Sophie Zelmani

Sophie Zelmani (born 12 February 1972), later raised with the surname Edkvist, is a Swedish singer-songwriter who released her first single in 1995, called "Always You".

Sophie Zelmani
Background information
Birth nameSophie Edkvist
Born (1972-02-12) 12 February 1972
OriginSweden
GenresAdult alternative, folk
Occupation(s)Singer-songwriter
Years active1995–present
Websitewww.sophie-zelmani.com

Early life

Zelmani was born in the suburbs of Stockholm in 1972. Her father bought the family a guitar when Zelmani was 14.[1] Despite no professional music training,[1] Zelmani became a songwriter and recorded some songs at a local studio. After she mailed the demos to three record companies, Zelmani was offered a record deal by Sony Music Sweden.

Career

Sophie Zelmani[1] recorded her debut, eponymous album with Sony in 1995. The album was produced and arranged by Lars Halapi[2] and co-produced by Patrik Sventelius. She described the process of making the album: "In the beginning Lars and I spent a few months in the studio. We had fun and then picked the musicians. We recorded in two weeks but the whole thing took half a year."[3] By 1997, Zelmani's debut album had sold 200,000 copies in Europe and Asia Pacific, before moving to the US market, distributed by Columbia Records.[4] Zelmani said, "I had no ambitions to go abroad. I knew I wanted to make a record. That's all I wanted."[3] Columbia's marketing campaign included CD sampler giveaways, consumer press, and rotation on Scandinavian Airlines (SAS) flights between Scandinavia and the US.[5]

Zelmani has continued to record albums while making only a small number of public appearances due to shyness.[1] She won a best newcomer award in Sweden's Grammy awards in 1996.[6]

Zelmani has also contributed music to the TV series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Dawson's Creek. Her cover of Bob Dylan's "Most of the Time" appears on the soundtrack to Masked and Anonymous.[7]

Her song "Stand By" appeared in the film Independence Day (1996). Her song "Always You" appeared in the film My Best Friend's Wedding (1997).

Zelmani's "Going Home" from Sing and Dance was covered in Mandarin Chinese as "乘客" (Passenger) and Cantonese as "花事了" (Withered Flower) by 王菲 (Faye Wong) in a 2003 album 将爱 (To Love).

Discography

Albums
Year Album Peak positions
SWE
[8]		 BEL
(Fl)
[9]		 BEL
(Wa)
[10]		 FR
[11]		 GER SWI
[12]
1995 Sophie Zelmani 4 27 27 48 — —
1998 Precious Burden 11 — — — — —
1999 Time to Kill 11 — — — — —
2002 Sing and Dance 3 — — — — 88
2003 Love Affair 2 — — — — 33
2005 A Decade of Dreams 1995-2005 2 — — — — 65
2007 Memory Loves You 2 — — — 90 9
2008 The Ocean and Me 1 — — — — 13
2010 I'm the Rain 3 — — — — 21
2011 Soul 12 — — — — 69
2014 Going Home 13 — — — — —
2014 Everywhere 12 — — — — —
2015 Bright Eyes [EP] — — — — — —
2017 My Song 8
[13]		 — — — — 54
2019 Sunrise 23
[14]		 — — — — —
2022 The World Ain't Pretty 40
[15]		 — — — — —

Singles
Year Single Peak positions Album
SWE
[8]
1996 "So Good" 53

References
  1. Scott, Matthew (11 February 2007). "Sophie Zelmani – Memory Loves You". South China Morning Post (retrieved from Factiva).
  2. Sinclair, David (7 June 1996). "Gentle on my mind". The Times (retrieved from Factiva).
  3. Jansen, Ara (22 August 1996). "Curtain up for Swede in search of a hobby". The West Australian (retrieved from Factiva).
  4. "Global success begins at home". Music Business International (retrieved from Factiva). 1 February 1997.
  5. Reece, Doug (14 December 1996). "New wave of Nordic bands looks to U.S. (Swedish bands)". Billboard (retrieved from Factiva).
  6. Bream, Jon (15 November 1996). "Music: Sophie Zelmani". Star-Tribune Newspaper of the Twin Cities Mpls.-St. Paul.
  7. Neff, Andrew (7 February 2004). "Oddball Dylan collection has curious flair". Bangor Daily News (retrieved from Factiva).
  8. "Ola discography". swedishcharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  9. "Ola discography". ultratop.be/nl/. Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  10. "Ola discography". ultratop.be/fr/. Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  11. "Ola discography". lescharts.com. Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  12. "Ola discography". hitparade.ch. Hung Medien. Retrieved 28 March 2014.
  13. "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 11 March 2017. Click on "Veckans albumlista".
  14. "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 23 March 2019. Click on "Veckans albumlista".
  15. "Veckolista Album, vecka 39". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 30 September 2022.
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