Tove Lo turns rumours and backstage chaos into the raw material for Estrus
The Swedish electro-pop singer-songwriter discusses fan devotion, a Las Vegas elopement and the darker rituals of life on tour ahead of her new album and Australian dates.
Tove Lo has made a career of turning candour into pop currency. In a Guardian Culture interview, the Swedish electro-pop singer-songwriter reflects on the rumours that follow her, the hazards of touring and the strange intimacy of being known by strangers.
The most persistent rumours, she says, concern pregnancy or rehabilitation — both of which she wants to remain untrue. Elsewhere, her recollections are more affectionate: one fan in Austin asked her to sign his arm, then returned the following night with the signature tattooed. The fan later made a T-shirt from a photograph of them together, which Tove Lo says she still keeps.
Her appetite for impulsiveness extends to marriage. She says she and her partner eloped to Las Vegas with a small group of friends, visiting the Little White Chapel within about two weeks of first discussing getting married. In hotels, however, her instincts are less spontaneous: late-night arrivals prompt checks under the bed, inside cupboards and in the bathroom before she pours a drink and runs a bath.
The stage has supplied its own form of disorder. At a festival in Bali, Tove Lo says she performed through food poisoning, running offstage to vomit before returning to complete the set. Her repertoire of personal details also includes a lynx tattoo — a reference to “Lo”, which means lynx in Swedish — alongside tattoos of hearts, bunnies, vaginas and aliens.
Her album Estrus is due on 18 September, with the release year unspecified in the source material. The Estrus tour is scheduled to visit Brisbane, Melbourne, Sydney and Perth from 1–7 March 2027.
