Maja Francis (Maja Francis Alderin) is a Swedish singer best known for her work with

First Aid Kit A first aid kit or medical kit is a collection of supplies and equipment used to give First aid, immediate medical treatment, primarily to treat injuries and other mild or moderate medical conditions. There is a wide variation in the contents o ...

and her closing track on the

Netflix Netflix is an American subscription video on-demand over-the-top streaming service. The service primarily distributes original and acquired films and television shows from various genres, and it is available internationally in multiple lang ...

series '' Love & Anarchy''.

Biography

Francis grew up in

Ängelholm Ängelholm is a urban areas of Sweden, locality and the seat of Ängelholm Municipality in Skåne, Scania, Sweden with 42,131 inhabitants in 2017. History The city was founded in 1516 as Engelholm by King Christian II of Denmark, who moved the se ...

, where her father owned a record store. She is the granddaughter of Scandinavian singer Thory Bernhards. Maja Francis attended Mega Musik

Gymnasieskola ''Gymnasium'' (and variations of the word) is a term in various European languages for a secondary school that prepares students for higher education at a university. It is comparable to the US English term '' preparatory high school'' or t ...

Helsingborg Helsingborg (, , ), is a Urban areas in Sweden, city and the seat of Helsingborg Municipality, Scania County, Scania (Skåne), Sweden. It is the second-largest city in Scania (after Malmö) and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, ninth ...

Career

Francis debuted the single "Last Days of Dancing" in 2015. On August 14, 2015, she released the single "Space Invades My Mind" with

Veronica Maggio Veronica Sandra Karin Maggio (born 15 March 1981) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. Born to an Italian father and a Swedish mother, Maggio was raised in Uppsala. After studying music and being the lead member of a band, Maggio released her de ...

. On the same day, Francis played on Way Out West's club spinoff Stay Out West, where Maggio visited to perform the single with Francis. In January 2016, her debut EP ''Come Companion'' was released. Then in 2017 she appeared with

guesting on their ''Who By Fire'' tribute concert to

Leonard Cohen Leonard Norman Cohen (September 21, 1934November 7, 2016) was a Canadian songwriter, singer, poet, and novelist. Themes commonly explored throughout his work include faith and mortality, isolation and depression, betrayal and redemption, soc ...

where she sang

Famous Blue Raincoat "Famous Blue Raincoat" is a song by Leonard Cohen. It is the sixth track on his third album, '' Songs of Love and Hate'', released in 1971. The song is written in the form of a letter (many of the lines are written in amphibrachs). The lyric tell ...

and joined in with the

So Long, Marianne "So Long, Marianne" is a song written by Canadian poet and musician Leonard Cohen. It was featured on his debut album, '' Songs of Leonard Cohen''. Background The song was inspired by Marianne Jensen, born Marianne Ihlen, whom Cohen met on ...

finale. ''a dramatic and contemporary-sounding 'Famous Blue Raincoat' with compelling vocals from the singer Maja Francis'' She took a break after her pair of 2018 EPs, ''Cry Baby'' parts 1 and 2, saying later that "My relationship with music was kind of toxic after releasing my Cry Baby EPs in 2018… so I needed a break." She returned in December 2019, again with First Aid Kit, singing

It Must Have Been Love "It Must Have Been Love", originally "It Must Have Been Love (Christmas for the Broken Hearted)", is a song written by Per Gessle and performed by the Swedish pop duo Roxette. The power ballad became the duo's third number one hit in the Unite ...

as their tribute to

Marie Fredriksson Gun-Marie Fredriksson (; 30 May 1958 – 9 December 2019) was a Swedish singer, songwriter, pianist, and lead vocalist of pop-rock duo Roxette, which she formed in 1986 with Per Gessle. The duo achieved international success in the late 1980s an ...

. She released her cover of

Kate Bush Catherine Bush (born 30 July 1958) is an English singer, songwriter, record producer, and dancer. Bush began writing songs at age 11. She was signed to EMI Records after David Gilmour of Pink Floyd helped produce a demo tape. In 1978, at the ...

This Woman's Work "This Woman's Work" is a song written and performed by English singer-songwriter Kate Bush. It was initially featured on the soundtrack of the American film '' She's Having a Baby'' (1988). The song was released as the second single from her ...

in July 2020. In the same year, she recorded her single 'Anxious Angel' as the final track of the

series ''Kärlek & Anarki'' ('' Love & Anarchy''). The CD from First Aid Kit's ''Who By Fire tribute'' was released in 2021. Also in 2021, she appeared on a special edition of

Jills veranda ''Jills veranda'' (Jill's veranda) is an Sveriges Television, SVT documentary series. In the programmes, Swedish female country music, country singer Jill Johnson invites six Swedish artists to explore the town of Nashville together with her. Jill ...

, and later in the year released her first album ''A Pink Soft Mess''. For New Year 2023, Francis performed ''

Running Up That Hill "Running Up That Hill" (also titled "Running Up That Hill (A Deal with God)") is a song by the English singer-songwriter Kate Bush. It was released in the UK as the lead single from Bush's fifth studio album, '' Hounds of Love'', on 5 August 19 ...

'' on SVT's Årets quiz (This Year's Quiz). Later in the year she performed '' Heart of Gold'' with

Jill Johnson Jill Anna Maria Johnson (born 24 May 1973) is a Swedish country and pop singer, songwriter and TV-host. She performed in the Melodifestivalen 1998 contest, winning with the song " Kärleken är" ("Love Is"), and represented Sweden at the Euro ...

På spåret ''På spåret'' () is a popular Swedish TV game show series broadcast on SVT since 5 September 1987. The show, which is intended to be humorous yet educational, has remained one of the most popular TV shows in Sweden, attracting an average of 2 ...

. Her 2024 collaborations include

Anna Ternheim Anna Ternheim (born 31 May 1978) is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Early life Ternheim was born 31 May 1978 in Stockholm, Sweden. When she was 10 years old she began playing the guitar, writing songs and performing. During a year abroad in Atlant ...

with the

Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra The Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra () is a Swedish radio orchestra based in Stockholm, affiliated with Sveriges Radio (Sweden's Radio). Its principal performing venue is the Berwaldhallen (Berwald Hall). The orchestra broadcasts concerts on th ...

at Berwald Hall. In April 2024 she performed

SOS SOS is a Morse code distress signal (), used internationally, originally established for maritime use. In formal notation SOS is written with an overscore line (), to indicate that the Morse code equivalents for the individual letters of "SOS" a ...

at SVT's ''En fest för ABBA'' held at

Cirkus (Stockholm) Cirkus () is an arena in Djurgården, Stockholm, Sweden, that holds 1,650 people. It was originally used as a circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained ani ...

. Francis has a record contract with

Universal Music Group Universal Music Group N.V. (often abbreviated as UMG and referred to as Universal Music Group or Universal Music) is a Netherlands, Dutch–United States, American multinational Music industry, music corporation under Law of the Netherlands, ...

under its Sweden Music label and is listed in Sweden by RMV Grammafon.

Discography

Albums

*''A Pink Soft Mess'' (2021), recorded and produced by Johannes Runemark and David Wikber. Nominated for the 2022 '' by:Larm Nordic Music Prize'' "Maja Francis has created her own little sparkling pink galaxy in the Swedish pop universe." *''Hello Cowboy'' (2024)

Live Album

*''Live at Way Out West'' (October 13, 2023)

EP

*''Come Companion'' (January 13, 2016) *''Cry Baby (Pt 1)'' (2018) *''Cry Baby (Pt 2)'' (2018)

Singles

Charted singles

With First Aid Kit

*2019 cover of Roxette's ''It Must Have Been Love'' as their tribute to Marie Fredriksson *2021 release of 2017 Leonard Cohen tribute concert ''Who By Fire'' where she sang ''Famous Blue Raincoat''

Notes

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Francis, Maja Swedish pop singers Swedish women pop singers English-language singers from Sweden Year of birth missing (living people) Living people People from Ängelholm Musicians from Skåne County