Lisa Ekdahl

Biography

Lisa Ekdahl (born 29 July 1971) is a Swedish popular music singer and songwriter. She has so far released 10 albums, most of them in Swedish, but some entirely in English. Her voice has been described as "child-like" and "soft, supple and smooth".

Career

In 1994, at the age of 22, Ekdahl became famous overnight in Sweden with her self-titled debut album and the No. 1 hit single "Vem vet" ("Who Knows?"). The record sold almost 800,000 copies and she was awarded three Swedish music prizes, one of them as the nation's best artist of the year. She also enjoyed success in Denmark and Norway.
She signed with EMI Records, but later recorded two pop albums with RCA/BMG: Med kroppen mot jorden×Med kroppen mot jorden1996 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1Inte kan ödet vara så hårt4:072Himlen och jag4:023Små onda djävlar3:334Jag tror han är en ängel1:435En sten i mitt hjärta3:366Skäl att vara motvalls1:537Ur askan i elden3:418Jag har sett en fjäril2:399Hösten4:4310Med kroppen mot jorden3:0811Att älska är större3:13 and Bortom det blå×Bortom det blå1997 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Bortom det blå4:052Gå dit ifall du minns2:133Två lyckliga dårar2:444Jag behöver inget mer3:545Vi tillhör varann2:526Sakta, sakta3:427Jag vill bara vara3:548Du var inte där för mig2:429Hyenorna skrattade, gamarna log3:4110Genom dig ser jag ljuset2:3711Cirklar2:3112Vill ha dig kvar3:3013Tänk inte mera2:51 in 1996 and 1997. In 1998, she recorded the English language album When Did You Leave Heaven×When Did You Leave Heaven1995 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 11 tracks1When Did You Leave Heaven6:022But Not for Me3:243Cry Me a River5:064Love for Sale4:205Lush Life3:196You’re Gonna See a Lot of Me2:307It Was Just One of Those Things2:508The Boy Next Door3:559I’m a Fool to Want You3:0110My Heart Belongs to Daddy2:5511Blame It on My Youth5:17, which contained jazz standards. Ekdahl has been focusing on, with great success, Scandinavia and Europe (most noticeably France), leaving little mark in other countries such as the United States. Her following album, Back to Earth×Back to Earth12 October 1998 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 13 tracks1Now or Never3:362Nature Boy4:483Stranger on Earth3:424Laziest Girl in Town6:125It Had to Be You3:096Down With Love1:377What Is This Thing Called Love5:058Tea for Two5:299The Lonely One3:2110I Get a Kick Out of You3:2111Just for a Thrill3:2512Night and Day4:3213Plaintive Rumba6:20 (1999), was again full of jazz standards and, like her jazz debut, recorded with the Peter Nordahl Trio. In France alone, it sold over 40,000 copies. She received positive reviews for her live appearances in Great Britain from The Daily Telegraph and The Guardian.
Ekdahl's sixth album, Lisa Ekdahl sings Salvadore Poe×Sings Salvadore Poe7 November 2000 · Studio albumSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 14 tracks1Daybreak3:152Rivers of Love4:143Sunny Weather3:314Only You4:295The Color of You3:396How Many More Times3:307I Will Be Blessed2:448Since You've Been Gone3:319I've Never Seen Anything Like You4:5410I Don't Miss You Anymore3:5311Nightingale2:1012The Rhythm of Our Hearts4:0613Sun Rose2:1014Of My Conceit5:15 (2000), signaled a new direction and critical esteem. As the new album's title indicates, Ekdahl exclusively sings songs written by her husband, also known as Paul DiBartolo, guitarist in New York glam metal band Spread Eagle, primarily in the bossa nova style. Her fragile and childish voice seems to be made for this type of music. Their album was a great success in France and Scandinavia, where it sold over 120,000 copies by early 2001.
Her voice is variously compared to Blossom Dearie, Diana Krall, and perhaps most accurately, Astrud Gilberto. Her hit song "Vem Vet" is also in the soundtrack of the Korean drama Love Rain.
In 2016 she participated in the music show Så mycket bättre broadcast on TV4.

Personal life

She was born in Hägersten, Sweden to her parents who were a nuclear physicist and kindergarten teacher. She was raised just outside Mariefred, Sweden. She has two sisters and attended school at the Tälje Musikgymnasium. Her music is published by her company Lisa Ekdahl AB.
Ekdahl has lived in New York City. In 1999, she met American composer and guitarist Salvadore Poe, former guitarist of 1990s New York sleaze rockers Spread Eagle on a flight to India. They married in 2000, and they later collaborated on an album together. They are now divorced. She was previously married to Swedish singer Bill Öhrström, with whom she has a son Milton (born 23 December 1994). She also has a daughter born in 2012.
She currently lives in the Södermalm district of Stockholm.

Solo albums

1994: Lisa Ekdahl
1996: Med kroppen mot jorden
1997: Bortom det blå
2000: Sings Salvadore Poe
2004: Olyckssyster
2006: Pärlor av glas
2009: Give Me That Slow Knowing Smile
2014: Look to Your Own Heart
2016: Tolkningarna – Så mycket bättre Säsong 7
2017: När alla vägar leder hem
2018: More of the Good

Compilations

2002: Heaven Earth & Beyond
2003: En samling sånger

Collaborations

1995: When Did You Leave Heaven (with the Peter Nordahl trio)
1998: Back to Earth (with the Peter Nordahl trio)
2000: Duet with Henri Salvador in the song "All I Really Want Is Love×All I really want is love2001 · SingleSpotify (search)YouTube Music (search)Tracklist · 1 track1All I really want is love4:11" on his album Chambre Avec Vue
2001: Kiss & Hug: From a Happy Boy (duet with Danish singer Lars H.U.G. in the song "Backwards")
2003: Duet with Rod Stewart in the song "Where or When" on his album As Time Goes By: The Great American Songbook 2