She did it! In front of 120 million TV viewers worldwide, Loreen won the Eurovision Song Contest Baku in 2012. In the latest issue of Damernas Värld you will find a long and wonderful interview with Loreen where she talks about her dark sides, her upcoming album and (the completely unjustified ) the nervousness before tonight’s mission. In honor of the evening, Damernas.se offers goodies from the interview already now. 

• By: Rebecka Wållgren
• Photo: Helén Karlsson
• Styling: Robert Nordberg
• Hair & makeup: Mia Högfeldt

From the beginning, Loreen flatly said no. She absolutely did not want to be part of the Melodifestivalen. But when she heard the song Euphoria, she could not help but finally say yes and now she is Sweden’s representative in the Eurovision Song Contest 2012. After the landslide victory with 670,000 votes for Loreen in the Globe, her song Euphoria became a pre-favorite in the big melody competition in Baku and a real low odds on foreign gaming companies, but Loreen does not take it very seriously.

– I’m happy and grateful about it but it does not excite me. I don’t care if I win or not. It means nothing to me. I have been a competitive person but I do not feel good about it. I want to reach as many people as possible with my music and that is why I am with.

She is sitting at Hotell Skeppsholmen in high-heeled boots and a bomber jacket. She talks eagerly, gestures and jokes and has already guessed right on my zodiac sign. When I ask if she’s nervous before the finale, she laughs, says she’s always nervous and throws an Indian spiritual self – help book out of her bag. Although the location means little to her, the big performance is scary.

– I’m always nervous. I walk around with Deepak Chopra in my bag.

To calm her nerves before she steps out on the big stage seen by millions of TV viewers, it is the rave in the lodge that counts. In the Globe, she played Rihanna at the highest volume and jumped up and down and threw her head 20 minutes before her performance. And in Baku, she intends to dance away the fear of Swedish House Mafia’s song Greyhound. In Baku, the dance on stage will also be sharper, the light different and her clothes will be changed from Tommy Granfors’ undulating creation that she wore in Sweden to a creation signed Martin Bergström.

– Clothes and style are like art. The visual works so well together with the musical. The experience becomes so much more when you have something to look at while you hear something. So style plays a huge role for me. But then it changes all the time. I do not think I will look like this in a year. I feel like I’re drawn to the more sophisticated with some lovely edge.

Being able to control all parts of her performance is important for Loreen, who is creative in many areas. And if someone tries to change her or her visions, she shows a different side than the energetic, open-hearted and happy singer who is now sitting in front of me.

“If you are there and fiddle, then my dark temper will emerge.”

– When it comes to the creative, and when you know exactly what it is you want to convey, no one gets creative and fiddles with it. What I should wear, how I should convey my song, what I should say. If you are there and fiddle then my dark temperament emerges.

Loreen’s parents fled to Sweden from Morocco a few years before she was born. She grew up in Vasteras with a single mother and seven siblings. She was taught by her mother that nothing is impossible and the dream of becoming a musician came early.

– My mother has told me that I have always said that I want to become an artist. Become an artist and marry Prince or Michael Jackson.

The first time Loreen stepped into the lime light, she was 20 years old and applied for the very first season of Idol in 2004 on strict orders from her little sister. She took fourth place but then there was a quiet spirit until she appeared at the Melodifestivalen last year. Despite the fact that Loreen received several offers for recording contracts after Idol, she refused. She worked behind the camera on various TV productions and she worked with several songwriters and producers to find her way to the music at her own pace.

– I was not ready to release any album immediately after Idol. I wanted to find my own expression. I did not want to be a product of anyone else. And there are, as I think, people who can appreciate what you create. People want something that is real so they can identify with it.

It’s been eight years since Idol and now Loreen is ready. In September, she releases her first album.

– There are several exciting producers on the album. It will be fusion between the electronic, progressive and the organic, classical world. With the same feeling as Euphoria but it will have a very much darker tone than most would expect.*

LORINE ZINEB NOKA TALHAOUI

AGE: 28 years old

LIVING: in Stockholm

FAMILY: Mom, dad and seven siblings

BACKGROUND: Came in fourth place in Idol 2004, released a single with Rob’n’Raz in 2005, gave her voice to Sleeping Beauty in Shrek 3 (2007) and Smurfette in Smurfarna (2011). Participated in Melodifestivalen 2011 with the song My Heart Is Refusing Me and released the single Sober.

CURRENTLY: As Sweden’s representative in the Eurovision Song Contest and releasing debut album in September.

• Source: https://www.damernasvarld.se/mode/missa-inte-dvs-intervju-med-fantastiska-loreen/
• Photoshoot: http://gallery.lovely-loreen.com/thumbnails.php?album=4
• Translation: via Google Translate, the translation may not be completely accurate
*This part was not legible on the scans