Seinabo Sey was born inSödermalm, Stockholm,[2] on 7 October 1990. She is of both Swedish andGambian ancestry.[3] She moved toHalmstad, Sweden, at the age of eight, and attended Östergårdsskolans music program for musically gifted teenagers.[4]
Sey was inspired musically by artists such asAlicia Keys andBeyoncé early in life. She grew up inHalmstad, Sweden, surrounded by artistry and creativity. Her father Maudo Sey was a renowned musician inThe Gambia andSenegal, West Africa. Her mother, Madeleine Sundqvist, is Swedish. Seinabo Sey has two siblings; a younger brother Maudo Sey jr and sister Seidato Sey, she is also half-sister to the artistFatima Bramme Sey[5] and the radio host Amie Bramme Sey. In an interview, Sey recalled being nine years old and watchingMTV, which led her to become obsessed with music and singing. Sey wanted to study atYale as an adolescent, being inspired by the characterRory Gilmore on the television showGilmore Girls. She took academic steps towards that dream, enrolling in anInternational Baccalaureate program in Halmstad, Sweden, although at the age of 16 she ended up changing course, moving to Stockholm to attend and later graduate fromFryshusets esthetics program with a concentration in soul music.[6]
In an interview Sey noted: "I was really academically tracked... I loved to sing but I could never fathom singing by myself. I tried to push away the whole music dream and thought I had to do something more in line with that, like becoming a lawyer or something, until I was around sixteen. But then I realised I couldn't really live in that small town so I moved to Stockholm and started music school".[7][8][9][10]
After Sey started working with producerMagnus Lidehäll she released her debut single "Younger", followed by "Hard Time" and "Pistols at Dawn".[11] The singles, which were described as soul pop, received much attention and accolades in Sweden and abroad.[12]Kygo, a Norwegian musician, remixed "Younger", releasing it in Norway and the United States. This version, known as "Younger (Kygo Remix)", peaked on the NorwegianVG-lista chart (for seven consecutive weeks) and on the USBillboardHot Dance Club Songs. On 16 April 2015, "Younger" was featured onBBC Radio 1 as their Track of the Day.
In 2014, EDM duoGalantis used a sample of Sey's single "Hard Times" in a song that appears on their self-titledEP titled "Friends (Hard Times)".
Sey performed at the 2014 Swedish Grammy Awards and atAllsång på Skansen in Stockholm.[13][14] In October 2014, Seinabo Sey released the critically acclaimed EPFor Madeleine, dedicated to and named after her mother.[15] The EP was produced by Magnus Lidehäll and written by, among others,Salem Al Fakir, Oscar Linnros andVincent Pontare, along with Seinabo Sey herself. That same month, she performed at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm.[16] She also performed at the 2014Nobel Peace Prize concert.[17]
On 30 March 2015 Sey released her second EP, the four-trackFor Maudo, dedicated to and named after her father,Maudo Sey [sv]. Repeating the success ofFor Madeleine, the EP received favorable reviews and widespread critical acclaim in Sweden and abroad.For Maudo was produced byMagnus Lidehäll, and one Swedish review described the EP as a "weightless and spellbinding" crossover between soul and modern pop. Another review described the EP as being composed of "exceptionally beautiful music".[18][19][20][21][22][23]
On 23 October 2015 Sey released her first album, calledPretend. The album contains 16 tracks, including "Younger" and "Hard Time".[24] In November 2016, the album's titular track "Pretend" was the featured music in the season 6Girls trailer.[25]
Also in 2015, parts of her 2014 song, "Hard Time", was utilized as theme song for Swedish murder-mystery TV series,100 Code (Hundred Code). The show screened in Germany and then spread to other countries; it is now on rerun on cable in the United States and elsewhere.
On 7 September 2018 she released her second albumI'm a Dream.[26]
Media related toSeinabo Sey at Wikimedia Commons