Lisa Nilsson (August 13, 1970) is a Swedish singer whose slick blend of soul and pop music reached the top of the charts in the early 90s. The daughter of jazz musician Gösta Nilsson, she studied to become a professional ballet dancer before pivoting to music in the late 80s. After a brief stint as part of the group Stage Four and winning the Stjärnskott talent contest in 1987, she participated in the 29th edition of the Melodifestivalen with the song “Du (öppnar min värld)”, finishing up in fourth place. Her debut album, Lean on Love, arrived in 1989 and was followed by 1990’s soul-tinged Indestructible. Success knocked on her door in 1992 with third album Himlen Runt Hörnet, a soul-pop blockbuster that climbed to the top of the Swedish charts largely thanks to its title track, written by Mauro Scocco and Johan Ekelund. An English version entitled Ticket to Heaven saw the light in 1995 and so did Till Morelia, which received mixed reviews upon its release. Nilsson took a five-year break and then delivered Viva (2000) and Small Rooms (2001), two albums almost entirely penned by herself that steered away from the soul sound of her early career and bordered on adult contemporary. Inspired by a trip to Brazil, she recorded the albums Hotel Vermont 609 (2006) and Sambou Sambou (2009), which offered Swedish versions of Brazilian hits from the 60s and 70s. In subsequent years, Nilsson managed to enter the Top 5 with the album Sånger om oss (2013) and became a contestant on the 6th season of reality TV show Så mycket bättre in 2015. Five years later, she returned to the show and recorded a live rendition of Ana Díaz’s “100,” which peaked at Number 97 on the Swedish charts.
