Loreen

Lorine Zineb Nora Talhaoui (born 16 October 1983), known professionally as Loreen, is a Swedish singer and songwriter.

Loreen was born in Åkersberga, Sweden, in 1983 to Moroccan immigrant parents.

Early in her life, Loreen moved to Västerås.

She grew up there, and calls it her hometown.

She spent most of her teenage years in Gryta, a residential area in the city.

Interested in becoming a musician, Loreen took part in the Idol 2004 television competition, finishing fourth.

The following year she released her first single, "The Snake", with the band Rob'n'Raz and became a television presenter on TV400.

Loreen became known to Swedish audiences after taking part in the Swedish Idol 2004, under the name Lorén Talhaoui.

During the qualification round, she placed third with the public vote.

She would have been eliminated, but received a wildcard from the judges, allowing her to compete in the program.

She finished fourth overall, and was eliminated during the eighth week.

After Idol, in 2005, she released a promotional single, "The Snake", with the group Rob'n'Raz.

That same year, she also presented the TV show Lyssna, broadcast by the Swedish station TV400.

She then took a hiatus from more visible roles, and worked as a segment producer and director for reality TV shows such as TV3's Värsta pojkvänsakademin, TV4's Matakuten and SVT's Frufritt.

While working as a segment producer and director for several Swedish reality TV shows, she entered Melodifestivalen 2011 with the song "My Heart Is Refusing Me", which became a top 10 hit in Sweden.

Loreen returned to the public eye when she took part in Melodifestivalen 2011 with the song "My Heart Is Refusing Me", which she co-wrote with Moh Denebi and Björn Djupström.

After coming fourth in the second semi-final in Gothenburg on 12 February 2011, she competed in the Second Chance round, but failed to qualify for the final after a sing-off with Sara Varga.

The song was released on 11 March 2011 and became a hit on the Swedish Singles Chart, debuting and peaking at number 9.

Representing Sweden, she has won the Eurovision Song Contest twice – in 2012 and 2023 – with the songs "Euphoria" and "Tattoo".

She is the second performer (after Johnny Logan) and the first and only woman to have won the competition twice to date.

She had two top 20 hits in Sweden with the singles "Crying Out Your Name" (2012) and her Melodifestivalen 2017 entry "Statements".

Following Loreen's success a year later, the song re-entered the chart, peaking at number 22 in May 2012.

In the first semi-final of Melodifestivalen 2012 on 4 February, Loreen advanced directly to the final round with her entry "Euphoria", written by Thomas G:son and Peter Boström.

She won the national final on 10 March with a combined total of 268 points and represented Sweden in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

The song won the competition with a total of 372 points from 40 voting countries out of 42 (Italy was the exception, and Sweden could not vote for itself).

According to online betting companies, she was the favourite to win the contest.

On 3 June 2012, "Euphoria" charted at number three on the UK Official Singles Chart, the highest chart position for a non-UK Eurovision entry since Johnny Logan's "Hold Me Now" in 1987.

The single sold 62,148 copies in its first week in the United Kingdom.

"Euphoria" is also noted for having a consistent chart presence in the UK, remaining in the top 20 for weeks after the competition, which was rare for a Eurovision song.

On 21 June 2012, Loreen made an appearance at the MTV World Stage in Gothenburg.

The title of her debut album, Heal, was confirmed in late August 2012.

Released on 24 October 2012, Heal debuted atop the Sverigetopplistan Albums Top 60.

It was certified platinum in Sweden during its second week, denoting domestic shipments exceeding 40,000 units.

A remix version of "My Heart Is Refusing Me" was released on 8 October 2012 as the second European single from the album.

On the same day, "Crying Out Your Name" was released as the fourth single in her native Sweden.

To promote the album, Loreen appeared as a musical guest on several European TV shows, including Polish talent show Must Be the Music on 21 October 2012,

the second season of the Romanian version of X Factor on 18 November 2012 and the final of the third series of Dutch talent show The Voice of Holland.

Loreen premiered a new single included in the reissue of her debut album in the opening of the 2013 Eurovision Song Contest.

The song is called "We Got the Power", and was produced by Patrik Berger and written by Ester Dean, who have previously worked with Icona Pop, Rihanna and Robyn.

In October 2013, Art on Ice announced that Loreen would be one of the artists performing on their 2014 tour, which had the concept of combining live music with performances from figure skaters.