Laleh (singer)

Laleh
Laleh in 2014
Background information
Birth nameLaleh Pourkarim
Born (1982-06-10) 10 June 1982 (age 42)
Bandar-e Anzali, Gilan, Iran
OriginHammarkullen, Gothenburg, Sweden
Genres
Occupations
  • Singer
  • songwriter
  • record producer
  • guitarist
  • pianist
  • record company manager
Instruments
  • Vocals
  • guitar
  • piano
  • keyboards
  • saxophone
  • drums[1]
Years active
  • 2000–2006 (actress)
  • 2003–present (singer)
Labels
Websitelaleh.se

Laleh Pourkarim (Persian: لاله پورکریم, IPA: [lɒːˈle puːɾkæˈɾiːm]; born 10 June 1982), known mononymously as Laleh (Swedish: [ˈlɑ̌ːlɛ]), is a Swedish singer-songwriter, record producer, guitarist, pianist, and record company manager. Following a short acting career, she entered the music industry in 2005 with her self-titled debut album, which peaked at number one in Sweden and went on to become that country's highest selling album of the year.[2]

She has since released eight further studio albums. She has sung in both English and Swedish, in addition to her parents' native tongue, Persian.[3] In 2011, she participated in the Swedish television show Så mycket bättre, which sees a number of artists create new interpretations of the others' songs. Her performances on the show were lauded by both critics and the public.[4] Following the show, it was noted in the media that she had been given "a second breakthrough".[5]

Her 2012 album, Sjung, yielded the international hit "Some Die Young", which became closely associated as a song of remembrance in the aftermath of the 2011 Norwegian attacks, and was certified fourteen times platinum in Norway, double platinum in Sweden and provided Laleh her second chart-hit in Denmark and first in Austria, Finland and Germany.[6][7][8] Colors, was released across Scandinavia in October 2013. She signed an international deal with Island Records in January 2014, leading to the release of the Boom EP and a number of songwriting and production credits for artists including Shawn Mendes, Adam Lambert, Demi Lovato, and Ellie Goulding.[9] In 2016 she released the album Kristaller and in 2019 the album Vänta!. Her most recent album, 2022's Vatten, was her first release in conjunction with Universal Music Sweden.[10]

  1. ^ "Drums & Så Mkt Bättre" (in Swedish). Laleh.se. 3 November 2011. Archived from the original on 7 February 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  2. ^ Cite error: The named reference DN was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Fredriksson, Karin (9 April 2005). "Begåvad men spretig debut". Helsingborgs Dagblad (in Swedish). Helsingborgs Dagblad. Archived from the original on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  4. ^ "Laleh gör succé med låtarna från "Så mycket bättre"". Expressen (in Swedish). Bonnier Group. 13 November 2011. Archived from the original on 9 January 2012. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  5. ^ Backman, Dan (25 January 2012). "Laleh är så mycket bättre". Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). Schibsted. Retrieved 1 February 2012.
  6. ^ Ommundsen, Åse Marie (31 December 2013). "Nasjonal traumebearbeiding i sanglyrikk for barn og unge etter 22/7". Barnelitterært forskningstidsskrift (in Norwegian). 4. doi:10.3402/blft.v4i0.23537. hdl:10642/1821. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  7. ^ "Best Of All Time". Hung Medien. Archived from the original on 2 November 2014. Retrieved 31 January 2013.
  8. ^ "swedishcharts.com – Laleh – Some Die Young". swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 16 January 2013.
  9. ^ "About Palang". Palang. Retrieved 23 December 2022.
  10. ^ "Laleh – Vatten". Discogs. Retrieved 23 December 2022.