Born Hanna Emilia Rydberg-Mitiku on January 5, 1978, in Stockholm, Sweden, the pop and soul singer was better known simply as Emilia during the first decade of her career but currently records under the name Emilia Mitiku. The daughter of popular Ethiopian musician and singer Tèshomè Mitiku, she was discovered in 1996 by Lars Anderson, the son of ABBA’s manager Stig Anderson. Her debut single, “A Good Sign,” was issued in 1997, but she had to wait until her second single “Big Big World,” before achieving massive commercial success. The single reached Number 1 in Sweden, Number 5 in England, and even made it to Number 92 in the US. The Big Big World (2018) reached Number 14 on the Swedish Albums chart. Other hits by Emilia include "Twist of Fate" (1999) and "Sorry I'm in Love" (2000). Her second album, Emilia (2000, was her last release before taking a long break. She returned in 2006 with the Number 2 single "Var minut" followed in 2007 by the Top 20 hit “En sång om kärleken". Her third album, Små ord av kärlek (2007) was not as successful as her previous albums, and the same fate befell 2009’s My World. Taking another break, she returned with the 2013 album I Belong To You, which was her first credited to Emilia Mitiku.
