Tove Lo

Tove Lo Artistfacts

  • October 29, 1987
  • Tove Lo's real name is Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson. Her parents started calling her Tove Lo at the age of 3, after she fell in love with a Lynx ("Lo" is Swedish for "Lynx") during a visit to an animal park. She has a tattoo of a lynx on her right hand.
  • Her name is pronounced "Too-veh Lu," but she doesn't correct people who mispronounce it.
  • Nilsson studied at the music-orientated high school Rytmus Musikergymnasiet, which is similar to the UK's BRIT School. She met and befriended there Caroline Hjelt (of Icona Pop).
  • Nilsson first found success by contributing to the writing of songs for the likes of Victoria Justice ("Gold"), Girls Aloud ("Something New"), Icona Pop ("We Got The World") and The Saturdays ("What Are You Waiting For.") She achieved a solo breakthrough with her 2013 tune "Habits (Stay High)."
  • She had been in therapy most of her life. Her mother is a counselor who specialized in treating young people with drug problems.
  • Tove Lo became the first female member of Max Martin and Shellback's songwriting team known as Wolf Cousins.
  • In 2012 Tove Lo shared a London flat with another star-to-be, Swedish actress Alicia Vikander.
  • There is a noticeable divide between the upbeat songs Tove Lo writes for other artists, such as Ellie Goulding's "Love Me Like You Do," and the more downbeat tracks she keeps for herself.

    "If a song is just 100% 'everything is perfect,' I can't relate to it, and I can't feel it," Lo explained to The Independent. "It might be fun and cool but it doesn't touch me or resonate with me in any way. I think it's because if you're in a really amazing situation where everything is great, there's always that little hint of fear that it's all gonna go away. Nothing is static when it comes to emotions."

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