Tove Styrke talks ahead of debut Birmingham show

The 25-year-old Swedish Idol finalist will play the O2 Institute 3 on November 1, and she's just about getting used to pronouncing the city.

“We played there with Years & Years and I had to really learn how to pronounce it right because I was pronouncing it Birming-HAM when I got there and everyone was like ‘No, if you say that on stage they will boo you’” the singer/songwriter said.

“So I was very nervous about it. But now I’ve got it down."

Although, technically, Tove Stryke is nine years into her career, she feels like it is starting in countries such as the UK.

Tove started her career as a contestant on the Swedish version of Pop Idol in 2009 where she finished in third place.

Reflecting on her time on Swedish Pop Idol, Styrke feels like it was a lifetime ago.

“I was so young. I was sixteen when I entered and it feels a little bit like when you look back on a trip you did with your class in high school in that you remember that you did it but it doesn’t feel real anymore.

I’m glad that I did it. I ended up with a good record label and I still have friends from then but I’ve grown so much since then so it’s a little hard to describe as it feels so distant now”.

She released her third studio album Sway to critical acclaim earlier this year and after previously touring select cities in the UK as support to pop rising stars Years & Years, and she is excited to be back for her first full headline tour of the country.

“I’ve had the opportunity to play in London a bunch of times and its honestly been amazing, I feel like the London crowd is one of the best I have anywhere” she said.

“I gained a lot of new fans when I opened on the Years & Years tour. I can’t believe it’s taken me this long to do a full headline tour in the UK.

"I originally planned to do a tour sooner but schedules didn’t work.

“I think it’s going to be worth the wait. It’s going to be a beautiful thing and I really can’t wait to get over there. I’m happy that I can do it properly.

"The tour that I will be bringing to the UK is honestly the best live experience I’ve ever brought to the stage. I’m very, very proud of it.”

Fans expecting an arena-style spectacle full of pyrotechnics may be in for a surprise as Tove is bringing a totally different performance to these stages.

“It’s not going to be crazy with fireworks and art performances” she laughed.

“I really want to keep it real. It’s important for me that the music translates well on stage.

"For instance, we’ve made new parts in the set which are intended for people to dance to, I’ve added instrumentals for the stage and there are some parts of it that are more stripped down, not as intense and communicating the song more- which I really like.

"This tour is the first time I’ve had a proper set design. It’s going to be incorporating the main visual scenes of the album. It’s stunning, even though we’re doing small club shows”

Tove joins a wave of Scandinavian artists making waves in the UK this year such as Sigrid and ALMA and she is proud to represent her nation.

“I think it’s amazing there are so many people making such good things. These countries are really small countries," she commented.

"I think Sweden is only about 2 million people – it’s so tiny but there’s so many people that do such great things.

"It’s like a trend, someone paving the way for more people to come and I think it’s really cool that we’ve got that.”