Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson (born 18 March 1986), known as Lykke Li, is a Swedish singer, songwriter, model and actress.
Her music often blends elements of indie pop, dream pop and electronic.
2007
Lykke Li released her first EP, Little Bit, in 2007.
Stereogum named her an artist to watch in October 2007 and described her music as a mix of soul, electro and "powdered-sugar pop".
2008
Her debut studio album, Youth Novels, was released in 2008, and has been followed by Wounded Rhymes (2011), I Never Learn (2014), So Sad So Sexy (2018), and Eyeye (2022).
She is best known for her biggest hit single to date, "I Follow Rivers".
Li Lykke Timotej Zachrisson was born in Ystad, Skåne; her mother,, was a photographer, and her father, (stage name Zilverzurfarn), is a member of the Swedish punk-reggae band Dag Vag.
Her younger brother, Zacharias Zachrisson ( Vacation Forever), is also a musician.
The family moved to Stockholm when Zachrisson was a toddler and when she was six moved to a mountaintop in Portugal where they lived for five years.
The family also spent time in Lisbon and Morocco, and winters in Nepal and India.
She moved to Brooklyn, New York City, for three months when she was 19.
She returned when she was 21 to record her album.
Li's debut album, Youth Novels, was released on LL Recordings in the Nordic region on 30January 2008 and received a wider European release in June 2008.
The album was produced by Björn Yttling of Peter Bjorn and John and Lasse Mårtén and was reportedly inspired by a previous relationship of three years.
It was released in the United States on 19August 2008.
The album was released in the United Kingdom in June 2008, promoted by a performance of "Little Bit" on Later... with Jools Holland on 25May 2008.
Lykke Li performed live with a pared-down drum kit, a necklace made out of percussive instruments, a guitar, a bass and a microphone.
Youth Novels was placed on many of the year's Best Of lists and saw Lykke Li sell out tours, including sets at festivals Glastonbury, Coachella and Lollapalooza.
She appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien.
She appeared on Swedish musician Kleerup's self-titled album, contributing vocals to the track "Until We Bleed".
2009
She also worked with Norwegian electronic duo Röyksopp on their 2009 album Junior, contributing vocals to "Miss It So Much" and "Were You Ever Wanted".
Lykke Li appeared on Last Call with Carson Daly on 18February 2009.
She covered "Knocked Up", originally recorded by Kings of Leon who had approached Lykke to cover a song of her choice, and "Gifted" in which she performs with Kanye West.
Lykke Li performed at the 2009 Coachella Valley Music and Arts Festival on 19April and the 2009 Lollapalooza festival on 8August as part of the promotional tour for Youth Novels.
Her song "I'm Good, I'm Gone" featured in the game FIFA 09, whilst a remixed version was featured in the 2009 horror film Sorority Row.
The song "Possibility" was written for the 2009 film The Twilight Saga: New Moon.
Lykke Li had been asked to write a song to the film soundtrack but was reluctant to commit to the project.
It was after she had seen an early screening of the film that she decided she wanted to contribute to the soundtrack.
The soundtrack was released on 16October 2009.
2010
Li's song "Melodies and Desires" was featured in the 2010 Australian film Griff the Invisible and an edited version of "Get Some" was featured in the Catwoman trailer for the video game, Batman: Arkham City.
She collaborated with singer Kleerup on the song "Until We Bleed", which was featured on an episode of UK TV series Misfits and an episode of the television series Ringer.
2011
The song "Get Some" was featured in the 15th episode of the first season of Hawaii Five-0 titled "Kai e'e" which aired 23January 2011.
The song was also used in the 19th episode of the second season of The CW's The Vampire Diaries, titled "Klaus" and originally aired 21April 2011, and in the show Don't Trust the B in Apartment 23 as well as the sixth episode of the first season of Teen Wolf, titled "Heart Monitor" and originally aired 4July 2011.
The song was also used in the film Premium Rush as one of its soundtracks.
The song "Unrequited Love" was used in episode 19 ("The Wheels of Justice"), season four of The Good Wife.
Her second album Wounded Rhymes was released in 2011.
The album was featured on several lists of 2011's best albums, including Q, Mojo, The Observer, The New York Times, The Huffington Post and Rolling Stone.
The 19April 2011 episode of Glee (titled "A Night of Neglect") featured student Tina singing a version of Li's "I Follow Rivers".
On 30April 2011, she performed on Later... with Jools Holland in the UK, playing "Get Some", "Sadness Is a Blessing" and "I Follow Rivers".
2012
The song was also used in ABC Family's drama Pretty Little Liars in the 18th episode of the second season which was titled "A Kiss Before Lying" which aired 30January 2012.
