Shirley Clamp

Shirley Natasja Clamp (born 17 February 1973) is a British-Swedish pop singer. She has achieved four Top 10 singles in Sweden including a Number 1 with "Med hjärtat fyllt av ljus" in 2009, and three Top 10 albums. She has competed seven times in Melodifestivalen between 2003 and 2022, reaching the final twice where she finished second in 2004 and fourth in 2005.

Nationality

Clamp was born in Borås, Sweden. Since her mother is Swedish and her father is British, she has dual nationality.

Career

Shirley Clamp's career began as a backing singer for various singers and groups, including Antique during their Eurovision Song Contest 2001 performance to name one.

She started her solo career in 2003, when she took part in Melodifestivalen 2003 with the song "Mr. Memory". Finishing in 6th place in her semifinal, she lost the chance to qualify for the final. Her big breakthrough came in Melodifestivalen 2004 with the song "Min kärlek" (My love) composed by Ingela "Pling" Forsman. She came fourth in the last semifinal and went on to take second place at Andra Chansen, the "second chance" semifinal, thus qualifying for the final. There she was the first artist on stage, and ended 2nd, behind Lena Philipsson's immensely popular winner, "Det gör ont". "Min kärlek" won the National Finals Song Contest. A little later, in May 2004, Shirley released her first studio album, Den långsamma blomman (The Slow Flower).