Background and career
Lorine Zineb Nora Talhaoui (Arabic: لورين زينب نورا طلحاوي, Berber languages: ⵍⵓⵔⵉⵏ ⵣⵉⵏⴱ ⵏⵓⵕⴰ ⵟⵍⵃⴰⵡⵉ; born 16 October 1983), known professionally as Loreen (Swedish: [lɔˈreːn]), is a Swedish singer-songwriter. Representing Sweden, she won the Eurovision Song Contest in 2012 and 2023 with the songs "Euphoria" and "Tattoo" respectively. She is the second performer, after Johnny Logan, to win the contest twice, and the first woman to do so.
Interested in becoming a musician, Loreen finished fourth in the Idol 2004 television competition. The following year, she released her first single, "The Snake", with the band Rob'n'Raz, and became a television presenter on TV400. While working as a segment producer and director for several Swedish reality TV shows, she entered Melodifestivalen 2011 with the song "My Heart Is Refusing Me", which became a top 10 hit in Sweden. She had two top 20 hits in Sweden with the singles "Crying Out Your Name" (2012) and her Melodifestivalen 2017 entry "Statements".
Lorine Zineb Nora Talhaoui was born on 16 October 1983 in Åkersberga, Sweden to Moroccan Berber parents. After her parents' divorce when she was six, Loreen moved with her mother and five younger siblings to Västerås. She grew up there, and calls it her hometown. She spent most of her teenage years in Gryta, a residential area in the city.
Loreen became known to Swedish audiences after taking part in the Swedish Idol 2004, under the name Lorén Talhaoui. During the qualification round, she placed third with the public vote. She would have been eliminated, but received a wildcard from the judges, allowing her to compete in the program. She finished fourth overall, and was eliminated during the eighth week. After Idol, in 2005, she released a promotional single, "The Snake", with the group Rob'n'Raz. That same year, she also presented the TV show Lyssna, broadcast by the Swedish station TV400. She then took a hiatus from more visible roles, and worked as a segment producer and director for reality TV shows such as TV3's Värsta pojkvänsakademin, TV4's Matakuten and SVT's Frufritt.
=== 2011–2013: Melodifestivalen, Eurovision Song Contest and Heal ===
How Loreen makes money
The single sold 62,148 copies in its first week in the United Kingdom. The song is called "We Got the Power", and was produced by Patrik Berger and written by Ester Dean, who have previously worked with Icona Pop, Rihanna and Robyn. === 2014–2015: Paperlight project and touring === In October 2013, Loreen was nominated for five World Music Awards.
