SHAZAM

Laleh Pourkarim, better known as Laleh, burst onto the Swedish pop charts in 2005 with a sophisticated set of songs that nodded to smooth adult contemporary artists like Sting and Seal. The daughter of a well-regarded Iranian sociologist, Laleh spent the majority of her childhood in Iran and moved to Sweden when she was 12, where she learned to play the guitar. She formed a jazz ensemble, Bejola, with her music teacher when she was a teenager, and went on to teach herself to play percussion and saxophone. She wrote, performed, and produced her self-titled debut, which was released in the spring of 2005 on Warner. The album soared to the top of the Scandinavian charts on the strength of sleek singles like "Invisible (My Song)" and "Live Tomorrow," and Laleh went on to win three Grammis for the release (Artist of the Year, Producer of the Year, and New Artist of the Year). Her sophomore effort, Prinsessor, arrived one year later, featuring the singles "November" and "Forgive but Not Forget." Another single, "Call on Me," hit the airwaves the following year. ~ Margaret Reges, Rovi