- Words Notion Staff
- Photo Credit Kenny Laubbacher
Tove Lo chats about her musical firsts, from meeting fans to her first instrument and her first hit song.
Tove Lo’s star just keeps rising. Across four albums, the Notion cover star alum has accrued a Grammy nomination, multiple platinum certifications and collaborations with the likes of Lorde, Nick Jonas, Kylie Minogue and Coldplay, making her one of the foremost contemporary pop stars.
Now, she’s ready to kick off a brand new era with the release of her new single, “No One Dies From Love”, which she describes as being about “whenyou’re with someone for a long time and it ends all of a sudden, it’s like a part of you has died. This person is now a stranger to you. All of the memories are tainted. For the first part of the breakup, you believe you’re not supposed to feel good about anything you had together. What I believe I do best is ‘heartbreak you can dance to.’ The song is that.”
Tove Lo is heading out on a huge headline tour from this autumn, encompassing 15 dates across the UK and Europe, as well as a slate of big festival shows this summer, so her name is sure to keep growing and growing. To commemorate what’s set to be a major year for her, we sat down with Tove Lo to chat about her musical firsts, from her first hit to her first bolt of inspiration and beyond.
First song you ever made?
First song I ever wrote was a song called crazy that I made with my girlfriends at age 11. I still remember it.
First song you released officially?
First song of my own that I released on a label was “Habits (Stay High)”. But I released both Habits a song called “Love Ballad” independently first.
First hit song?
“Habits (Stay High)” haha!
First time you realised you wanted to be a musician?
When I got into my high school that is a music school in Stockholm (called Rytmus). I had to audition and when I got the letter home that I was accepted I had that feeling.
First festival you ever went to as a fan and the first one you played at as an artist?
First festival I ever went to was Hultsfred in Sweden when I was 15. First I ever played was SXSW in Austin Texas.
First time you faced an obstacle in your career?
I mean the first 8 years after high school when no producers or labels wanted to work with me felt like an up hill battle but that’s part of the journey. I’d say when I had to get vocal chord surgery within the first year of Habits taking off was a really stressful time, I wasn’t sure I’d recover and loose everything I’d worked so hard for.
First instrument you owned?
A white small piano I bought from a grumpy old man when I was 16.
First time you felt like giving up?
I never felt like giving up.
First time you realised you were famous?
I still don’t believe it haha but the first time we played SXSW and there were fans screaming and asking for autographs. I was like “who hired you!?”
First time you ticked off a bucket list goal?
I think that first time I got on a plane with my band to go on tour for the first time. My #1dream has always been to see the world while playing music.