Early in her career, Clara Mae worked with producers David Guetta and Tiësto. In 2008, she appeared on the singing competition program, Next Star where she performed Whitney Houston's "I Will Always Love You" and placed second. The following year, she competed on another singing competition program, Idol 2009. She performed Duffy's "Warwick Avenue" for her audition and Oh Laura's "Release Me" during the semi-final round, but failed to advance to the finals. Also in 2009, Clara Mae was recruited by Ulf Ekberg and Jonas Berggren to join Ace of Base. She and fellow new member, Julia Williamson, replaced former members, Jenny and Linn Berggren, and began recording a new album with the band in September 2009. The band released The Golden Ratio in September 2010, and Clara Mae officially left Ace of Base in 2012.