise.[78] The EP is composed of songs that MØ wrote over the course of four years since the release ofNo Mythologies to Follow.[79] On 30 October 2017, MØ announced a co-headlining North American tour withCashmere Cat titled the Meøw Tour in support of the EP. It took place from January to April 2018.[80] In 2017, MØ co-wrote and provided vocals onDiplo's song "Get It Right",[81] for the albumMajor Lazer Presents: Give Me Future.[82] They both also performed the song onThe Jimmy Fallon Show with an appearance fromGoldLink.[83]
2018–2020:Forever Neverland, and more collaborations
On 28 January 2022, MØ's third studio album,Motordrome, was released viaSony Music UK.[102] The album was supported by 4 singles: "Live to Survive",[103] "Kindness",[104] and the double singles, "Brad Pitt" and "Goosebumps".[105] On the day of the album's release, the music video for "New Moon" appeared on MØ'sYouTube channel.[106] In late February 2022, MØ went on tour to promoteMotordrome across North America and Europe, opened forImagine Dragons's tourMercury World Tour in North America and played summer festivals in the Europe among others on Tinderbox,[107]Mad Cool Festival[108] andWay Out West Festival.[109] On 17 June 2022, MØ released "True Romance" as the first single from extended edition ofMotordrome.[110] On 29 June, she appeared in aGryffin's song "Reckless".[111] On 12 August, MØ released extended edition of the album, titledMotordrome - Dødsdrom Edition.[112] On the day of the release of it, a music video for "Spaceman" was released on MØ's YouTube channel.[113] On November, MØ performed atCorona Capital onMexico City as her last announced show in 2022.[114] On 11 August 2023, MØ released her next single "Attack of the Ghost Riders", a cover ofThe Raveonettes.[115]
On September 20, 2023, MØ and Fryd Frydendahl published their book titledRacing – Circles of doubt, Squares of light.[116]
2024-present: 10th anniversary ofNo Mythologies to Follow andPlæygirl
In late 2023, MØ announced in a thank you video onSpotify Wrapped that she is working on her fourth upcoming album. On January 26, 2024 MØ released her single titled "Fake Chanel" which was a scrapped outtake from her debut albumNo Mythologies to Follow.[117] The track was co-written and produced by Danish producerRonni Vindahl.[118] The single was later added to the tenth year anniversary edition of the album.[117]
On 23 January 2024, MØ announced via her social media that she is on the occasion of the 10th anniversary ofNo Mythologies to Follow, and she will release an extended version of the album.[119] She also added new tour dates, third show in Copenhagen and fourth in London.[119][120] In the anniversary edition of the album she had released three outtakes "Bad Luck", "Anti Hero" & "Daydreams (Night Version)".[121] On 15 and 16 March 2024, MØ played a concert at Vega in Copenhagen to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release ofNo Mythologies to Follow.[118]
MØ released her single "Who Said" on 16 October 2024, accompanied by an official visualiser directed by Danish photographer Fryd Frydendahl.[122] ARonni Vindahl edit and a Sassy 009 remix were released on 22 November 2024.[123] MØ released her cover of "Wake Me Up" byAvicii andAloe Blacc on 6 December 2024, as a homage to Avicii's legacy.[124][125] The cover was also released alongside a visualiser.[126] On 28 January 2025, MØ released her third single "Sweet" featuring Irish musicianBiig Piig, and announced release of her fourth studio albumPlæygirl which would be released on 16 May 2025.[127] On March 21, "Keep Moving" was released as the album fourth single.[128] A month later, she released the fifth single "Lose Yourself".[129] "Heartbreak" was released a day before of album's release.[130]
MØ said in an interview fromWonderland Magazine that her grandfather, Mogens Ørsted, was used to be an artist who would sign his initials on his paintings. Therefore, she decided to do the same initials within her own name.[2] The word "mø" means "maiden" or "virgin to life" in Danish.[131]
^Certain award groups do not simply award one winner. They acknowledge several different recipients, have runners-up, and have third place. Since this is a specific recognition and is different from losing an award, runner-up mentions are considered wins in this award tally. For simplification and to avoid errors, each award in this list has been presumed to have had a prior nomination.
^abLevine, Nick (5 July 2013)."Mø – 'Waste Of Time'".NME. Archived fromthe original on 11 June 2015. Retrieved5 August 2014....she's like a cross between Siouxsie Sioux and '90s Janet Jackson...
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Media related toMØ at Wikimedia Commons
