Anna Saba Lykke Oehlenschlæger (; born 11 August 1997), known simply as Saba (stylised in all caps), is a Danish singer, musical theatre actress and model. She is set to represent Denmark in the

Eurovision Song Contest 2024 The Eurovision Song Contest 2024 is set to be the 68th edition of the Eurovision Song Contest. It is scheduled to take place in Malmö, Sweden, following the country's victory at the with the song "Tattoo" by Loreen. Organised by the Euro ...

with the song "

Sand Sand is a granular material composed of finely divided mineral particles. Sand has various compositions but is defined by its grain size. Sand grains are smaller than gravel and coarser than silt. Sand can also refer to a textural class of s ...

Early life

Anna Saba (born Saba) Lykke Oehlenschlæger and her twin sister Andrea (born Sara) Lykke Oehlenschlæger were born on 11 August 1997 in Addis Abbaba, Ethiopia. They were adopted at eight months old and were raised in

Ringkøbing Ringkøbing (older spelling ''Ringkjøbing'') is a town in Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality in Region Midtjylland on the west coast of the Jutland peninsula in west Denmark. It has a population of 9,894 (1 January 2022).

, Denmark. During her youth, Oehlenschlæger played football at DBU Jutland.

Career

After dropping out of high school, Oehlenschlæger and her sister moved to

Copenhagen Copenhagen ( or .; da, København ) is the capital and most populous city of Denmark, with a proper population of around 815.000 in the last quarter of 2022; and some 1.370,000 in the urban area; and the wider Copenhagen metropolitan ar ...

, starting off as a model and entrepreneur in teeth whitening products, while her sister pursued a singing and musical acting career. On 23 February 2023, Oehlenschlæger replaced her pregnant sister in the role of Dionne for the premiere of the musical ''

Hair Hair is a protein filament that grows from follicles found in the dermis. Hair is one of the defining characteristics of mammals. The human body, apart from areas of glabrous skin, is covered in follicles which produce thick terminal and f ...

'' at the , making her debut as a non-stunt stage actress. On 25 January 2024, Saba was announced as one of the participants of , the Danish national final for the

, with the song "Sand". She went on to win the final on 17 February 2024, earning the right to represent Denmark in the upcoming contest.

Personal life

In 2018, Oehlenschlæger was diagnosed with

bipolar I disorder Bipolar I disorder (BD-I; pronounced "type one bipolar disorder") is a type of bipolar spectrum disorder characterized by the occurrence of at least one manic episode, with or without mixed or psychotic features. Most people also, at other time ...

and was hospitalised several times until 2020, as she explained in the 2020 DR documentary (). She also practiced

self-harm Self-harm is intentional behavior that is considered harmful to oneself. This is most commonly regarded as direct injury of one's own skin tissues usually without a suicidal intention. Other terms such as cutting, self-injury and self-mutilatio ...

during her teenage years. She is an ambassador for the Danish Depression Association. Oehlenschlæger has been in a

same-sex relationship A same-sex relationship is a romantic or sexual relationship between people of the same sex. ''Same-sex marriage'' refers to the institutionalized recognition of such relationships in the form of a marriage; civil unions may exist in countries w ...

with Lærke-Maria Schmidt since 2020.

Discography

Singles

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saba 1997 births Living people 21st-century Danish businesswomen 21st-century Danish LGBT people 21st-century Danish women singers Danish adoptees Danish female models Danish LGBT actors Danish LGBT models Danish LGBT singers Danish musical theatre actresses Danish people of Ethiopian descent Danish twins Dansk Melodi Grand Prix contestants Dansk Melodi Grand Prix winners Eurovision Song Contest entrants for Denmark Eurovision Song Contest entrants of 2024 People from Ringkøbing-Skjern Municipality People with bipolar disorder