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 Grammy's.

Biography

Early life

Titiyo was born in

Stockholm, Sweden Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...

, to Ahmadu Jah, a

Sierra Leonean The demographics of Sierra Leone are made up of an indigenous population from 18 ethnic groups. The Temne in the north and the Mende in the south are the largest. About 60,000 are Krio, the descendants of freed slaves who returned to Sierra L ...

drummer, and Maylen Bergström. Through Jah, she is the younger sister of record producer Cherno Jah and half-sister of singer-songwriter

Neneh Cherry Neneh Mariann Karlsson (; born 10 March 1964), better known as Neneh Cherry, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, rapper, occasional disc jockey, and broadcaster. Her musical career started in London in the early 1980s, where she performed in a numb ...

.'Come Along' With Titiyo, by Gerry Galipault
, 27 November 2002. Retrieved 20 October 2010. She grew up in

Solna Solna ( or , ), also known as Solna Municipality, is a municipality in central Stockholm County, 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 i ...

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 Eu ...

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 Aretha Louise Franklin ( ; March 25, 1942 – August 16, 2018) was an American singer, songwriter and pianist. Honored as the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Queen of Soul", she was twice named by ''Rolling Stone'' magazine as the Roll ...

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 Kent Isaacs is a Swedish producer, mixer, musician, songwriter and music entrepreneur. He is co-owner and operator of Cosmos Music, an independent Scandinavian music label. Isaacs has been known to work with Robyn, RZA, Slick Rick, Yusuf I ...

(released by the Swedish label Diesel Music), appeared in 1997, producing the hit single "Josefin Dean" (named after

Mariah Carey Mariah Carey ( ; born March 27, 1969) is an American singer-songwriter, record producer, and actress. Dubbed the "Honorific nicknames in popular music, Songbird Supreme" by ''Guinness World Records'', Carey is known for her five-octave voc ...

'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 former main songwriter and guitarist of the band the Cardigans. Svensson started playing guitar at the age of eight, and in his teens he went on to play wi ...

(

The Cardigans The Cardigans are a Swedish rock band formed in Jönköping, Sweden in 1992. The main lineup of the band consisted of guitarist Peter Svensson, bassist Magnus Sveningsson, drummer Bengt Lagerberg, keyboardist Lars-Olof Johansson and lead sing ...

) and

Joakim Berg Herbert Joakim "Jocke" Berg (born 16 March 1970) is a Swedish singer and songwriter, best known as the lead singer of the alternative rock band Kent. Biography Berg was born and grew up in Eskilstuna. He moved to Stockholm in 1993 after the fou ...

(

Kent Kent is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South East England. It is bordered by Essex across the Thames Estuary to the north, the Strait of Dover to the south-east, East Sussex to the south-west, Surrey to the west, and Gr ...

), 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 Switzerland, officially the Swiss Confederation, is a landlocked country located in west-central Europe. It is bordered by Italy to the south, France to the west, Germany to the north, and Austria and Liechtenstein to the east. Switzerland ...

, and the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

. 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., 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 the third-largest in the gl ...

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 began his music career as a songwriter, going on to tour with Teddybears and Robyn. In 2007, Kleerup released his debut single "With ...

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

Scandinavia Scandinavia is a subregion#Europe, subregion of northern Europe, with strong historical, cultural, and linguistic ties between its constituent peoples. ''Scandinavia'' most commonly refers to Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. It can sometimes also ...

, 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 Ian Fleming's 1959 James Bond novel '' Goldfinger'' and its 1964 film adap ...

. 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

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 ...

: , - , 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 The year's most prominent event was the September 11 attacks against the United States by al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror. The United States led a Participan ...

: 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