Titiyo Yambalu Felicia Jah (born 23 July 1967) is a

Swedish Swedish or ' may refer to: Anything from or related to Sweden, a country in Northern Europe. Or, specifically: * Swedish language, a North Germanic language spoken primarily in Sweden and Finland ** Swedish alphabet, the official alphabet used by ...

singer and songwriter who has won four

Grammis The Grammis are music awards presented annually to musicians and songwriters in Sweden. The oldest Swedish music awards, they were instituted as a local equivalent of the Grammy Awards given in the United States. The awards ceremony is generall ...

Biography

Early life

Titiyo was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to Ahmadu Jah, a

Sierra Leonean Sierra Leone,)]. officially the Republic of Sierra Leone, is a country on the southwest coast of West Africa. It is bordered by Liberia to the southeast and Guinea surrounds the northern half of the nation. Covering a total area of , Sierra ...

drummer, and Maylen Bergström. She is the half-sister of singer-songwriter Neneh Cherry.'Come Along' With Titiyo, by Gerry Galipault
, 27 November 2002. Retrieved 20 October 2010. She grew up in

Solna Solna Municipality ( sv, Solna kommun or , ) is a municipality in Stockholm County in Sweden, located just north of Stockholm City Centre. Its seat is located in the town of Solna, which is a part of the Stockholm urban area. Solna is one of the ...

Musical career

Titiyo discovered her own singing abilities when invited by her older sister to sing with her at a studio in London. She fronted her own band in 1987 and played the Stockholm circuit, and signed with a local label, Telegram, in 1989. She also sang background vocals for a range of Swedish artists, including

Army of Lovers Army of Lovers is a Swedish dance- pop group which formed in 1987 and had a number of hits in Europe throughout the 1990s. Some of their biggest successes include the song "Crucified", which was a big hit in Europe, charting 31 weeks in the E ...

and

Jakob Hellman Jakob Hellman (born 20 October 1965) is a Swedish pop singer. His debut album, '' ...och stora havet'', released in 1989, was his only release for 32 years. He released his second album, ''Äntligen borta'', on 8 January 2021. He is still a well ...

. In 1989, Titiyo released her self-titled debut album, which topped at No. 3 in Sweden, and was released in the United States on Arista, and became one of the contributions to a Swedish R&B wave in the US that lasted throughout the nineties. The single "My Body Says Yes" was a hit in North America, and " Talking to the Man in the Moon" reached No. 6 in the Swedish charts; the subsequent single, "After the Rain," reached No. 13. Titiyo took a two-year break and returned in 1993 with the Aretha Franklin cover " Never Let Me Go" (a hit that reached number 25 on Swedish chart), later included on her second full-length ''This is Titiyo''. Remixes of this and some of her other songs were popular in the London club scene. Her third album, ''Extended'', produced by Kent (Gillström) Isaacs (released by the Swedish label Diesel Music), appeared in 1997, producing the hit single "Josefin Dean" (named after Mariah Carey's best friend). Titiyo 2008

In 2001, Titiyo revitalised her career with her successful fourth studio album ''Come Along'' (released in the US in 2002; also on Diesel Music), spawning the eponymous single " Come Along", which became an international hit. Produced by

Peter Svensson Anders Peter Svensson is a Swedish record producer, songwriter, and musician. He is the main songwriter and guitarist of the band the Cardigans. He started playing guitar at the age of eight, and in his teens he went on to play with local ban ...

(

The Cardigans The Cardigans is a Swedish rock band formed in Jönköping, Sweden, in 1992 by guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead singer Nina Persson. Post-hiatus shows sin ...

) and

Joakim Berg Herbert Joakim "Jocke" Berg (born 16 March 1970 in Eskilstuna, Sweden) is a Swedish singer, songwriter and musician, best known as the lead singer of Swedish Rock/Pop band Kent. Berg rarely gives interviews, saying in one: less is more. Berg ...

(

Kent Kent is a county in South East England and one of the home counties. It borders Greater London to the north-west, Surrey to the west and East Sussex to the south-west, and Essex to the north across the estuary of the River Thames; it faces ...

), the album and its title song made it to the top of in the Swedish charts, while the single was a success in several European countries including France, (Germany), Switzerland, and the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

. The second single from the album, "1989", was not nearly as successful as its predecessor but reached the top-30 of the French singles chart. After a lengthy hiatus,

Warner Music Warner Music Group Corp. ( d.b.a. Warner Music Group, commonly abbreviated as WMG) is an American multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate headquartered in New York City. It is one of the " big three" recording companies and th ...

released a

greatest hits album A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

named ''Best of Titiyo'' in 2004, which included two new songs. One of these songs, "Loving out of Nothing", charted within the top-20 in Sweden in early 2005. In spring 2008, Titiyo was asked to contribute vocals to

Kleerup Andreas Kleerup (born 1979), professionally known as Kleerup, is a Swedish electropop musician. Career Kleerup's career as a producer, composer, songwriter and artist began in music as a songwriter, going on to tour with Teddybears and Robyn ...

's single " Longing for Lullabies". Released in April 2008 in

Scandinavia Scandinavia; Sámi languages: /. ( ) is a subregion in Northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. In English usage, ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Swe ...

, the single has since reached the top 20 in Denmark and top 10 in Sweden. Titiyo released her fifth album, ''Hidden'', on the Swedish independent label Sheriff late 2008. The album mainly feature self-penned material but also results of collaborations with the likes of

, Moto Boy, and Goran Kajfes of

Oddjob Oddjob (often written as "Odd Job") is a fictional character in the espionage novels and films featuring James Bond. He is a henchman to the villain Auric Goldfinger in the 1959 James Bond novel '' Goldfinger'' and its 1964 film adaptation, mak ...

. So far videos for "Stumble to Fall" and "Awakening" have been released. In 2015, she released her sixth studio album, '' 13 Gården'', which was nominated for a Swedish Grammy in the category "Best Pop". Named after her childhood address in the Solna Municipality, outside of Stockholm, it was Titiyo's first album to be recorded entirely in the Swedish language.

Personal life

Titiyo's daughter Femi was born in 1992. Femi's father is music producer Magnus Frykberg.

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

Selected singles

Awards

Grammis As of 2011, Titiyo has won four

: , - , 1990 , rowspan=2, Herself , Newcomer of the Year , , - , rowspan=2, 1991 , Best Female Pop/Rock Artist , , - , "Flowers" , Best Music Video , , - , 1994 , rowspan=3, Herself , rowspan=3, Best Female Pop/Rock Artist , , - , 1998 , , - , rowspan=3, 2002 , , - , '' Come Along'' , Best Album , , - , " Come Along" , Best Song , , - , 2005 , ''A Collection of Songs'' , Best Compilation , , - , 2009 , " Longing for Lullabies" , Best Song , , - , 2016 , Herself , Best Pop Artist , MTV Europe Music Awards * 2001: Best Nordic Act (nominated) P3 Guld Music Awards * 2009: Best Song for " Longing for Lullabies" (nominated)

References

External links

Official website
{{Authority control 1967 births Living people Singers from Stockholm Swedish women singers Swedish women musicians Swedish people of Sierra Leonean descent Grammy Award winners English-language singers from Sweden