Svala Björgvinsdóttir, known professionally as Svala, was born on February 8, 1977, in Reykjavík, Iceland. She began her musical journey at a young age, achieving her first Number 1 hit in Iceland at nine with the Christmas duet "Fyrir Jól" with her father. In 1999, she signed a six-album deal with EMI and Priority Records in North America. Svala's breakthrough came with the release of her debut solo album The Real Me in 2001, which included the title single "The Real Me" that charted on the Billboard top 40 singles chart. In 2005, Svala produced her second solo album Bird Of Freedom, which went gold in Iceland. She also formed the electronic band Steed Lord, touring extensively across Europe and North America. In 2017, she represented Iceland in the Eurovision Song Contest with her song "Paper".
