Platinum selling and Grammy nominated in her home country of Sweden, Tove Styrke has come onto the pop scene hard and the U.S. has no idea what’s about to hit them. Tove is set to release her new album, Sway, May 4th, 2018 and is pumping up her crowd base by opening for Lorde all of March, after which, she’s set to run around Europe with Katy Perry. There will be no going back after you’ve heard YouTube’s “artist on the rise” in her popular (2.5 million views) tune, “Say My Name”.
As she was preparing to get on the road, she gave me a few minutes of her time:
BW: I know this month is going to be a whirlwind for you, tell me about your excitement to tour with Lorde.
TS: (Laughs) You just said what I feel, I’m soooo excited for this opportunity. If I could have handpicked a tour to join, I would have picked this one, so I’m beyond happy and this is my first arena tour.
BW: Do you think there will be a chance to sing together since you covered Lorde’s song, Liability?
TS: Oh God, I don’t know, but I would NOT say no to that.
BW: Lorde is a unique artist in her vibe and there isn’t anyone out in the U.S. that has the same sound you do, I’d imagine you’ll likely appeal to her same demographic and pick up her fans along the way.
TS: Thank you. It was a little scary putting out that cover. I made sure to send it to her first to make sure she liked it. I wanted to get her approval, which was important to me. I was happy her fans loved it and feel like I’ve found some new friends in her fan base.
BW: You have a lot of die-hard fans online who comment about how talented, yet super underrated you are. Do you think the U.S. is ready for you on a mass scale?
TS: I hope you are! I love my fans; they’re amazing and have been so supportive. As my following grows I feel like they’re my people, they’re the best.
BW: Who do you love right now in music and would want to work with?
TS: Right now it’s Cardi B, I love her. I tried to pitch a song to her, that’s how much I like her right now. Her whole energy gives me life. She’s being herself and people relate to that. Kehlani and Lorde obviously, they’re such amazing people doing such great work.
BW: Where do you get your passion for music? Your dad was a musician and your mother was a dance teacher. Do you think it comes from your family?
TS: Growing up in a family like mine, music was always looked at as something that could be done. They always let me sing, play the piano and make a lot of noise at home so that meant a lot. It’s not only about the music for me, it’s the whole process: the visuals, making things and communicating things. I love that I can make something just for me and put it out and someone else can feel something and it can mean something for them too. It’s like that with all art. Someone makes something to touch someone else.
BW: Is that ever nerve-wracking to be vulnerable or have you always felt comfortable to be public with your expression?
TS: I don’t think about that and I feel that’s a good thing. I make it for me. I make music that makes me feel good. I never take into consideration what someone might think about it. That’s a beautiful bonus you might get. When people share stories of how my music has affected them. For me, I can’t be outside of my space or bubble when I’m making something because it’s so personal.
BW: Can you share how involved you are in the concept, design and storytelling for the visuals and videos that accompany your work?
TS: Very! I’m working a lot with Joanna Nordahl; she is the best at everything. She made my video for Mistakes and now we are continuing to work together. She’s taking on a role of creative director and we talk about everything, sending images to each other for inspiration including lighting and locations; it’s a constant dialogue. There’s performance and there’s also cinematic storytelling that pulls on emotions we’re doing with everything.
Tove Styrke has a busy year ahead as she wants to continue to release new music while touring simultaneously, stopping in L.A. to write, shooting a music video in London, a few headline shows in Australia and then that whole Katy Perry thing we mentioned before.
Tour dates can be found on her site: http://www.tovestyrkemusic.com/
As well as the added dates for Europe: https://www.songkick.com/artists/3407026-tove-styrke
