Dilbahar Demirbağ (born 24 November 1971), known as Dilba, is a Swedish pop singer of

Kurdish Kurdish may refer to: *Kurds or Kurdish people *Kurdish languages *Kurdish alphabets *Kurdistan, the land of the Kurdish people which includes: **Southern Kurdistan **Eastern Kurdistan **Northern Kurdistan **Western Kurdistan See also * Kurd (dis ...

background. Her first album ''Dilba'' (1996) reached commercial success.

Early life

Dilba was born in Kirvan, a village in eastern Turkey, and her family is ethnic Kurd. She immigrated to Sweden when she was only four years old, where she grew up in Karlstad and

Uppsala Uppsala (, or all ending in , ; archaically spelled ''Upsala'') is the county seat of Uppsala County and the fourth-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm, Gothenburg, and Malmö. It had 177,074 inhabitants in 2019. Located north of the c ...

. She has four siblings: Dilşa, Dilnarin, Dilber and Assan. Dilba was introduced to the piano as early as when she went to

kindergarten Kindergarten is a preschool educational approach based on playing, singing, practical activities such as drawing, and social interaction as part of the transition from home to school. Such institutions were originally made in the late 18th ce ...

and is also

self-taught Autodidacticism (also autodidactism) or self-education (also self-learning and self-teaching) is education without the guidance of masters (such as teachers and professors) or institutions (such as schools). Generally, autodidacts are individu ...

in the guitar. She started her career as a DJ and she has also worked as a backup singer for the Swedish pop singers Jennifer Brown and Eric Gadd.

Recording career

In 1996, Dilba released her debut album ''Dilba'' together with the single ''I'm Sorry''. All the lyrics of the songs on this album were written by herself, just like the music. The album was a success, and she was awarded with a Grammy and the Aftonbladet prize

Rockbjörnen Rockbjörnen (Swedish: ''the Rock Bear'') is a music prize in Sweden, divided into several categories, which is awarded annually by the newspaper ''Aftonbladet''. The prize was first awarded in 1979, and is mostly centered on pop and rock. In 2 ...

. The album sold more than 100,000 copies in Sweden. After a successful summer tour in 1997, it took two years until she released her second album ''You & I'' in 1999. It was rewarded with five plus by Aftonbladet and over all great reviews by the critics and sold gold over 20,000 copies in sweden. Dilba's third album ''Revolution'' was released in March 2003, along with the single ''Every Little Thing'', which was a success on the radio. In 2005, Dilba composed the song ''Miracle'', which became the theme score for the

Swedish television 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 ...

TV-series A television show – or simply TV show – is any content produced for viewing on a television set which can be broadcast via over-the-air, satellite, or cable, excluding breaking news, advertisements, or trailers that are typically placed bet ...

Kommissionen Kommissionen, (in English: ''The Commission'') is a 2005 Swedish TV series airing over 12 episodes. The series, set in and around Stockholm, deals with the effects and political aftermath of a terrorist attack that destroys Rosenbad, the Ministr ...

''. Also, during the autumn of 2005, Dilba had regular live performances at a club in Stockholm. Dilba participated in Melodifestivalen 2011, the Swedish selection for the

Eurovision Song Contest 2011 The Eurovision Song Contest 2011 was the 56th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It took place in Düsseldorf, Germany, following the country's victory at the with the song "Satellite" by Lena. Organised by the European Broadcasting Uni ...

. She competed in the first semi-final on 5 February 2011 at

Coop Norrbotten Arena Coop Norrbotten Arena is an indoor sporting arena located in Luleå, Sweden. The seating capacity of the arena is 6,150, and it is the home arena of the Luleå HF ice hockey team. History It was opened on 13 September 1970, and was called ''Del ...

, Luleå with the song ''" Try Again"'' (Pettersson/Sonnvik) but she did not qualify for the next round. The song however became an instant hit, went straight to iTunes number one and Digilistan's second place. An EP of Try Again also followed.

Personal life

In 1998, Dilba met pop singer Martin Svensson at a party, and they later married in the summer of 2000. A divorce was filed in 2002. In July 2007, Dilba was detained from boarding a plane to the United States after joking that she had some planes to bomb.Singer: 'I had some planes to bomb'
The Local, July 3, 2007 Dilba also starred in

Let's Dance 2008 The imperative mood is a grammatical mood that forms a command or request. The imperative mood is used to demand or require that an action be performed. It is usually found only in the present tense, second person. To form the imperative mood, ...

, but was voted off the show. Her sisters are dancer

Dilnarin Demirbag Dilnarin "Dee" Demirbag (born 14 November 1973 in Kirvan, Turkey) is a Swedish dancer and singer, of Kurdish background.

and journalist Dilsa Demirbag-Sten.

Discography

* ''Dilba'' (1996) * ''You & I'' (1999) * ''Live at Lydmar'' (2002) * ''Revolution'' (2003)

References

{{Authority control 1971 births Living people Swedish pop singers Swedish songwriters Melodifestivalen contestants Swedish people of Kurdish descent Turkish Kurdish people 21st-century Swedish singers 21st-century Swedish women singers