From her lyrics and raunchy outfits to her stage antics, Swedish pop star, Tove Lo, is said to be controversial. She has sung about illicit substances and female pleasure, and not everyone agrees with her content. Heck, YouTube temporarily banned one of her videos in 2016. Like Rihanna, whose 'We Found Love' video was banned by the entire country of France, Tove is no stranger to controversy. The hitmaker is as famous for her music as she is for her risqué image.Sex sells, for time immemorial artists have made NSFW music, with sensual music videos meant to captivate the audience — or get them talking. It's always worked, whether this drums up negative or positive feedback is at the discretion of the audience. It's a clever marketing plan. In recent years, more female artists are embracing their sexuality and marrying that with their artistic expression. Much to the chagrin of more conservative audiences. Sometimes the artists cross boundaries and are deemed too risqué. Who can forget the Madonna music video that was banned from MTV?So why is Tove anything new?
She Refuses To Tone Down Her Image
Tove rose to fame in 2013, after the release of her breakup anthem, Habits. She's worked with some of the biggest names in the industry and is a superstar in her own right. She co-wrote Ellie Goulding's hit song Love me Like you do and also featured on Nick Jonas' Close. Close happens to be Priyanka Chopra's favorite Nick Jonas song. She put out hits like Talking Body, Cool Girl, Bad As The Boys, and Shedontknowbutsheknows.
The pop powerhouse is known for pushing boundaries. She sings about topics deemed taboo, wears provocative stage outfits, and even flashes her fans at concerts. As expected, this has earned Tove immense condemnation, but she's neither toning down her lyrics nor her image.
In an interview with The Sun Online, Tove explained, "I had to defend myself so many times for being a woman and singing about sex. I thought that was so weird, and why was it even an issue? People sing about this stuff all the time. But I realized that it was MEN who sing about this all the time."
Her artistic expression isn't everyone's cup of tea, but the artist isn't going to change because of that. She added, "I was never going to change just because a number of people thought it was wrong for me to sing about things like this. I still wanted to express myself exactly the way I wanted to."
YouTube Temporarily Took Down Her Fairy Dust Video
In 2016, the singer released a short film called Fairy Dust, to promote her album, Lady Wood. The 31-minute-long video was deemed too raunchy that YouTube temporarily removed it from their platform. Why is that, you may ask? Tove pleasures herself in one scene and then gets intimate with two people in the other. She later took to Twitter to talk about the incident, and subsequently, the video was reinstated with a warning.
The singer/songwriter noted the difference in how nudity is viewed in her home country and in the U.S. Not one to follow the rules, Tove couldn't care less about public perception and wanting to fit in. That's her brand and ultimately what draws legions of fans to her. She's authentic and true to herself.
She revealed to The Guardian, " We’ve heard that in music since I don’t know when. I just feel, for me, sex and music have always been very connected. Being open about being a woman, and being open about sex, is not a bad thing. And the other thing is like, would they ever ask a guy this? Ever?"
She added, " I feel like I grew up in a place where nudity and sex is something natural and not shameful. Here [in the US] they’re like: ‘Oh, you’re a bad girl, aren’t you? You go against the rules.’ That’s not at all what I’m trying to say or do here." She continued, "It’s about just not feeling like it’s something bad. All of a sudden, I’m fighting this fight I didn’t know I needed to fight."
Tove On Censorship And Her Controversial Lyrics
Anyone who's familiar with Tove's work knows what to expect from the artist; she tackles topics people might find inappropriate or uncomfortable. Her music isn't for everyone, and that's okay. Her music often provokes a strong reaction, at the same time, most people find it relatable because the star isn't holding back.
From Miley Cyrus and Megan Thee Stallion, to Cardi B, these artists have received backlash, and one form of censorship or another at some point in their careers for being 'too sexual.' Tove associates the censorship she receives with her being a woman.
In an interview with Body and Soul, she revealed, "There’s definitely that fact of because I’m a woman, and I do pop, I do get censored. And I run into censorship issues way more than a man does because it’s not what’s expected in this genre."
She continued, "To me, it’s as much, or more, about emotions as it is about sex. Even though I do write a lot about sex, the fans know what I write about, and they will take away from songs what they want. Journalists and writers decide what to focus on that will attract the most attention - which is sex apparently - and I can’t control that. I don’t want to limit myself to what people are going to say about me. I’m just going to write what I want to."
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