“My whole world is crazy right now,” the 24-year-old singer says quietly and thoughtfully, which is how she says most things. “I could just sit here and tell you” — she swaps her singsongy Swedish accent for a sarcastic celebuhonk — “I’m so grateful to be here. I love my life. But it’s better to be honest. Anyway, it’s all a big blur.”
More below.
“Maybe somebody will read this who needs to connect with me,” she says, and she can see my eyes start to roll, but she continues. “I’m fundamentally ambivalent about life in general, so of course I’m ambivalent about success. Is the world better because I’m here?” she says, and she has this Scandinavian way of saying bleak things and making them sound matter-of-fact rather than self-pitying or maudlin, as if her words were ash flicked from the end of an existential cigarette. “Ultimately, I hope you hear me and recognize yourself. That,” she says smiling, “would be the most incredible thing.”
Zachrisson knows full well that Wounded Rhymes‘ stylish dance-pop and crystalline ballads are an impressive step up from her debut, 2008′s Youth Novels. “Good things are happening,” she says, “but it’s scary to think that they’re happening because people expect things from me.”
And they expect a lot. “She’ll be a hugely significant act globally. That’s my belief,” says Atlantic Records U.K. chairman Max Lousada, who signed Zachrisson to the label in spring 2008 after Youth Novels‘ initial success in Sweden. “On her first record she was the submissive. Now she’s the dominant. I know massive success is going to happen. When? I’m not that clever. I just know it will.”
Novels, arguably more plaintive and searching than submissive, sold 62,000 copies in the United States and another 77,000 worldwide. Hardly staggering totals, but when combined with a magnetic stage presence that swings between naked fragility and feline ferocity — and that could prove capable of reaching both the poetry-reading wallflowers and madly texting social butterflies — the numbers are promising enough to make those with a vested interest feel they’ve got something.
“We’ll potentially have her in another Victoria’s Secret spot. I’m hot on ‘Jerome’ from the new record,” says music supervisor Vasili Gavre, who previously placed Novels‘ coquettish “Little Bit” in a TV ad for the lingerie company. “I can’t really go into details about what could happen, but it’s good for Lykke to be associated with Victoria’s Secret. They have deep pockets.”
That commerce flows both ways. “Lykke is a great ambassador for the brand,” says Morven Mackinnon, a spokesperson for Levi’s European division. “She’s cool. She’s hip, she’s credible.” Levi’s selected Lykke Li to be one of the faces for the company’s new Curve ID line.
Her peers are also excited. “Lykke Li’s incredible,” says Drake, who rapped over a remix of “Little Bit” on his 2009 So Far Gone mixtape (the same year she appeared alongside Kanye West on N.A.S.A.’s “Gifted”). “I love her. I hope you tell her that. I don’t understand why she’s not the biggest artist already. Everything in due time.”
Related Posts:
2 Chainz - 'No Lie' (ft. Drake) (Dirty)
Sander Van Doorn & Mayaeni – Nothing Inside (Original Mix)
Rita Ora looking amazing in her new bikini photoshoot
Kreayshawn announces debut album title
Mickey Factz - 'Taking Pictures of Girls Naked' (NSFW) (Music Video)
