Titiyo Yambalu Felicia Jah (born 23 July 1967) is a Swedish singer and songwriter who has won four Grammis awards.
Biography Early life Titiyo was born in Stockholm, Sweden, to Ahmadu Jah, a Sierra Leonean drummer, and Maylen Bergström. Through Jah, she is the younger sister of record producer Cherno Jah and half-sister of singer-songwriter Neneh Cherry.'Come Along' With Titiyo, by Gerry Galipault , 27 November 2002. Retrieved 20 October 2010. She grew up in Solna.
Musical career Titiyo discovered her own singing abilities when invited by her older sister to sing with her at a studio in London. She fronted her own band in 1987 and played the Stockholm circuit, and signed with a local label, Telegram, in 1989. She also sang background vocals for a range of Swedish artists, including Army of Lovers and Jakob Hellman. In 1989, Titiyo released her self-titled debut album, which topped at No. 3 in Sweden, and was released in the United States on Arista, and became one of the contributions to a Swedish R&B wave in the US that lasted throughout the nineties. The single "My Body Says Yes" was a hit in North America, and "Talking to the Man in the Moon" reached No. 6 in the Swedish charts; the subsequent single, "After the Rain," reached No. 13.
Titiyo took a two-year break and returned in 1993 with the Aretha Franklin cover "Never Let Me Go" (a hit that reached number 25 on Swedish chart), later included on her second full-length This is Titiyo. Remixes of this and some of her other songs were popular in the London club scene. Her third album, Extended, produced by Kent (Gillström) Isaacs (released by the Swedish label Diesel Music), appeared in 1997, producing the hit single "Josefin Dean" (named after Mariah Carey's best friend).
In 2001, Titiyo revitalised her career with her successful fourth studio album Come Along (released in the US in 2002; also on Diesel Music), spawning the eponymous single "Come Along", which became an international hit. Produced by Peter Svensson (The Cardigans) and Joakim Berg (Kent), the album and its title song made it to the top of in the Swedish charts, while the single was a success in several European countries including France, (Germany), Switzerland, and the Netherlands. The second single from the album, "1989", was not nearly as successful as its predecessor but reached the top-30 of the French singles chart.
After a lengthy hiatus, Warner Music released a greatest hits album named Best of Titiyo in 2004, which included two new songs. One of these songs, "Loving out of Nothing", charted within the top-20 in Sweden in early 2005.
In spring 2008, Titiyo was asked to contribute vocals to Kleerup's single "Longing for Lullabies". Released in April 2008 in Scandinavia, the single has since reached the top 20 in Denmark and top 10 in Sweden.
Titiyo released her fifth album, Hidden, on the Swedish independent label Sheriff late 2008. The album mainly feature self-penned material but also results of collaborations with the likes of Kleerup, Moto Boy, and Goran Kajfes of Oddjob. So far videos for "Stumble to Fall" and "Awakening" have been released.
In 2015, she released her sixth studio album, 13 Gården, which was nominated for a Swedish Grammy in the category "Best Pop". Named after her childhood address in the Solna Municipality, outside of Stockholm, it was Titiyo's first album to be recorded entirely in the Swedish language.
Personal life Titiyo's daughter Femi was born in 1992. Femi's father is music producer Magnus Frykberg.
Discography Studio albums Year Album Peak position Certification SWE 1990 Titiyo 3 1993 This Is Titiyo 1 1997 Extended 27 2001 Come Along 1 2008 Hidden 18 2015 13 Gården 5 2025 Hemland 7
Compilations Year Album Peak positions Certification SWE 2004 A Collection of Songs 32 2013 Collection 54
Selected singles Year Single Chart positions Album SWE BEL(FL) BEL(WA) DEN FRA GER NL SWI UK US 1989 "Man in the Moon" 6 — — — — — — — — — Titiyo "After the Rain" 13 — — — — — — — 60 — 1990 "Flowers" — — — — — — — — 71 — 1991 "My Body Says Yes" — — — — — — — — 111 42 1993 "Never Let Me Go" 25 — — — — — — — — — This Is 1994 "Tell Me (I'm Not Dreaming)" — — — — — — — — 45 — 1995 "It Should Have Been You"(Blacknuss feat. Jennifer Brown & Titiyo) — — — — — 80 — — 83 — Blacknuss Allstars(Blacknuss album) 1996 "We Vie" (Titiyo & Stakka Bo with Fleshquartet and Nåid) 10 — — — — — — — — — jr.(Stakka Bo album) 2001 "Come Along" 3 17 35 7 13 11 20 22 — — Come Along "1989" — 56 43 — 23 — 88 83 — — 2004 "Lovin' Out of Nothing" 17 — — — — — — — — — Best of -A Collection of Songs 2005 "Feels Like Heaven" — — — — — — — — — — 2007 "Du" (with Staffan Hellstrand) 7 71 — 14 — — — — — — non-album release 2008 "Longing for Lullabies" (with Kleerup) 7 71 — 14 — — — — — — Kleerup (Kleerup album) "300 Slow Days in a Row"(with Marit Bergman) — — — — — — — — — — The Tear Collector(Marit Bergman album) "Longing for Lullabies" (solo version) 42 — — — — — — — — — Hidden "Stumble to Fall" — — — — — — — — — — 2009 "Awakening" 52 — — — — — — — — — 2010 "If Only Your Bed Could Cry" (with Moto Boy) — — — — — — — — — — "Side by Side" (with Theodor Jensen) — — — — — — — — — — Tough Love(Theodor Jensen album) 2013 "Själen av en vän" 20 — — — — — — — — —2014 "Drottningen är tillbaka" — — — — — — — — — —13 Gården "Solna" — — — — — — — — — — 2015 "Taxi" — — — — — — — — — — 2017 "Talking to the Man in the Moon" — — — — — — — — — — 2019 "Soptippsvärld" 63 — — — — — — — — — Så mycket bättre "Evighet" 100 — — — — — — — — —
Awards Grammis
As of 2011, Titiyo has won four Grammis:"Grammisvinnarna genom åren ", ifpi.se. Retrieved 30 March 2011.
| 1990 | rowspan=2|Herself | Newcomer of the Year
| rowspan=2|1991 | Best Female Pop/Rock Artist
| "Flowers" | Best Music Video
| 1994 | rowspan=3|Herself | rowspan=3|Best Female Pop/Rock Artist
| 1998
| rowspan=3|2002
| Come Along | Best Album
| "Come Along" | Best Song
| 2005 | A Collection of Songs | Best Compilation
| 2009 | "Longing for Lullabies" | Best Song
| 2016 | Herself | Best Pop Artist
Hit Awards 2001: Best Hit for "Come Along" (nominated)https://www.aftenbladet.no/kultur/i/o9390/listepop-nominasjoner
MTV Europe Music Awards 2001: Best Nordic Act (nominated)
P3 Guld Music Awards 2009: Best Song for "Longing for Lullabies" (nominated)
References
External links
Official website