Ola

Ola Svensson is a Swedish artist and songwriter from Lund, Sweden. He is known professionally as Ola. Born in 1986, he begins his career on the Swedish edition of Idol in 2005, where he finishes eighth overall after reaching the live shows.

Early life and musical background

He is born to Swedish parents and has two adopted older brothers from El Salvador, Jonas and Daniel. He starts playing piano at the age of five, and his grandfather is an important musical influence. After his grandfather dies, he sings in a boys’ choir in his memory. Before turning fully to music, he is also a football fan and plays for Trelleborgs FF before moving to Vasalund IF. His decision to pursue singing is strengthened after he auditions for a school musical and gets the lead role.

Career

After Idol, Ola signs with producer Jonas Saeed and releases his debut album, Given to Fly, in 2006, which enters the Swedish Albums Chart at number one. He later releases Good Enough in 2007, followed by two more albums, giving him four albums in total.

Across his releases between 2005 and 2010, he issues eight singles with Universal Music. Eleven of his releases reach the Swedish Top 5, and six reach number one on the Swedish singles chart. His recordings also receive gold and platinum certification. His first single, “Rain”, is a cover of Anthony Callea’s song and is chosen through a vote on his website.

Record labels and international work

After many years with Universal Music, he founds his own label, Oliniho Records, for the Swedish market, while keeping distribution arrangements with Sony Music in Europe and internationally. He releases music in mainland Europe with Sony Music and signs several international deals in 2011, including in Europe, the US and the UK.

His self-titled album Ola is released on Oliniho Records in 2010, after his two earlier Universal albums. It includes a collaboration with the UK artist Labrinth on “Let It Hit You”. The track “All Over The World” becomes his first UK single and gains airplay on television music channels, BBC Radio 1, and in markets including the UK, South Africa, Germany, Russia and the Middle East. It also enters the Hot Dance Airplay Chart and the Billboard Dance Chart in the US, and goes gold in Italy.

Television, competitions and awards

In 2008, Ola wins a Rockbjörnen award for Best Song of the Year with “Feelgood”. He receives 14 Rockbjörnen nominations and a Grammy Award nomination. In 2009, he appears in Körslaget with Team Ola, a male choir from Lund, and the group wins the competition, donating 500,000 Swedish kronor to the refugee charity Tamam.

In 2010, he competes in Melodifestivalen with “Unstoppable”, co-written with Dimitri Stassos, Alexander Kronlund and Hanif Sabzevar. He qualifies from his heat to the final at Globen, where he finishes seventh but receives the highest points from the international jury.

Later releases

Ola releases an EP in 2010 featuring “Overdrive”, two tracks from All Over The World, and a remix of “Unstoppable”. In 2011 and 2012, he promotes All Over The World internationally and films the video for the title track in New York. He also records “I’m In Love” in Los Angeles for his next studio album. In 2013, he releases “Maybe” in Sweden and “Jackie Kennedy” in Italy, both from Carelessly Yours.