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Lykke Li is not the name of a Chinese pop star or a porn star (ouch). She’s an amazing new Swedish singer. Her name is actually Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson. Even more complicated, so I get the short form (pronounced: Looky Lee).

The most intriguing thing about her is her super confidence. She’s like a mature adult for her young age. The old thing isn’t about her looks; she’s sweet & adorable. It’s about her personality & superhuman drive. At the age of 22, she has her own record label, and is playing the same venues as her co-country musicians The Hives (Lykke Li’s first release was 2007; The Hives was in 1997…do the math).

And just six months ago, Lykke Li thought her rise to fame was happening too slowly… she was saying stuff like: “Why am I not a huge star already?”

Lykke Li’s probably so advanced for her age because her mother’s an artist & her father’s a musician, and they moved her around the world like boho nomads. She started out in a small Swedish town, moving onto Portugal, Lisbon, Morocco, Nepal, India & New York, all by the age of 19.

Lykke Li is also a total chameleon. If you watch her video for Little Bit, you can see an artistic edge. It seems like she’s hooked up with subculture directors & artists. But then in Breaking It Up, Lykke could give Brit Brit a run for her money as a pop tartist.

Her choreographed dance numbers in every video are no coincidence. She used to be a dancer, and actually considered dance her career until she decided to make a last-minute switch to singer. This could have been bad, except she has the most beautiful & flawless voice. Listen to her sing in this Black Cab Sessions recording. Sounds amazing even though no instruments accompany her & it’s recorded in the back of a cab.

Also don’t miss her impromptu video with Bon Iver shot in an L.A. Once you’re done checking out Lykke Li, move on to Bon Iver, because he’s another totally amazing singer with a weird name.

-Sabrina Saccoccio

Links:
Official Site: Lykke Li
Official Site: The Hives
Official Site: Bon Iver

Posted on Tuesday, November 11th, 2008 at 2:45 pm by Casey and is filed under The NewMusic.

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