Brita Maret Sofia Jannok (born 15 September 1982) is a Swedish

Sámi Acronyms * SAMI, ''Synchronized Accessible Media Interchange'', a closed-captioning format developed by Microsoft * Saudi Arabian Military Industries, a government-owned defence company * South African Malaria Initiative, a virtual expertise ...

artist, singer, songwriter and radio host. Several times, she has publicly taken a stance in social media against the establishment of mines on land used by Sámi reindeer herders. Together with Mariela Idivuoma, she was hostess of the

Liet-Lávlut Liet International (), formerly Liet-Lávlut, is an international music competition for songs in European minority and regional languages. The inaugural edition took place on 28 April 2002 as a spin-off of the West Frisian-language song conte ...

music festival in 2006. She has also hosted the program ''"Mailbmi – small people great music"'' on Swedish Radio P2, and the Sámi children's program '' Unna Junná'' for

Yle Yleisradio Oy (; ), abbreviated as Yle () (formerly styled in all uppercase until 2012), translated into English as the Finnish Broadcasting Company, is Finland's national public broadcasting company, founded in 1926. It is a joint-stock comp ...

. Her music is inspired from diverse musical influences, like

folk Folk or Folks may refer to: Sociology *Nation *People * Folklore ** Folk art ** Folk dance ** Folk hero ** Folk horror ** Folk music *** Folk metal *** Folk punk *** Folk rock ** Folk religion * Folk taxonomy Arts, entertainment, and media * Fo ...

, pop,

jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...

and

yoik A joik or yoik (anglicised, where the latter spelling in English conforms with the pronunciation; also named , , , or in the Sámi languages) is a traditional form of song in Sámi music performed by the Sámi people of Sápmi in Northern Europe ...

. She sings mostly in

Northern Sámi Northern Sámi or North Sámi ( ; ; ; ; ; disapproved exonym Lappish or Lapp) is the most widely spoken of all Sámi languages. The area where Northern Sámi is spoken covers the northern parts of Norway, Sweden and Finland. Geographic distr ...

, but also sings and writes lyrics in Swedish and English as well.

Career

Sofia previously performed with Anna Kärrstedt in the duo Sofia och Anna. She performed in

Melodifestivalen 2009 2009 was the 49th edition of the Swedish music competition , which was organised by (SVT) and took place over a six-week period between 7 February and 14 March 2009. The winner of the competition was Malena Ernman with the song "La Voix (song), ...

with the song "

Waterloo Waterloo most commonly refers to: * Battle of Waterloo, 1815 battle where Napoleon's French army was defeated by Anglo-allied and Prussian forces * Waterloo, Belgium Waterloo may also refer to: Other places Australia * Waterloo, New South Wale ...

" in Sámi ('Čáhcceloo'). On 30 June 2009 she was one of the summer guest hosts on Swedish Radio P1. The day after, 1 July, she participated in SVT's program from

Skansen Skansen (; "the Sconce") is the oldest open-air museum and zoo in Sweden located on the island Djurgården in Stockholm, Sweden. It was opened on 11 October 1891 by Artur Hazelius (1833–1901) to show the way of life in the different parts ...

in Stockholm for the inauguration of the Swedish Presidency of the EU. At the opening meeting in the Parliament House in Stockholm on 15 September 2009, she performed "Samelands vidder". From 23 to 30 May 2010 Jannok performed in various bars and clubs in Shanghai and Beijing, China. From 4 to 5 June 2010 she attended the Talvatis Festival in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales. During an inauguration of the Culture year in Umeå 2014, Sofia conducted a call of

anti-racism Anti-racism encompasses a range of ideas and political actions which are meant to counter racial prejudice, systemic racism, and the oppression of specific racial groups. Anti-racism is usually structured around conscious efforts and deliberate ...

with

Cleo Cleo may refer to: Entertainment and media Film and TV * ''Cleo'' (2019 Belgian film), a drama * ''Cleo'' (2019 German film), a drama * '' Snowtime!'', released as ''Cleo'' in the United Kingdom, a 2015 Canadian animated film * ''Cleo'' (TV ser ...

and

Kristin Amparo Kristin Viktoria Amparo Sundberg (born 1 December 1983) is a Swedish singer. She attended Adolf Fredrik's Music School in Stockholm. She participated in season 1 of the Swedish ''X Factor ''The X Factor'' is a television music competition fr ...

before the performance of the song "". On stage at the same time was also a group of left-wing

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

activists wearing ski masks with the message "Free Joel" printed on their shirts, which alludes to an activist who was arrested and convicted for attempted manslaughter and rioting because of the

riots in Kärrtorp A riot or mob violence is a form of civil disorder commonly characterized by a group lashing out in a violent public disturbance against authority, property, or people. Riots typically involve destruction of property, public or private. The p ...

, when a group of

Neo-Nazis Neo-Nazism comprises the post–World War II militant, social, and political movements that seek to revive and reinstate Nazi ideology. Neo-Nazis employ their ideology to promote hatred and racial supremacy (often white supremacy), to att ...

attacked a left-wing anti-racism demonstration. Sofia performed at the first Sápmi Pride festival which took place in

Kiruna (; ; ; ) is the northernmost Stad (Sweden), city in Sweden, situated in the province of Lapland, Sweden, Lapland. It had 17,002 inhabitants in 2016 and is the seat of Kiruna Municipality (population: 23,167 in 2016) in Norrbotten County. The c ...

in 2014 and was attended by 300 people.

Awards

In 2014, Jannok received the

Áillohaš Music Award The Áillohaš Music Award is an annual Sámi music award created to commemorate Nils-Aslak Valkeapää, Nils-Aslak ''Áillohaš'' Valkeapää's 50th birthday in 1993. The winner of the award is announced on Holy Saturday in conjunction with ...

, a Sámi music award conferred by

Kautokeino Municipality Kautokeino (; ; ; ) is a List of municipalities of Norway, municipality in Finnmark Counties of Norway, county, Norway. The administrative centre of the municipality is the Kautokeino (village), village of Guovdageaidnu/Kautokeino. Other villag ...

and the

Kautokeino Sámi Association Kautokeino () may refer to: Places *Kautokeino Municipality (also known as: ), a municipality in Finnmark county, Norway *Kautokeino (village) (also known as: ), the main village in Kautokeino Municipality in Finnmark county, Norway *''Kautokeino' ...

to honor the significant contributions the recipient or recipients has made to the diverse world of Sámi music. The same year she was nominated for a

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 ...

award for "Áhpi" ('Wide as Oceans'). In 2021, Jannok was awarded an honorary doctorate from the

Luleå University of Technology Luleå University of Technology is a Public university, public research university in Norrbotten County, Sweden. The university has four campuses located in the Arctic, Arctic Region in the cities of Luleå, Kiruna, Skellefteå, and Piteå. With ...

"for her work for the rights of indigenous people, against discrimination and racism, and for the Arctic environment."

Discography

Albums

Other appearances

*2000: ''Dál juovlla čuovggaid cahkkehit'' (Sami Christmas CD) *2007: ''Ima ipmašat'' (children's CD, DAT) *2007: ''Buoremus ájgge'' (children's CD, Mandy Senger & Sara Aira Fjällström) ;Soundtracks *2000: *''TV-musik ur dokumentärserien Samerna'' (Scandinavian Songs) *2000: ''Great North'' (soundtrack, TVA International inc.)

Singles

*2000: "Čalmmit" (as part of Sofia och Anna) *2004: "Liekkas clubmix" (promotional single, Publishment)

Music competitions

*2001: '' Sámi Grand Prix 2001'', Rieban *2003: '' Sámi Grand Prix 2003'', Rieban

In popular culture

''Episode 5: Just Decide'' of

Threshold Podcast ''Threshold'' is a podcast and radio show that tackles one pressing environmental story each season. The podcast explores the intersections of environment, history, culture, science, politics and social justice, focusing on the human relationships ...

Season Two featured the song "We are Still Here" from Jannok's album ''ORDA – This is My Land''.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Jannok, Sofia Áillohaš Music Award winners Swedish Sámi musicians Swedish women singer-songwriters Swedish singer-songwriters Swedish folk singers Swedish women folk singers Living people 1982 births 21st-century Swedish singers 21st-century Swedish women singers Sámi women