Loreen (singer)

Lorine Zineb Nora Talhaoui, known professionally as Loreen (; ar, لورين زينب نورا طلحاوي; born 16 October 1983) is a Swedish multi-genre singer, songwriter and record producer. Representing Sweden, she won the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, with her entry "Euphoria". The song reached number one in many European countries, including Germany and Sweden.

Interested in becoming a musician, Loreen took part in the ''Idol 2004'' television competition, finishing fourth. The following year she released her first single, "The Snake", with the band Rob'n'Raz and became a television presenter on TV400. While working as a segment producer and director for several Swedish reality TV shows, she entered Melodifestivalen 2011 with the song "My Heart Is Refusing Me", which became a Top 10 hit in Sweden. She also had Top 20 hits in Sweden with the singles "Crying Out Your Name" (2012) and "Statements" (2017).

Early life

Loreen was born in Stockholm, Sweden, in 1983 to Moroccan Berber immigrant parents. She was raised in a liberal Muslim household. Early in her life, Loreen moved to Västerås. She grew up there, and calls Västerås her hometown.Auer, Josefin
KP: Loreen KP11 2011
kpwebben.nu. Retrieved 10 March 2012. She spent most of her teenage years in Gryta, a residential area in Västerås.Loreen vinner Melodifestivalen
Loreen Q&A från Melodifestivalen 2011
. SVT.

Music career

2004–2010: ''Idol'' and hiatus

Loreen became known to Swedish audiences after taking part in the Swedish ''Idol 2004'' competing as Lorén Talhaoui. During the qualification round, she placed third by the public vote. She would have been eliminated, but received a wildcard from the judges, allowing her to compete in the program. She finished fourth overall, and was eliminated during the eighth week. After ''Idol'', in 2005, she released a promotional single, "The Snake", with the group Rob'n'Raz. That same year, she also presented the TV show ''Lyssna'', broadcast by the Swedish station TV400. After a year, she took a hiatus from more visible roles, and worked as a segment producer and director for reality TV shows such as TV3's ''Värsta pojkvänsakademin'', TV4's ''Matakuten'' and SVT's ''Frufritt''.

2011–2013: Melodifestivalen, Eurovision Song Contest and ''Heal''

Loreen returned to the public eye when she took part in Melodifestivalen 2011 with the song "My Heart Is Refusing Me", which she co-wrote with Moh Denebi and Björn Djupström. After placing fourth in the second semi-final in Gothenburg on 12 February 2011, she competed in the Second Chance round, but failed to qualify for the final after a sing-off with Sara Varga. The song was released on 11 March 2011 and became a hit on the Swedish Singles Chart, debuting and peaking at number 9. Following Loreen's success a year later, the song re-entered the chart, peaking at number 22 in May 2012.

In the first semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2012 on 4 February, Loreen advanced directly to the final round with her entry "Euphoria", written by Thomas G:son and Peter Boström. She won the national final on 10 March with a combined total of 268 points and represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan. The song won the competition with a total of 372 points from 40 voting countries out of 42 (Italy was the exception, and Sweden could not vote for itself). According to online betting companies, she was the favourite to win the contest. On 3 June 2012, Loreen's Eurovision-winning entry "Euphoria" charted at No. 3 on the UK Official Singles Chart, the highest chart position for a non-UK Eurovision entry since Johnny Logan's " Hold Me Now" in 1987. The single sold 62,148 copies in its first week in the United Kingdom. She is also noted for having an ongoing chart presence in the United Kingdom, remaining in the top twenty for weeks after the competition, rare for a Eurovision song. On 21 June 2012, Loreen made an appearance at the MTV World Stage in Gothenburg, Sweden. The title of her debut album, '' Heal'', was confirmed in late August 2012. Released on 24 October 2012, ''Heal'' debuted atop the Sverigetopplistan Albums Top 60. It was certified platinum in Sweden during its second week, denoting domestic shipments exceeding 40,000 units.
A remix version of "My Heart Is Refusing Me" was released on 8 October 2012 as the second European single from the album. On the same day, "Crying Out Your Name" was released as the fourth single in her native Sweden.

To promote the album, Loreen appeared as a musical guest on several European TV shows, including Polish talent show ''Must Be the Music'' on 21 October 2012,
the second season of the Romanian version of ''X Factor'' on 18 November 2012 and the final of the third series of Dutch talent show ''The Voice of Holland''. Loreen premiered a new single included in the reissue of her debut album in the opening of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest. The song is called " We Got the Power", and was produced by Patrik Berger and written by Ester Dean, who have previously worked with Icona Pop, Rihanna and Robyn.

2014–2015: ''Paperlight'' project and touring

In October 2013, ''Art on Ice'' announced that Loreen would be one of the artists performing on their 2014 tour, which had the concept of combining live music with performances from figure skaters. The tour took place in Finland, Sweden and Switzerland.

In January 2014, Swedish SVT resurrected their prize winning series ''Sápmi Sessions'' in which well known Swedish artists travel North to meet their talented counterparts within the Sami population, and embark on a new collaboration. They have never met before, but have three days to write and record a whole new song together. Loreen herself was the subject of the first episode, working with Iŋgá-Máret Gaup-Juuso and coming up with the song "Son" for her new album.

Loreen embarked on the '' Tour XIV'' in April 2014 and performed in several European countries. On 7 April, during a concert in Amsterdam, Loreen announced that "Jupiter Drive" and "Dumpster" had been chosen as the next singles for her next album, to be released in August 2014. That same month it was announced that Loreen had started planning her second studio album, working with producers such as Taped Rai, Ted Krotkiewski, Tobias Fröberg and Tim Denéve. In May 2014, Loreen announced her first concert residency: ''En Euforisk Jul''. The show was performed at the Moriska Paviljongen in Malmö, Sweden from 26 November and concluded on 20 December and was a Christmas show. Loreen grossed more than US$372.000 (2.885.139,00 SEK) and ''En Euforisk Jul'' was the 16th biggest selling tour by a Swedish singer in Sweden in 2014.Leg 1 boxscores:

*
* During her visit to Montenegro in July 2014 she announced her album was to be released probably in October 2014. She headlined the Celebration of Budva Tourist Organization and the National Day event at the Jaz Beach in Budva. During an interview with ''Prva.rs'', she said: "The new album is coming out in October and after that there will be a lot of touring. It's very different from "Euphoria", it's a lot dirtier and more hip hop." In summer 2014, Loreen was nominated for three Rockbjörnen and five World Music Awards. Additionally, Loreen performed at the 11th Kristallen in Sweden, where she sang a cover of Rodríguez's "Sugar Man", as part of the ceremony's "In Memoriam" segment. On 20 September, Loreen performed at Eurasian Music Awards at the Central Stadium in Almaty, Kazakhstan. Loreen performed at Eurovision Gala Night at the Casino Luxembourg in Luxembourg and she confirmed that the single of her new album was coming soon in March 2015. On 27 February, it was announced that Loreen's new single "Paper Light (Higher)" was to be released on 5 March 2015 in Scandinavia and worldwide on 9 March.

On 22 November 2014, Loreen announced on Instagram that she would be debuted a new project, called ''Paperlight''. She has been working in the studio with Kiesza. Loreen performed at the special concert show ''Eurovision Song Contest's Greatest Hits'' in London, produced by the BBC
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