Seinabo Sey

Seinabo Sey
Seinabo Sey in 2014.
Background information
Born	(1990-10-07) 7 October 1990
Origin	Stockholm, Sweden
Genres	Soul pop, electropop
Instruments	Vocals
Years active	2013–present
Labels	Universal Music Group, Virgin Records[1]
Associated acts	Magnus Lidehäll
Website	www.seinabosey.com

Seinabo Sey (born 7 October 1990 in Stockholm,^[2] Sweden) is a Swedish recording artist and songwriter.

Early life

Seinabo Sey was born in Södermalm, Stockholm on 7 October 1990, she is of both Swedish and West African ancestry.^[3] She moved to Halmstad, Sweden at the age of eight, and attended Östergårdsskolans music program for musically gifted teenagers.^[4]

Sey was inspired musically by artists such as Alicia Keys and Beyoncé early on in life. She grew up in Halmstad, Sweden, surrounded by artistry and creativity, her father Maudo Sey was a renowned musician in West Africa. In an interview, Sey recalled being nine years old and watching MTV, leading her to become obsessed with music and singing. Sey had academic aspirations and wanted to study at Yale as an adolescent, being inspired by watching Gilmore Girls, and took academic steps towards that dream, enrolling in a international baccalaureate program in Halmstad, Sweden, although at the age of sixteen she ended up changing course, moving to Stockholm to attend and later graduate from Fryshusets esthetics program with a concentration in soul music. ^[5]

In an interview Sey noted that "I was really academically tracked... I loved to sing but I could never fathom singing by myself. I tried to push away the whole music dream and thought I had to do something more in line with that, like becoming a lawyer or something, until I was around sixteen. But then I realised I couldn’t really live in that small town so I moved to Stockholm and started music school".^[6][7][8][9]

Career

2013-present

After Sey started working with producer Magnus Lidehäll she released her debut single "Younger" , followed by " Hard Time" and "Pistols at Dawn".^[10] The singles, which were described as soul pop, received much attention and accolades in Sweden and abroad.^[11] Kygo, a Norwegian musician, remixed "Younger", releasing it in Norway and the United States, this version known as "Younger (Kygo Remix)" peaked on the Norwegian VG-lista charts (for seven consecutive weeks) and on the US Billboard Hot Dance Club Songs. On April 16th, 2015 "Younger", was featured on BBC Radio 1 as their Track of the Day.

Sey performed at the 2014 Swedish Grammy Awards and at Allsång på Skansen in Stockholm.^[12][13] In October 2014, Seinabo Sey released the critically acclaimed EP "For Madeleine", dedicated to and named after her mother.^[14] The EP was produced by Magnus Lidehäll and written by among others, Salem Al Fakir, Oscar Linnros and Vincent Pontare along with Seinabo Sey herself. That same month, she performed at the Royal Dramatic Theatre in Stockholm.^[15] She also performed at the 2014 Nobel Peace Prize concert.^[16]

On March 30th 2015, Seinabo Sey released her second Extended play, the four-track EP "For Maudo", dedicated to and named after her father. Repeating the success of "For Madeleine", the EP received favorable reviews and widespread critical acclaim in Sweden and abroad. "For Maudo" was produced by Magnus Lidehäll, one Swedish review described the Extended play as a crossover between soul and modern pop and as "weightless and spellbinding", another review described the EP as being composed of "exceptionally beautiful music". ^{[17][18][19][20][21][22]}

Awards and accolades

• 2014 - Breakthrough of the year - 2014 Swedish Music Publishers Prize^[23]
• 2015 - Best Newcomer - 2014 Swedish Grammy Awards^[24]
• 2015 - Soul/R&B artist of the year - 2014 Kingsize Awards^[25]

Discography

Singles

References

External links

• Official website