Karen Marie Aagaard Ørsted Andersen (; born 13 August 1988), known professionally as MØ (; not to be confused with

∅ In mathematics, the empty set or void set is the unique set having no elements; its size or cardinality (count of elements in a set) is zero. Some axiomatic set theories ensure that the empty set exists by including an axiom of empty set, wh ...

), is a Danish singer and songwriter. She signed a recording contract with

Sony Music Entertainment Sony Music Entertainment (SME), commonly known as Sony Music, is an American multinational music company owned by Japanese conglomerate Sony Group Corporation. It is the recording division of Sony Music Group, with the other half being the ...

in 2012 and released her debut

extended play An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

, '' Bikini Daze'' (2013), and her debut studio album, '' No Mythologies to Follow'' (2014). In 2014, MØ collaborated with Australian rapper

Iggy Azalea Amethyst Amelia Kelly (born 7 June 1990), known professionally as Iggy Azalea ( ), is an Australian rapper. Born in Sydney, Azalea moved to the United States at the age of 16 in order to pursue a career in music. She earned public recognition ...

on the single " Beg for It", which peaked at number 27 on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100, earning MØ her first entry on the chart. The following year, she co-wrote and provided vocals for the

Major Lazer Major Lazer is an American electronic dance music and DJ trio, which includes record producer Diplo, and DJs Walshy Fire and Ape Drums. They were founded in 2008 by Diplo and Switch, with Switch leaving after three years in 2011. He was the ...

and

DJ Snake William Sami Étienne Grigahcine (born 13 June 1986), known by his stage name DJ Snake, is a French DJ and record producer. He was first credited with production work on several singles for other artists—including " Shut It Down" by Pitbull an ...

collaboration " Lean On", which became an international success, charting at number one in several countries, number two in the United Kingdom, and number four in the United States. In 2016, MØ was featured on Snakehips's single " Don't Leave", and another Major Lazer single " Cold Water" with Canadian singer

Justin Bieber Justin Drew Bieber ( ; born March 1, 1994) is a Canadian singer. Regarded as a pop icon, he is recognized for his multi-genre musical performances. He was discovered by record executive Scooter Braun in 2008 and subsequently brought to the U ...

; the latter debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart and number two on the US ''Billboard'' Hot 100. MØ earned her first commercially successful solo single with 2016's " Final Song", which reached the top 10 in Denmark and Norway and the top 15 in Australia and the United Kingdom. She has since released the extended play '' When I Was Young'' (2017), and the studio albums '' Forever Neverland'' (2018), ''Motordrome'' (2022) and '' Plæygirl'' (2025).

Life and career

Early life

Karen Marie Aagaard Ørsted Andersen was born in Ubberud, near

Odense Odense ( , , ) is the third largest city in Denmark (after Copenhagen and Aarhus) and the largest city on the island of Funen. As of 1 January 2025, the city proper had a population of 185,480 while Odense Municipality had a population of 210, ...

, and she grew up in Ejlstrup on the island of

Funen Funen (, ), is the third-largest List of islands of Denmark, island of Denmark, after Zealand and North Jutlandic Island, Vendsyssel-Thy, with an area of . It is the List of islands by area, 165th-largest island in the world. It is located in th ...

, Denmark. Her father, Frans Ørsted, is a psychologist, and her mother, Mette Ørsted, is a teacher. She has an older brother, Kasper, who is a doctor. MØ was seven when she became interested in music thanks to the

Spice Girls The Spice Girls are an English girl group formed in 1994, consisting of Mel B ("Scary Spice"), Melanie C ("Sporty Spice"), Emma Bunton ("Baby Spice"), Geri Halliwell ("Ginger Spice"), and Victoria Beckham ("Posh Spice"). They have sold over 10 ...

. As a teenager, she became interested in

punk music Punk rock (also known as simply punk) is a rock music genre that emerged in the mid-1970s. Rooted in 1950s rock and roll and 1960s garage rock, punk bands rejected the corporate nature of mainstream 1970s rock music. They typically produced sh ...

and

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

movements, listening to Black Flag,

Nirvana Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...

Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. ...

Yeah Yeah Yeahs Yeah Yeah Yeahs are an American indie rock band formed in New York City in 2000. The group is composed of vocalist and pianist Karen O (born Karen Lee Orzolek), guitarist and keyboardist Nick Zinner, and drummer Brian Chase. They are compleme ...

and especially

Sonic Youth Sonic Youth were an American rock band formed in New York City in 1981. Founding members Kim Gordon (bass, vocals, guitar), Thurston Moore (lead guitar, vocals) and Lee Ranaldo (rhythm guitar, vocals) remained together for the entire history of ...

, saying she looked up to

Kim Gordon Kim Althea Gordon (born April 28, 1953) is an American musician, singer and songwriter best known as the bassist, guitarist, and vocalist of alternative rock band Sonic Youth. Born in Rochester, New York, she was raised in Los Angeles, Califor ...

as a "big hero and role model".

2006–2012: Side projects and MOR

In 2006, MØ released an EP, titled ''The Edmunds'', which included tracks such as "Garbage King" and "Polly Get Your Gun". MØ also released several other side projects during 2008–10 including titles such as ''A Piece of Music to Fuck to'' and ''The Rarities''. The side-projects included songs that have been previously taken down due to an unknown reason, but has been re-released by a fan on

YouTube YouTube is an American social media and online video sharing platform owned by Google. YouTube was founded on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim who were three former employees of PayPal. Headquartered in ...

. MØ and her friend Josefine Struckmann Pedersen formed duo MOR in 2007, and released two

EPs An extended play (EP) is a Sound recording and reproduction, musical recording that contains more tracks than a Single (music), single but fewer than an album. Contemporary EPs generally contain up to eight tracks and have a playing time of 1 ...

, ''Fisse I Dit Fjæs'' ("''Pussy in Your Face''") and ''Vanvidstimer'' ("''Madness Hours''"), in 2009 and 2011, respectively. MOR disbanded on 7 September 2012, for personal reasons.

2012–2015: ''No Mythologies to Follow'' and collaborations

In 2012, MØ began creating

a cappella Music performed a cappella ( , , ; ), less commonly spelled acapella in English, is music performed by a singer or a singing group without instrumental accompaniment. The term ''a cappella'' was originally intended to differentiate between Rena ...

pop songs and began collaborating with producer Ronni Vindahl. On 14 January 2013, MØ released her debut single, "Glass". On 15 March 2013, she released "

Pilgrim The asterisk ( ), from Late Latin , from Ancient Greek , , "little star", is a typographical symbol. It is so called because it resembles a conventional image of a heraldic star. Computer scientists and mathematicians often vocalize it as ...

" with the B-side "Maiden". "Pilgrim" was recognised as P3s Uundgåelige (P3 Unavoidable), a label given to rising artists by Danish radio station

DR P3 DR P3 (referred to in Denmark simply as P3) is a Danish current-based hit music radio station operated by the Danish Broadcasting Corporation. It is broadcast on FM radio, DAB, and Internet radio. History It commenced broadcasting on 1 January 1 ...

, as it peaked at number eleven on the

Danish Singles Chart Hitlisten (), formerly known as Tracklisten, is a Danish top 40 record chart that is updated every Wednesday at midnight on the website hitlisten.nu. The weekly Danish singles chart combines the 40 best-selling tracks from streaming and legal mus ...

. On 27 March 2013, she performed live on television at the Danish P3 Guld Awards. On 7 June 2013, she released the single "Waste of Time". On 18 August 2013, it was confirmed through producer and DJ

Avicii Tim Bergling (8 September 1989 – 20 April 2018), known professionally as Avicii, was a Swedish DJ, remixer, and record producer. At age 16, he began posting his remixes on electronic music forums, which led to his first record deal. He rose ...

's manager Ash Pournouri that MØ had co-written and provided vocals on a track called "Dear Boy" which was later featured on Avicii's debut album, ''

True True most commonly refers to truth, the state of being in congruence with fact or reality. True may also refer to: Places * True, West Virginia, an unincorporated community in the United States * True, Wisconsin, a town in the United States * ...

''. On 30 August 2013, she released the single " XXX 88" MØ's first extended play, '' Bikini Daze'', was released on 18 October 2013. In October 2013, she supported AlunaGeorge on UK tour dates. The single " Don't Wanna Dance" debuted on

BBC Radio 1 BBC Radio 1 is a British national radio station owned and operated by the BBC. It specialises in modern popular music and Contemporary hit radio, current chart hits throughout the day. The station provides alternative genres at night, including ...

on 16 January 2014 as

Zane Lowe Alexander Zane Reed Lowe (born 1973) is a New Zealand radio DJ, live DJ, record producer, and television presenter. After an early career in music creation, production and DJing, he moved to the UK in 1997. He came to prominence through pr ...

's Hottest Record. MØ's debut studio album, '' No Mythologies to Follow'', was released on 7 March 2014 and her album was inspired by the great Michael Jackson. On the review aggregate site Metacritic, the album has a Metascore of 77 out of 100 indicating ''"generally favorable"'' reviews. Music blog Pretty Much Amazing called the album "complex and euphoric", while ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...

'' noted that "what MØ lacks in originality, she makes up for with warlike ardour". ''No Mythologies to Follow'' debuted at number 58 on the

UK Albums Chart The Official Albums Chart is the United Kingdom's industry-recognised national record chart for album, albums. Entries are ranked by sales and audio streaming. It was published for the first time on 22 July 1956 and is compiled every week by the O ...

, selling 1,438 copies in its first week. MØ began touring in Europe and the United States in support of the album, ending in June. On 2 June 2014, she made her US television debut on ''

Jimmy Kimmel Live! ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', sometimes shortened to ''JKL'', is an American late-night talk show, created and hosted by Jimmy Kimmel, and broadcast on ABC. The nightly hour-long show tapes and is based out of the Hollywood Masonic Temple in Hollywo ...

'', where she performed the songs " Don't Wanna Dance" and "

". "

Walk This Way "Walk This Way" is a song by the American rock band Aerosmith. Written by Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, the song was originally released as the second single from the album '' Toys in the Attic'' (1975). It peaked at number 10 on the ''Billboa ...

" was released on 16 June 2014 as a single from ''No Mythologies to Follow''. On 23 June, MØ announced additional United States and Canadian tour dates beginning in September. In November 2014, she won four awards at the

Danish Music Awards The Danish Music Awards (DMA) is a Danish award show. The show has been arranged by IFPI since 1989, and was originally called ''IFPI-prisen'' ("IFPI Award") until 1991, when it changed its name to ''Dansk Grammy'' ("Danish Grammy"). It was c ...

: Danish Album of the Year, Danish Solo Artist of the Year, Danish Breakthrough Artist of the Year and Danish Music Video of the Year. In 2014, MØ was featured on Australian rapper

's song " Beg for It", which was released as the lead single from Azalea's reissue album, '' Reclassified''. Azalea and MØ performed the song for the first time on ''

Saturday Night Live ''Saturday Night Live'' (''SNL'') is an American Late night television in the United States, late-night live television, live sketch comedy variety show created by Lorne Michaels and developed by Michaels and Dick Ebersol that airs on NBC. The ...

'' on 25 October. MØ was also featured on Elliphant's " One More", which was officially released as a single on 22 September 2014. The official music video was released a day later, 23 September. MØ also co-wrote the song " All My Love" by

, featuring vocals from American singer and songwriter

Ariana Grande Ariana Grande-Butera ( ; born June 26, 1993) is an American singer, songwriter, and actress. Regarded as a pop icon and an influential figure in popular music, Grande is known for her four-octave vocal range, which extends into the whistle re ...

. MØ co-wrote and provided vocals for another Major Lazer song, " Lean On" with

, which was released in March 2015. The single topped the charts globally in MØ's native Denmark, Australia, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands and New Zealand, while reaching the top five in several countries, including France, Germany, Sweden, the United Kingdom and the United States. According to the

IFPI The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) is the organisation that represents the interests of the recording industry worldwide. It is a non-profit members' organisation registered in Switzerland and founded in Italy in 1 ...

, "Lean On" was the fifth best-selling song of 2015 worldwide, and one of the best-selling singles of all time, with global sales of 13.1 million.

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

named it as the most streamed song of all time, and has over one billion streams globally as of June 2017. The music video for “Lean On” premiered on April 30, 2015, and became a viral success with over 2.5 billion views on

, making it the sixteenth most viewed video on the site.

2015–2017: ''When I Was Young EP'', and more collaborations

On 1 October 2015, it was announced that the first single from MØ's upcoming second studio album, "

Kamikaze , officially , were a part of the Japanese Special Attack Units of military aviators who flew suicide attacks for the Empire of Japan against Allied naval vessels in the closing stages of the Pacific campaign of World War II, intending to d ...

", produced by

Diplo Thomas Wesley Pentz (born November 10, 1978), known professionally as Diplo, is an American DJ and music producer. He is a co-creator and lead member of the electronic dancehall music project Major Lazer; a member of the supergroup LSD (group), ...

, would be released on 15 October 2015. On 14 October, the single made its world premiere on a

segment hosted by

Annie Mac Annie Macmanus (born 18 July 1978), known professionally as Annie Mac, is an Irish DJ, broadcaster and writer. She hosted a variety of shows on BBC Radio 1, including BBC Switch and ''Future Sounds''. She also DJed in various locations, includ ...

before the studio version was released the following day. "Kamikaze" charted in Denmark, the United Kingdom, Australia and Belgium. On 13 May 2016, " Final Song", the second single from MØ's second album, was released and also made its world premiere on the same radio segment hosted by Mac. The song was co-written with Swedish singer Noonie Bao and English singer

MNEK Uzoechi Osisioma "Uzo" Emenike (; born 9 November 1994), professionally known by his stage name MNEK ( ; a gramogram of Emenike), is a British singer, songwriter and record producer. He has been nominated for a Grammy and a Brit Award, and ha ...

. It became MØ's first top 40 single as a lead artist in the United Kingdom, with the song reaching number 14 on the UK Singles Chart. Additionally, the song reached the top 40 in more than 10 countries worldwide. On 22 July 2016, Major Lazer released the single " Cold Water" which features Canadian singer

and MØ, marking the fourth time she has worked with Major Lazer. In the United States, "Cold Water" debuted at number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100, becoming MØ's second top 10 and her third top 40 single, It is also her highest-charting single in the United States. MØ is the highest-charting Danish act along with

Jørgen Ingmann Jørgen Ingmann (born Jørgen Ingmann Pedersen; 26 April 1925 – 21 March 2015) was a Danish jazz and pop guitarist from Copenhagen. He was popular in Europe and had a wider international hit in 1961 with his version of "Apache". He and his w ...

Apache The Apache ( ) are several Southern Athabaskan language-speaking peoples of the Southwestern United States, Southwest, the Southern Plains and Northern Mexico. They are linguistically related to the Navajo. They migrated from the Athabascan ho ...

") and

Lukas Graham Lukas Graham is a Danish pop band consisting of lead vocalist Lukas Forchhammer, and drummer Mark Falgren. The band released '' Lukas Graham'', their first album, with labels Copenhagen Records and in 2012. The album peaked at number one on ...

(" 7 Years"), who all reached number two on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In the United Kingdom, "Cold Water" debuted at number one on the UK Singles Chart. The song became MØ's first number-one single, and she is only the fourth Danish act to reach number one in the UK. Additionally, it is the first time two Danish acts have reached number one in the same year (with the other being Lukas Graham's "7 Years"). On 17 September 2016, MØ announced the release of her new track titled "

Drum The drum is a member of the percussion group of musical instruments. In the Hornbostel–Sachs classification system, it is a membranophone. Drums consist of at least one membrane, called a drumhead or drum skin, that is stretched over a ...

" on

Twitter Twitter, officially known as X since 2023, is an American microblogging and social networking service. It is one of the world's largest social media platforms and one of the most-visited websites. Users can share short text messages, image ...

. It had made special appearances in previous concerts and shows. The song was produced by American producer

Bloodpop Michael Tucker (born August 15, 1990), known professionally as BloodPop (stylized as BloodPop®), is an American musician, record producer, songwriter, and gaming executive. Life and early career Tucker was born in Kansas City, Missouri, Uni ...

also co-written by English singer

Charli XCX Charlotte Emma Aitchison (born 2 August 1992), known professionally as Charli XCX, is a British singer and songwriter. She began posting songs on Myspace in 2008 before entering the London rave scene. Signing a recording contract with Asylum Re ...

alongside Noonie Bao. In October 2016, the song's official audio was released. On 6 January 2017, English electronic duo Snakehips premiered their new track " Don't Leave" which features vocals from MØ. The official lyric video was also released the same day, it has been said that it will be featured in Snakehips upcoming debut album. On 10 March 2017 she was featured on Charli XCX's "3AM (Pull Up)" taken from her mixtape, '' Number 1 Angel''. She was featured alongside

Sophie Sophie is a feminine given name, another version of Sophia, from the Greek word for "wisdom". People with the name Born in the Middle Ages * Sophie, Countess of Bar (c. 1004 or 1018–1093), sovereign Countess of Bar and lady of Mousson * Soph ...

on the song "9 (After Coachella)" by Cashmere Cat, which was the fifth single from his debut album, '' 9''. On 21 April 2017 " Nights with You", the third single from her upcoming second studio album, was officially released worldwide after premiering on

MistaJam Peter Dalton (born 19 January 1983), known professionally as MistaJam, is a British DJ and radio presenter. He is known for presenting radio shows on BBC Radio 1 and BBC Radio 1Xtra from 2005 to 2020; since 2020 he has presented on Capital Danc ...

show the previous day. On 26 October 2017, MØ released her second extended play, titled '' When I Was Young'', as a surprise. The EP is composed of songs that MØ wrote over the course of four years since the release of '' No Mythologies to Follow''. On 30 October 2017, MØ announced a co-headlining North American tour with Cashmere Cat titled the "Meøw Tour" in support of the EP. The tour took place from January to April 2018. In 2017, MØ co-wrote and provided vocals on

's song " Get It Right" for the album ''Major Lazer Presents: Give Me Future''. They both also performed the song on '' The Jimmy Fallon Show'' with an appearance from

GoldLink D'Anthony William Carlos (born May 17, 1993), better known by his stage name GoldLink, is an American rapper and singer from Washington, D.C. He gained recognition following the release of his debut mixtape ''The God Complex'' (2014), which was ...

2018–2020: ''Forever Neverland,'' and more collaborations

In 2018, MØ collaborated with producer

Jack Antonoff Jack Michael Antonoff (born March 31, 1984) is an American singer, songwriter, and record producer. He is the lead vocalist of the rock band Bleachers, and previously the guitarist and drummer for the pop band Fun and the lead vocalist of t ...

to provide vocals for the ''

Love, Simon ''Love, Simon'' is a 2018 American teen romantic comedy drama film directed by Greg Berlanti from a screenplay by Elizabeth Berger and Isaac Aptaker, based on the 2015 novel '' Simon vs. the Homo Sapiens Agenda'' by Becky Albertalli. The fi ...

'' soundtrack with the song "Never Fall in Love". She also collaborated with

Noah Cyrus Noah Lindsey Cyrus (born January 8, 2000) is an American singer and actress. As a child actress, she voiced the titular character in the English dub of the film ''Ponyo'' (2008), and appeared in minor roles on shows including ''Hannah Montana'' ...

on the song “We Are...” and was featured on

Alma Alma or ALMA may refer to: Arts and entertainment * ''Alma'' (film), a 2009 Spanish short animated film * ''Alma'', an upcoming film by Sally Potter * ''Alma'' (Oswald de Andrade novel), 1922 * ''Alma'' (Le Clézio novel), 2017 * ''Alma'' ( ...

's '' Heavy Rules Mixtape'' with the song "Dance for Me". On 19 October 2018, MØ released her second studio album, '' Forever Neverland,'' by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. The album was preceded by five singles: "Nostalgia", "Sun in Our Eyes" featuring

, "Way Down", "Imaginary Friend", and "Blur" featuring

Foster the People Foster the People is an American indie pop band formed in Los Angeles, California, in 2009. Its members include founder and frontman Mark Foster (musician), Mark Foster and keyboardist Isom Innis. Foster founded the band in 2009 after spending ...

. The album also features collaborations with

What So Not What So Not is an electronic music project by Australian record producer Emoh Instead (stage name of Christopher John Emerson). What So Not has toured the world, playing in various festivals, including Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival, ...

, Two Feet and Empress Of. She revealed that other singles "Kamikaze", "Final Song" and "Nights with You" will only be available on the Japanese edition of the album. MØ released her single “On & On” on 31 October 2019. In 2019, MØ performed her single "Blur" on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon ''The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon'' is an American late-night talk show hosted by actor and comedian Jimmy Fallon that airs on NBC. The show premiered on February 17, 2014, and is produced by Broadway Video and Universal Television. It i ...

,'' she co-wrote and provided vocals to the theme song for ''Moominvalley'', and was the support act for

Panic! at the Disco Panic! at the Disco was an American pop rock band formed in Las Vegas, Las Vegas, Nevada, in 2004 by high school friends Ryan Ross (guitar) and Spencer Smith (musician), Spencer Smith (drums), who recruited classmates Brendon Urie (vocals and ...

's tour across the United Kingdom. MØ performed at 2019's

Glastonbury Festival The Glastonbury Festival of Contemporary Performing Arts (commonly referred to as simply Glastonbury Festival, known colloquially as Glasto) is a five-day festival of contemporary performing arts held near Pilton, Somerset, England, in most su ...

and

Roskilde Festival The Roskilde Festival is a Danish music festival held annually south of Roskilde. It is one of the largest music festivals in Europe and the largest in the Nordic countries. It was created in 1971 by two high school students and a promoter. In 1 ...

. In October 2019, she released her debut mixtape, ''MMMMØ - The Mix''

2021-2023: ''Motordrome'' and ''RACING – Circles of doubt, Squares of light''

On 28 January 2022, MØ released her third studio album, Motordrome, by

Columbia Records Columbia Records is an American reco ...

. The album was announced by 4 singles: "Live to Survive", "Kindness", "Brad Pitt/Goosebumps" and in On the day of the album's release, the music video for "New Moon" appeared on MØ's YouTube channel. In late February 2022, MØ went on tour to promote "Motordrome" across

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Western Hemisphere, Western hemispheres. North America is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South Ameri ...

and

Europe Europe is a continent located entirely in the Northern Hemisphere and mostly in the Eastern Hemisphere. It is bordered by the Arctic Ocean to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the west, the Mediterranean Sea to the south, and Asia to the east ...

, opened for

Imagine Dragons Imagine Dragons are an American pop rock band formed in 2008, based in Las Vegas, Nevada. The band currently consists of lead singer Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, and bassist Ben McKee. They first gained exposure with the release of ...

, played summer festivals in the

among others on Tinderbox, Mad Cool Festival or Way Out West Festival. On 17 June 2022 MØ released "True Romance" her first single from "Motordrome - Dødsdrom Edition". On 29 June appeared in a Gryffin's song "Reckless". On 12 August MØ released extended edition of the album " Motordrome" as "Motordrome - Dødsdrom Edition". On the day of the release of the extended version of the album, a music video for "Spaceman" was released on MØ's YouTube channel. In November, MØ performed at Corona Capital on

Mexico City Mexico City is the capital city, capital and List of cities in Mexico, largest city of Mexico, as well as the List of North American cities by population, most populous city in North America. It is one of the most important cultural and finan ...

as her last announced show in 2022. In 2023, MØ performed on summer festivals only in

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

. On 11 August 2023 MØ released her next single "Attack of the Ghost Riders" cover of The Raveonettes and it's on The Raveonettes album "RIP IT OFF". On September 20, 2023, MØ and Fryd Frydendahl published their book titled "RACING – Circles of doubt, Squares of light".

2024-present: 10th anniversary of ''No Mythologies to Follow'' and '' Plæygirl''

In late 2023, MØ announced in a thank you video on Spotify Wrapped that she is working on her fourth upcoming album. On January 26, 2024 MØ released her single titled "Fake Chanel" which was a scrapped outtake from her debut album '' No Mythologies to Follow''. The track was co-written and produced by Danish producer Ronni Vindahl. The single was later added to the tenth year anniversary edition of the album. On 15 and 16 March 2024, MØ played a concert at Vega in Copenhagen to celebrate the 10th anniversary of the release of ''No Mythologies to Follow''. On 23 January 2024, MØ announced via her social media that on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of ''No Mythologies to Follow'', she will release an extended version of the album. She also added new tour dates from No Mythologies to Follow 10th Anniversary Show!!!, third show in Copenhagen and fourth in London. In the anniversary edition of the album she had released three outtakes "Bad Luck", "Anti Hero" & "Daydreams (Night Version)". MØ released her single " Who Said" on 16 October 2024, accompanied by an official visualizer directed by Danish photographer Fryd Frydendahl. A Ronni Vindahl edit and a Sassy 009 remix were released on 22 November 2024. MØ released her cover of " Wake Me Up" by

and

Aloe Blacc Egbert Nathaniel Dawkins III (born January 7, 1979), known professionally as Aloe Blacc (), is an American singer and rapper. He is known for his guest performance on Avicii's 2013 single "Wake Me Up (Avicii song), Wake Me Up", which peaked on ...

on 6 December 2024, as a homage to Avicii's legacy. The cover was also released alongside a visualiser. On 28 January 2025, MØ released her third single "

Sweet Sweetness is a basic taste most commonly perceived when eating foods rich in sugars. Sweet tastes are generally regarded as pleasurable. In addition to sugars like sucrose, many other chemical compounds are sweet, including aldehydes, ketones, ...

" featuring Irish musician

Biig Piig Jessica Smyth, known by the stage name Biig Piig, is an Irish singer and rapper, who lived in Spain before settling in West London. She performs in English and Spanish and was signed to RCA before moving to parent company Sony Music. Starting ...

. The same day, she announced release of her fourth studio album '' Plæygirl'' which will be released on 16 May 2025. On March 21, " Keep Moving" was released as the album fourth single. A month later, the singer released the fifth single " Lose Yourself".

Artistry

Stage name

MØ said in an interview from Wonderland Magazine that her grandfather, Mogens Ørsted, who used to be an artist would sign his initials on his paintings. Therefore, she decided she wanted to do the same with the same initials within her own name. The word ''mø'' means "maiden" or "virgin to life" in Danish.

Musical style

MØ's music has been classified as electronic,

electropop Electropop is a popular music fusion genre combining elements of the electronic and pop styles. It has been described as a variant of synth-pop with emphasis on a hard electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a rev ...

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a music genre that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s and early 1970s b ...

, and

indie pop Indie pop (also typeset as indie-pop or indiepop) is a music genre and subculture that combines guitar pop with a DIY ethic in opposition to the style and tone of mainstream pop music. It originated from British post-punk in the late 1970s and s ...

, and has been described as "electro music with guts". ''

'' described her music stating; “her music, muscular and melodic, is a hybrid of bouncy EDM drops and

scandipop Nordic popular music, also referred to as Scandinavian popular music, includes pop and rock music of the Nordic countries. The musical scene is known for its biggest bands like ABBA, Roxette, A-ha, Michael Learns to Rock, Ace of Base, and Aqua. ...

on steroids”, and ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming and culture website, bimonthly magazine, and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a "Rock music, rock inkie", the ''NME'' would be ...

'' called her work a cross between

Siouxsie Sioux Susan Janet Ballion (born 27 May 1957), better known by her stage name Siouxsie Sioux (, ), is an English singer and songwriter. She came to prominence as the leader and main lyricist of the rock band Siouxsie and the Banshees, who w ...

and

Janet Jackson Janet Damita Jo Jackson (born May 16, 1966) is an American singer, songwriter, actress and dancer. She is noted for her innovative, socially conscious and sexually provocative records, as well as elaborate stage shows. Her sound and choreogr ...

. MØ has described her sound as "an organic yet dynamic mix of electro, indie-pop, soul and street vibes". She showcased different musical styles in her debut album, including indie pop,

dream pop Dream pop (also typeset as dreampop) is a subgenre of alternative rock and neo-psychedelia that emphasizes atmosphere and sonic texture as much as pop melody. Common characteristics include breathy vocals, dense productions, and effects such ...

, dark pop,

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that came to prominence in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mos ...

and

alternative R&B Alternative R&B (also referred to as alt-R&B, indie R&B, and originally known as PBR&B, hipster R&B, emo R&B, or R-Neg-B) is a term used by music journalists to describe a stylistic alternative to contemporary R&B that began in the mid 2000s and ...

. Her second album, ''Forever Neverland'', was described as electropop and

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

, containing elements of

tropical house Tropical house, also known as trop house, is a subgenre of house music, and a derivation of tropical music, with elements of dancehall and Balearic house. Artists of the genre are often featured at various summer festivals such as Tomorrowland. ...

experimental An experiment is a procedure carried out to support or refute a hypothesis, or determine the efficacy or likelihood of something previously untried. Experiments provide insight into cause-and-effect by demonstrating what outcome occurs whe ...

trip hop Trip hop is a musical genre that has been described as a psychedelic music, psychedelic fusion of hip hop music, hip hop and electronica with slow tempos and an atmospheric sound. The style emerged as a more experimental music, experimental var ...

alternative pop Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

and

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots reggae, roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2 ...

. MØ's music has been compared to electropop artists

Grimes Claire Elise Boucher (; born March 17, 1988), known professionally as Grimes, is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, and record producer. Her lyrics often touch on science fiction and feminist themes. The visuals in her videos are elabora ...

and Twin Shadow, and her vocals to those of

Lana Del Rey Elizabeth Woolridge Grant (born June 21, 1985), known professionally as Lana Del Rey, is an American singer-songwriter. Lana Del Rey discography, Her music is noted for its melancholic exploration of Glamour (presentation), glamor and Romanc ...

Influences

MØ's influences include the

Björk Björk Guðmundsdóttir ( , ; born 21 November 1965), known mononymously as Björk, is an Icelandic singer, songwriter, composer, record producer, and actress. Noted for her distinct voice, three-octave vocal range, and eccentric public per ...

Thurston Moore Thurston Joseph Moore (born July 25, 1958) is an American guitarist, singer and songwriter best known as a member of the rock band Sonic Youth. He has also participated in many solo and group collaborations outside Sonic Youth, as well as running ...

J Dilla James Dewitt Yancey (February 7, 1974 – February 10, 2006), better known by the stage names J Dilla and Jay Dee, was an American record producer, composer and rapper. He emerged from the mid-1990s underground hip hop scene in Detroit, Michiga ...

Dead Kennedys Dead Kennedys are an American punk rock band that formed in San Francisco, California, in 1978. The band was one of the defining punk bands during its initial eight-year run. Initially consisting of lead guitarist East Bay Ray, bassist Klaus Fl ...

, Little Dragon,

Santigold Santi White (born September 25, 1976), known professionally as Santigold (formerly Santogold), is an American singer and songwriter. Her debut studio album, '' Santogold'' (2008), was released by Atlantic Records and met with widespread critica ...

Karen O Karen Lee Orzolek (born November 22, 1978) is a South Korean-born American singer, musician, and songwriter. She is best known as the lead vocalist of the indie rock band the Yeah Yeah Yeahs. Early life Karen Lee Orzolek was born in Seoul, So ...

Bonobo The bonobo (; ''Pan paniscus''), also historically called the pygmy chimpanzee (less often the dwarf chimpanzee or gracile chimpanzee), is an endangered great ape and one of the two species making up the genus ''Pan (genus), Pan'' (the other bei ...

Patti Smith Patricia Lee Smith (born December 30, 1946) is an American singer, songwriter, poet, painter, author, and photographer. Her 1975 debut album '' Horses'' made her an influential member of the New York City-based punk rock movement. Smith has fu ...

, Portishead,

The Doors The Doors were an American rock band formed in Los Angeles in 1965, comprising vocalist Jim Morrison, keyboardist Ray Manzarek, guitarist Robby Krieger and drummer John Densmore. They were among the most influential and controversial rock acts ...

The Smashing Pumpkins The Smashing Pumpkins (also simply known as Smashing Pumpkins) are an American alternative rock band formed in Chicago in 1988 by frontman and guitarist Billy Corgan, guitarist James Iha, bassist D'arcy Wretzky and drummer Jimmy Chamberlin. The ...

The Clash The Clash were an English Rock music, rock band formed in London in 1976. Billed as "The Only Band That Matters", they are considered one of the most influential acts in the original wave of British punk rock, with their music fusing elements ...

Wu-Tang Clan Wu-Tang Clan is an American hip hop collective formed in Staten Island, New York City, in 1992. Its members include RZA, GZA, Method Man, Raekwon, Ghostface Killah, Inspectah Deck, U-God, Masta Killa, and, until his death in 2004, O ...

, and

Discography

* '' No Mythologies to Follow'' (2014) * '' Forever Neverland'' (2018) * '' Motordrome'' (2022) * '' Plæygirl'' (2025)

Tours

Headlining

*Bikini Daze Tour (2013) *No Mythologies to Follow Tour (2014) *Fall Tour (2014) *Untitled Tour (2016) * When I Was Young Tour (2018) * Forever Neverland World Tour (2018-2019) * *Motordrome World Tour: Chapter 1 (2022) * No Mythologies to Follow 10th Anniversary Tour (2024) *Plæygirl: live (2025)

Co-headlining

* MØ and Cashmere Cat: The Meøw Tour (2017–2018)

Supporting

* AlunaGeorge – UK Tour (2013) *

– Free The Universe Tour (2013) * Years & Years – Communion Tour (2016) * Sia – Nostalgic for the Present Tour (2017) *

– Pray for the Wicked Tour (2019) *

– Mercury Tour (2022)

Awards and nominations

Årets Steppeulv Awards

Billboard Music Award The ''Billboard'' Music Awards are honors given out annually by ''Billboard (magazine), Billboard'', a publication covering the music business and a Billboard charts, music popularity chart. The ''Billboard'' Music Awards show has been held annu ...

Danish Music Awards The Danish Music Awards (DMA) is a Danish award show. The show has been arranged by IFPI since 1989, and was originally called ''IFPI-prisen'' ("IFPI Award") until 1991, when it changed its name to ''Dansk Grammy'' ("Danish Grammy"). It was c ...

Electronic Dance Music Awards

European Border Breakers Awards

GAFFA-Prisen Awards

Gay Music Chart Awards

{, class="wikitable Sortable" , - ! Year ! Category ! Work ! Outcome ! , - , 2017 , Best Danish Music Video , " Nights with You" , ,

iHeartRadio Music Awards The iHeartRadio Music Awards is a music awards show that celebrates music heard throughout the year across List of radio stations owned by iHeartMedia, iHeartMedia radio stations nationwide and on iHeartRadio, iHeartMedia's digital music platf ...

{, class="wikitable Sortable" , - ! Year ! Category ! Work ! Outcome ! , - ,

2017 2017 was designated as the International Year of Sustainable Tourism for Development by the United Nations General Assembly. Events January * January 1 – Istanbul nightclub shooting: A gunman dressed as Santa Claus opens fire at the ...

, Dance Song of the Year , " Cold Water" (shared with

and

) , ,

International Dance Music Awards

{, class="wikitable Sortable" , - ! Year ! Category ! Work ! Outcome ! , - , rowspan="2", 2016 , Best Commercial/Pop Dance Track , rowspan="2", " Lean On" , , rowspan="2", , - , Best Featured Vocalist ,

MTV Europe Music Awards The MTV Europe Music Awards (originally named MTV European Music Awards, commonly abbreviated as MTV EMA) are awards presented by Paramount International Networks to honour artists and music in pop culture. It was originally conceived as an al ...

{, class="wikitable Sortable" , - ! Year ! Category ! Work ! Outcome ! , - ,

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

, Best Song , " Lean On" (shared with

and

) , , , - ,

2016 2016 was designated as: * International Year of Pulses by the sixty-eighth session of the United Nations General Assembly. * International Year of Global Understanding (IYGU) by the International Council for Science (ICSU), the Internationa ...

, rowspan="2", Best Danish Act , rowspan="3", MØ , , , - ,

, , , - ,

2022 The year began with another wave in the COVID-19 pandemic, with SARS-CoV-2 Omicron variant, Omicron spreading rapidly and becoming the dominant variant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus worldwide. Tracking a decrease in cases and deaths, 2022 saw ...

, Best Nordic Act , ,

MTV Video Music Awards The MTV Video Music Awards (commonly abbreviated as the VMAs) is an award show presented by the cable channel MTV to honor the best in the music video medium. Originally conceived as an alternative to the Grammy Awards (in the video category ...

{, class="wikitable Sortable" , - ! Year ! Category ! Work ! Outcome ! , - ,

, Song of Summer , rowspan="2", " Cold Water" (shared with

and

) , , , - ,

, Best Dance , , ,

Nordic Music Prize

{, class="wikitable Sortable" , - ! Year ! Category ! Work ! Outcome ! , - , 2014 , Nordic Music Prize , '' No Mythologies to Follow'' , ,

Rober Awards Music Poll

{, class="wikitable Sortable" , - ! Year ! Category ! Work ! Outcome ! , - , 2013 , Best EP , '' Bikini Daze'' , , , - , 2017 , Floorfiller of the Year , "

3AM (Pull Up) "3AM (Pull Up)" is a song recorded by English singer Charli XCX, written for her mixtape '' Number 1 Angel'' (2017). The song features Danish singer and songwriter MØ. The song received positive reviews from critics, with some considering it a h ...

" (with

) , ,

Sweden GAFFA Awards

{, class="wikitable Sortable" , - ! Year ! Category ! Work ! Outcome ! , - , 2019 , Best Foreign Solo Act , MØ , ,

UK Music Video Awards

{, class="wikitable Sortable" , - ! Year ! Category ! Work ! Outcome ! , - , 2016 , Best Pop Video — International , "

" , ,

WDM Radio Awards

{, class="wikitable Sortable" , - ! Year ! Category ! Work ! Outcome ! , - , rowspan="2" , 2017 , Best Global Track , " Cold Water" (shared with

and

) , , rowspan="2" , , - , Best Electronic Vocalist , MØ ,

Zulu Awards

{, class="wikitable Sortable" , - ! Year ! Category ! Work ! Outcome ! , - , 2016 , Best Female Artist , MØ , ,

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mo 1988 births 21st-century Danish pianists 21st-century Danish women singers Danish electronic musicians Danish pop singers Danish women singer-songwriters Danish singer-songwriters English-language singers from Denmark Dance-pop musicians Living people People from Odense Municipality Musicians from the Region of Southern Denmark Pop pianists RCA Victor artists Women in electronic music 21st-century Danish women pianists