Emilia

Emilia is a name used by several performers, including Swedish singer Hanna Emilia Rydberg, Bulgarian pop-folk singer Emilia Valeva, a Finnish pop singer active in the 1980s, a fictional Macross 7 singer, and Argentine singer Emilia Mernes. The best-known of these is often the Swedish pop singer, who is born in Stockholm and begins her career in the 1990s.

Swedish pop singer Hanna Emilia Rydberg

Hanna Emilia Rydberg is born on 5 January 1978 in Stockholm. Her father is Ethiopian and her mother is Swedish. She attends Adolf Fredrik’s Music School in Stockholm and sings in an acid jazz band during gymnasium. Producer Lasse Andersson discovers her, and they write all the songs on her first album together. That debut is released by Universal.

Her major breakthrough comes with “Big Big World” in 1998, a ballad that reaches number one in Sweden, Switzerland, Norway, Austria, Belgium, the Netherlands and Germany, number two in France and number five in the UK. Her second album does not match the success of her debut. She later lives in Berlin for several years, where she meets the Danish producers Jesper Wennick and Anders Haarder, who produce her third album, on which she sings in English.

Emilia resumes her music career in 2006 and releases the Swedish single “Var minut” at the end of that year; it reaches number two in the singles chart. She also releases the album Small words of love in 2007.

Other performers called Emilia

Emilia Valeva, also written Емилия Вълева, is a Bulgarian pop-folk singer born on 21 March 1982 and associated with the Payner label.

The Finnish Emilia is known for cover versions of contemporary Italo disco songs, including “Satan in Love” by La Bellini. She releases one self-titled studio album in 1982.

In Macross 7, Emilia — sometimes spelled Emiria — appears as a fictional singer who performs solo and with Nekki Basara on the “Heart & Soul” CD single for the film The Galaxy Is Calling Me. The real-life singer behind the part is Mika Okudoi, although she is not credited on the single.

Emilia Mernes

María Emilia Mernes, known professionally as Emilia, is an Argentine singer, actress and model born on 29 October 1996 in Nogoyá, Entre Ríos. She shows an early interest in music through local events and contests. In 2016 she joins the Uruguayan cumbia pop group Rombai with Fer Vázquez, then leaves in 2018 to begin a solo career. She signs to WK Records in 2019 and releases her first solo single, “Recalienta,” that year.

Her later singles include “No Soy Yo” with Darell, “Billion” and “Policía.” In 2022 she releases her first album, Tú crees en mí?, which includes “Como si no importara” with Duki, “Intoxicao” with Nicki Nicole and “rápido lento” with Tiago PZK. In 2023 she releases her second studio album, .mp3.