Tove Anna Linnéa Östman Styrke (; born 19 November 1992) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She gained popularity as a contestant on '' Swedish Idol 2009'', finishing in third place. After the show, she started a solo career in

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

. She released her debut album ''

Tove Styrke Tove Anna Linnéa Östman Styrke (; born 19 November 1992) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She gained popularity as a contestant on '' Swedish Idol 2009'', finishing in third place. After the show, she started a solo career in electropop. Sh ...

'' in 2010. The ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is an American Conservatism in the United States, conservative daily Tabloid (newspaper format), tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates three online sites: NYPost. ...

'' included Styrke in its list of "10 Artists to Know in 2011". In 2015, she released her second album, ''

Kiddo Kiddo was a P-Funk offspring group at A&M Records, formed by Parliament-Funkadelic guitarist Michael Hampton and writer Donnie Sterling, in the early 1980s. History In 1978, one of Kiddo's founding members, Donnie Sterling, was a member of ...

''. Three years later, in 2018, she released her third album, '' Sway''. Throughout the 2010s Styrke gained an increasing critical acclaim as an independent artist resulting in her single "

Say My Name "Say My Name" is a song by American group Destiny's Child from their second studio album, '' The Writing's on the Wall'' (1999). It was written by Beyoncé Knowles, LeToya Luckett, LaTavia Roberson, Kelly Rowland, LaShawn Daniels, Fred Jerki ...

" being included in ''

Rolling Stone ''Rolling Stone'' is an American monthly magazine that focuses on music, politics, and popular culture. It was founded in San Francisco, California, in 1967 by Jann Wenner and the music critic Ralph J. Gleason. The magazine was first known fo ...

''s 100 best songs of the decade.

Biography

Styrke was born in

Umeå Umeå ( , , , locally ; ; ; ; ) is a city in northeast Sweden. It is the seat of Umeå Municipality and the capital of Västerbotten County. Situated on the Ume River, Umeå is the largest Urban areas in Sweden, locality in Norrland and the t ...

Sweden Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden, is a Nordic countries, Nordic country located on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. It borders Norway to the west and north, and Finland to the east. At , Sweden is the largest Nordic count ...

. She has two sisters, one younger and one older. Her father, musician Anders Östman, scored a number one hit on the Swedish radio chart,

Svensktoppen ''Svensktoppen'' () is a weekly record chart airing on Sveriges Radio. Until January 2003, the songs had to be in the Swedish language. Svensktoppen has aired since 1962, except for the years 1982–1985. In the years leading up to the January 20 ...

, in 1975 with the song "Vindens melodi" performed by his

dansband (; "dance band"), or in Norwegian and Danish, is a Swedish language, Swedish term for a band that plays (; "dance band music"). ' is often danced to in partner dance, pairs. Jitterbug and foxtrot music are often included in this category. T ...

Max Fenders. Her mother was a

ballet Ballet () is a type of performance dance that originated during the Italian Renaissance in the fifteenth century and later developed into a concert dance form in France and Russia. It has since become a widespread and highly technical form of ...

instructor and Styrke took classes from her at an early age.

Music career

''Tove Styrke'' and "Call My Name" (2009–2011)

After competing on ''Swedish Idol 2009'' and finishing in third place, Styrke was signed by

Sony Music Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

label in December 2009. In June 2010, she released her first single, "

Million Pieces "Million Pieces" is a song by Swedish singer Tove Styrke from her debut studio album, ''Tove Styrke'' (2010). It was released as Styrke's debut single on 25 June 2010 through Sony Music. The song peaked at number 18 on the Sverigetopplistan singl ...

", which was co-written by Adam Olenius from

Shout Out Louds Shout Out Louds is a Swedish indie pop band from Stockholm. History Formed in Stockholm by childhood friends Adam Olenius (vocals), Ted Malmros (bass), and Carl von Arbin (guitars), Shout Out Louds found an international audience during the e ...

and

Lykke Li Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson (born 18 March 1986), known as Lykke Li (), is a Swedish singer, songwriter, model and actress. Her music often blends elements of indie pop, dream pop and Electronic music, electronic. Her debut studio album, ''Youth ...

On 12 November 2010, she released her debut album, ''

''. The album was produced by Patrik Berger, Lotus & 2manyfreckles,

Peter Ågren Peter Ågren is a Swedish songwriter, producer, musician and artist. Credits include The Amplifetes, Tove Styrke, Peter, Bjorn & John and Little Majorette. He started his career as singer for Swedish powerpop band Grass Show. He went on to s ...

, Janne Kask and Paw. It peaked at number 10 on the Swedish single chart, spending 35 weeks on the top album charts in Sweden. It was first certified gold, then later received platinum certification in Sweden. The majority of the album was co-written by Styrke. The album was later re-released in March 2012 in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

with two new songs: " Call My Name" and "Sticks and Stones". Her second single, "

White Light Moment "White Light Moment" is a song by Swedish singer Tove Styrke from her debut studio album, ''Tove Styrke'' (2010). Sony Music released it as the album's second single on 26 October 2010. Styrke wrote the song with its producers, Jan Kask and Peter ...

", charted at number five on the Swedish top singles chart and received gold certification. It eventually peaked at number two. "

" was later nominated for "Best Song of the Year" at

Grammis The Grammis (sometimes referred to as the Swedish Grammy Awards) are music awards presented annually to musicians and songwriters in Sweden. The oldest Swedish music awards were instituted as a local equivalent of the Grammy Awards given in t ...

galan 2012, the Swedish equivalent of the

Grammy Award The Grammy Awards, stylized as GRAMMY, and often referred to as The Grammys, are awards presented by The Recording Academy of the United States to recognize outstanding achievements in music. They are regarded by many as the most prestigious ...

s. In January 2011, Styrke won the "Best Newcomer" award at P3 Guld. At ceremony, she performed a remixed version of "

" by Swedish record producer

Familjen Johan Tommy Karlsson (born April 10, 1976 in Hässleholm) is a Swedish techno/electropop artist who uses the alias Familjen (, "The Family"). Biography Karlsson grew up in Hässleholm, Skåne (the same town as fellow electronica producers Andreas ...

. In February 2011, Styrke issued her first EP, '' High and Low'', featuring six remixes of the title track. In April 2011, Styrke was featured in an

IKEA IKEA ( , ) is a Multinational corporation, multinational conglomerate (company), conglomerate founded in Sweden that designs and sells , household goods, and various related services. IKEA is owned and operated by a series of not-for-profit an ...

commercial, where she performed the Swedish lullaby "Byssan Lull". On 19 August 2011, the promotional single " Call My Name" was released on digital download. The song peaked at number six on the Swedish Singles Chart. " Call My Name" was later nominated for "Best Song of the Year" at P3 Guld. That same month, Stryke joined other Swedish artists, collectively called Kedjan, to release a

charity single A charity record, charity album, or charity single is a recording with most or all proceeds raised going to a dedicated foundation or charity. In 1956, The Lord's Taverners released a 78 rpm disc which contained six tracks donated by popular artis ...

called "Ringar på vattnet" ("Ripple Effect" in English), benefiting

Radiohjälpen is a Swedish humanitarian organisation and foundation that is organised by AB, AB and AB. References External links * About Radiohjälpen {{DEFAULTSORT:Radiohjalpen Humanitarian aid organizations in Europe Foundations based in S ...

's charity efforts fighting

famine A famine is a widespread scarcity of food caused by several possible factors, including, but not limited to war, natural disasters, crop failure, widespread poverty, an Financial crisis, economic catastrophe or government policies. This phenom ...

in the

Horn of Africa The Horn of Africa (HoA), also known as the Somali Peninsula, is a large peninsula and geopolitical region in East Africa.Robert Stock, ''Africa South of the Sahara, Second Edition: A Geographical Interpretation'', (The Guilford Press; 2004), ...

. In September 2011, the Swedish band Caotico collaborated with Styrke on their single released "Brains Out". She also appeared in the

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

for the single.

''Borderline'' (2013–2014)

In 2013, Styrke signed a contract with

Sony Music UK Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

. On 22 May 2014 she released her comeback single, "Even If I'm Loud Doesn't Mean I'm Talking To You", on iTunes in Sweden. On 9 October 2014, her next single " Borderline", the first from her upcoming EP of the same title, was released on iTunes. A remixed version of "Borderline" was previously released for the Swedish

compilation album A compilation album comprises Album#Tracks, tracks, which may be previously released or unreleased, usually from several separate recordings by either one Performing arts#Performers, performer or by several performers. If the recordings are from ...

, ''F!'' on 22 April 2014 on iTunes in Sweden and for online streaming on

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

. The music video for "Borderline" was filmed in

Pyramiden Pyramiden (; rus, Пирами́да, r=Piramída, p=pʲɪrɐˈmʲidə; literally 'The Pyramid') is an abandoned Soviet coal mining settlement on the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard which has become a tourist destination. Founded by Sweden ...

in September 2014 and premiered exclusively on website, "Fader", on 15 October 2014. Styrke performed songs from the EP and new material at two debut UK shows in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

on 5 and 6 November. The song "Brag" premiered exclusively for

Nylon Nylon is a family of synthetic polymers characterised by amide linkages, typically connecting aliphatic or Polyamide#Classification, semi-aromatic groups. Nylons are generally brownish in color and can possess a soft texture, with some varieti ...

on 20 November 2014. The '' Borderline EP'' was released for digital download on 23 November 2014. On 17 November 2014,

RCA Records RCA Records is an American record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment, a subsidiary of Sony Group Corporation. It is one of Sony Music's four flagship labels, alongside Columbia Records (its former longtime rival), Arista Records and Epic R ...

announced that Styrke had signed with the label. The label confirmed Styrke's plans to release her first US album via RCA and Sony Sweden in the spring of 2015.

''Kiddo'', ''Sway'', and ''Hard'' (2015–present)

On 23 January 2015, Styrke premiered the single "Ego" from her second album, ''

''. The single was available for streaming via her official

SoundCloud SoundCloud is a German audio streaming service owned and operated by SoundCloud Global Limited & Co. KG. The service enables its users to upload, promote, and share audio. Founded in 2007 by Alexander Ljung and Eric Wahlforss, SoundCloud is ...

account and later was released that same day on iTunes. The music video for "Ego" was filmed in

Tokyo Tokyo, officially the Tokyo Metropolis, is the capital of Japan, capital and List of cities in Japan, most populous city in Japan. With a population of over 14 million in the city proper in 2023, it is List of largest cities, one of the most ...

and premiered on Styrke's Vevo channel on 2 February 2015. ''Kiddo'' was released in digital, vinyl, and physical formats on 8 June 2015. The next single "Number One" was released for streaming on

and digital download for

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

on 13 May 2015 and was featured on the CW's '' Riverdale''. To promote the album, Styrke attended the annual

SXSW South by Southwest (SXSW) is an annual conglomeration of parallel film, interactive media, and music festivals and Convention (meeting), conferences organized jointly that take place in mid-March in Austin, Texas. It began in 1987 and has conti ...

festival in March 2015; she later embarked on a small tour of the US in May 2015. Four days prior to its release, ''Kiddo'' exclusively streamed in its entirety for Spotify listeners in Sweden on 5 June 2015. On 23 July 2015, Stryke released a cover version of " ...Baby One More Time" by

Britney Spears Britney Jean Spears (born December 2, 1981) is an American singer. Often referred to as the "Princess of Pop", she has sold over 150 million records worldwide, making her one of the world's best-selling music artists. Cultural impact of Brit ...

as a single along its music video. On 28 April 2017, Styrke released "

", which would serve as the first single from her third album, '' Sway''. " Mistakes" followed as the second single on 15 September, with "Liability (Demo)" being released as a promotional track on 15 December. " Changed My Mind" was released as the third single alongside the album announcement on 2 February 2018. Before the album's release, the single " On the Low" came out. ''Sway'' was released on 4 May 2018 through Sony Music. It was re-released digitally, including the single "

Vibe Vibe, alternatively '' vibes,'' is short for ''vibration''. A "vibe" is an emotional reaction to the aura or energy felt to belong to a person, place or thing. Vibe may also refer to: People * DJ Vibe (born 1968), Portuguese DJ * Lasse Vibe (b ...

", unveiled on 19 October 2018 ahead of a tour through United Kingdom. Through 2018 and 2020 she released several collaborations, including a feature on

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'', an upcoming film by Sally Potter * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' ( ...

's mixtape '' Heavy Rules'' called "Good Vibes", "Last Goodbye" by

Clean Bandit Clean Bandit is an English electronic music group formed in Cambridge in 2008. They have achieved four number-one singles and six additional top-ten songs on the UK Official Singles Chart. Since 2016, the group has been a trio comprising foundi ...

also featuring

Stefflon Don Stephanie Victoria Allen (born 14 December 1991), known professionally as Stefflon Don, is an English rapper. She rose to fame with her 2017 single "Hurtin' Me" (featuring French Montana), which peaked at number seven on the UK singles chart, ...

from their album '' What Is Love?'', "Stuck" with

Lost Kings Lost Kings are an American DJ duo consisting of Robert Abisi and Nick Shanholtz, based in Los Angeles. The duo gained popularity beginning in 2014 through their official remixes for artists such as Imagine Dragons, Krewella, Halsey, Vance Joy ...

, "Been There, Done That" with

NOTD NOTD (pronounced "noted") is a Swedish musical production duo composed of Tobias Danielsson and Samuel Brandt. They are best known for their songs "I Wanna Know (NOTD song), I Wanna Know" featuring Bea Miller and "So Close (NOTD song), So Close" ...

and "Love Me Back" with

Ritual A ritual is a repeated, structured sequence of actions or behaviors that alters the internal or external state of an individual, group, or environment, regardless of conscious understanding, emotional context, or symbolic meaning. Traditionally ...

. She also participated in the eleventh series of the Swedish

reality television Reality television is a genre of television programming that documents purportedly unscripted real-life situations, often starring ordinary people rather than professional actors. Reality television emerged as a distinct genre in the early 1990s ...

show ''

Så mycket bättre Så mycket bättre (, ) is a Swedish reality television show broadcast on TV4 (Sweden), TV4. The basic premise is that each participating musician performs their own version of a well-known song by another artist, with each episode focusing on ...

''. On 19 June 2021 she released the single "

Mood Swings A mood swing is an extreme or sudden change of mood. Such changes can play a positive or a disruptive part in promoting problem solving and in producing flexible forward planning. When mood swings are severe, they may be categorized as part ...

". Styrke's fourth album with the singles " Start Walking", "

Hardcore Hardcore, hard core or hard-core may refer to: Arts and media Film * ''Hardcore'' (1977 film), a British comedy film * ''Hardcore'' (1979 film), an American crime drama film starring George C Scott * ''Hardcore'' (2001 film), a British documen ...

", " Show Me Love", "YouYouYou", called ''

Hard Hard means something that is difficult to do. It may also refer to: * Hardness, resistance of physical materials to deformation or fracture * Hard water, water with high mineral content Arts and entertainment * Hard (TV series), ''Hard'' (TV ser ...

'' was released on 3 June 2022. On 23 September 2022 Styrke started her own headlining tour Hard Tour in support of her fourth album.

Influences

According to

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

, Styrke combines "the bubbling electronica of

Robyn Robin Miriam Carlsson (; born 12 June 1979), known professionally as Robyn (), is a Swedish singer, songwriter, record producer, and DJ. Her 1995 debut album ''Robyn Is Here'' produced two Billboard Hot 100, ''Billboard'' Hot 100 top 10 single ...

with the hipster synth pop of Annie and the hook-laden Euro-disco of

September September is the ninth month of the year in the Julian and Gregorian calendars. Its length is 30 days. September in the Northern Hemisphere and March in the Southern Hemisphere are seasonally equivalent. In the Northern hemisphere, the b ...

". The German ''Kulturspiegel'', a monthly extra to ''

Der Spiegel (, , stylized in all caps) is a German weekly news magazine published in Hamburg. With a weekly circulation of about 724,000 copies in 2022, it is one of the largest such publications in Europe. It was founded in 1947 by John Seymour Chaloner ...

'', called Styrke's music "nonchalant, catchy boom-pop" and compared it to Robyn and

Personal life

Tove Styrke has been in a relationship with fellow musician Sanna Sikborn Erixon since at least January 2020. In an Instagram story on 1 June 2022, Styrke identified as

pansexual Pansexuality is sexual, romantic, or emotional attraction towards people of all genders, or regardless of their sex or gender identity. Pansexual people may refer to themselves as gender-blind, asserting that gender and sex are not determ ...

Awards and nominations

Sweden GAFFA Awards

Delivered since 2010, the GAFFA Awards (Swedish: GAFFA Priset) are a Swedish award that rewards popular music awarded by the magazine of the same name. ! , - , 2015 , ''

'' , Best Pop , , style="text-align:center;" ,

Discography

* ''

'' (2010) * ''

'' (2015) * '' Sway'' (2018) * ''

'' (2022)

Tours

Headlining tours * Sweden tour (2011) * North America tour (2015) * Sway Tour (2018) * Hard Tour (2022–2023) Supporting tours * The Ark – Scandinavia tour (2011) *

Years & Years Years & Years were an English electropop band formed in London in 2010. The band rose to fame after their single "King" (2015) topped the UK Singles Chart and entered the top ten hit in thirteen other regions. It was preceded by the release o ...

– Communion Tour (2015) *

Bleachers Bleachers (North American English), or stands, are raised, tiered rows of benches found at sports-fields and at other spectator events. Stairways provide access to the horizontal rows of seats, often with every other step enabling access to a ...

– Gone Now Era Tour (2017) *

Lorde Ella Marija Lani Yelich-O'Connor (born 7 November 1996), known professionally as Lorde ( ), is a New Zealand singer and songwriter. She is known for her unconventional style of pop music and introspective songwriting, and has been referred to ...

–

Melodrama World Tour The Melodrama World Tour was the second concert tour by New Zealand singer-songwriter Lorde, undertaken in support of her second studio album, ''Melodrama'' (2017). Lorde headlined several music festivals before commencing the tour, and went on ...

(2018) *

Katy Perry Katheryn Elizabeth Hudson (born October 25, 1984), known professionally as Katy Perry, is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. She is one of the List of best-selling music artists, best-selling music artists in hist ...

– Witness: The Tour (2018) *

Marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : "related to the sea") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or cargo ...

– Ancient Dreams in a Modern Land Tour (2022)

References

External links

*
Agency ProfileRCA Records ProfileVideography
{{DEFAULTSORT:Styrke, Tove 1992 births People from Umeå Living people Idol (Swedish TV series) participants 21st-century Swedish singer-songwriters RCA Records artists Synth-pop singers Electronica musicians Swedish women in electronic music Swedish women singer-songwriters Feminist musicians English-language singers from Sweden Swedish child singers Swedish pop singers Swedish women pop singers Swedish electronic musicians 21st-century Swedish women singers Swedish pansexual people Swedish LGBTQ singers Pansexual musicians Pansexual women LGBTQ women singers Musicians from Västerbotten County