Tove Lo is an artist who embodies progressiveness in 2018, with her music destructing society's patriarchalism and fighting back against the stigmas attached to nudity and sex in pop music. Tove Lo’s attitude in music is replicated in her style, with honesty and a provocative nature—championed by her fans—that embodies the spirit of an Anti-Hero. It’s this spirit that’s seen her link up with Converse to front their ‘Rated One Star’ campaign.
Whilst she was referred to as “Sweden’s darkest pop export” by Rolling Stone, Tove Lo is undoubtedly one of the brightest talents out of Scandanavia at present. From her breakout success with her smash hit “Habits (Stay High)”, she’s continued to go from strength to strength. She's released two critically-acclaimed albums and linked up with the likes of Flume and Charli XCX for certified bangers containing her idiosyncratic blend of evocative pop and electronica, that has seen her blasted out of clubs and car windows across Europe.
The names of her last two albums, Lady Wood and Blue Lips, sum up this attitude in a nutshell. Both of the names illustrate her sexual independence and tongue-in-cheek candidness as an artist. Speaking on the choice of name, she attests, “It’s a play off ‘blue balls’ and a play off Lady Wood, too. And in a deeper sense, it’s about never feeling satisfied. I don’t mean sexually; I mean just in life, in general.”
The lyrics Tove Lo writes are not built with anyone else in mind, and are incredibly personal as a result. “I’m always like an open book and my songs are like my journals. I feel like some of them admit to maybe needing a bit of a change in myself, rather than just being like ‘I embrace myself!’” Just like Tove Lo, the One Star model has repeatedly gone against the mould over the years, whilst keeping an inherently anti-conformist approach at its core.
Never afraid to be completely and utterly frank in her lyrics, the artist’s fearless ability to conjure up evocative and infectious soundscapes has seen her create breakaway chart successes and some of the most exciting pop music in recent years. The bold and uncompromising approach to her music is also seen in her own style. Rather than worry about what people think of her lyrics, appearance, or clothes, she would rather “rub it in people’s faces even more,” highlighting her staunchly independent approach as an artist.
Tove Lo’s artistic approach is fuelled by her extroverted aesthetic, which is underpinned by her femininity. For her, being a woman shouldn’t mean you have to be questioned for being open about your sexual expressions. “Being a woman, you often have to defend yourself if you choose to sing about things that aren’t seen as a good example. But it doesn’t really matter to me if people don’t agree with it.”
The singer’s effervescent character has seen her fans warm to her naturally, and she is comfortable of the knowledge of this: “I don’t spend a lot of time feeling pissed off about it because my fans get it. All I can do is keeping doing what I do. It’s a very fun problem to have.” Her personality is embodied in this spring’s bold and colourful One Star Pinstripe range, which provides a fresh take on a model that has always held a non-conformist heritage.
Tove Lo is fronting the new Converse One Star. Find out more at converse.com.
