Alma (Finnish singer)
Alma-Sofia Miettinen (born 17 January 1996), known professionally as Alma (stylised in all caps), is a Finnish singer and songwriter. Beginning her career in 2013, she placed fifth in the seventh season of the Finnish version of Idol. Her breakthrough came in 2015 when she was featured on the single "Muuta ku mä" by Sini Sabotage, and was subsequently signed to Universal Music Group.
Alma | |
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Alma in March 2018 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Alma-Sofia Miettinen |
Born | Kuopio, Finland | 17 January 1996
Genres | Pop |
Occupation(s) |
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Instruments | Vocals |
Years active | 2013–present |
Labels |
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Associated acts | |
Website | cyberalma |
The following year she released the singles "Karma" and "Dye My Hair", both of which became top ten hits in Finland. Her 2017 single "Chasing Highs" repeated this success, and also reached the top twenty in Germany and the United Kingdom. Her extended play Heavy Rules Mixtape was released in 2018 and reached the top ten in Finland. She has collaborated frequently with English singer Charli XCX, Swedish singer Tove Lo, English DJ Digital Farm Animals who produced most of the songs of her debut album and most recently, American singer Miley Cyrus.
Career
2013: Idols
In 2013, at age 17, Alma auditioned for the seventh season of Finnish Idols. She progressed to the live shows, where she finished fifth.[1]
Idols performances and results | |||
---|---|---|---|
Episode | Theme | Song | Result |
Audition | N/A | N/A | Through to live shows |
1. Final | N/A | "Welcome to My Life" – Sunrise Avenue | Safe |
3. Final | N/A | "Price Tag" – Jessie J | Safe |
5. Final | N/A | "Sekaisin" – J. Karjalainen | Safe |
7. Final | N/A | "In the Shadows" – The Rasmus | Eliminated |
2015–present: Dye My Hair
In 2015, she was featured on Sini Sabotage's single "Muuta ku mä".[2][3] In March 2016, Alma was signed to Universal Music, and in June she released her first single "Karma". The song peaked at number 5 on the Finnish Singles Chart.[4] She is also the featured vocalist on the Felix Jaehn song "Bonfire". The song was released as a single in July 2016.[5] In September 2016, Alma was confirmed to play at the 31st edition of Eurosonic Noorderslag in Groningen, NL.[6] On 28 October 2016, she released her debut EP Dye My Hair.
She released the single "Chasing Highs" in March 2017. The song peaked at number 10 on the Finnish Singles Chart. In June it was released in the UK, and became Alma's first UK top 20 hit.[7] She was featured on the Sub Focus' song "Don't You Feel It", released as a single in May 2017.[8] She was also the featured vocalist on Martin Solveig's song "All Stars" which was released as a single in June 2017.[9]
Personal life
In a March 2019 article in Gay Times Alma confirmed she is lesbian and in a relationship.[10] Her spouse is the Finnish poet and civil rights activist Natalia Kallio.[11]
Discography
Albums
Title | Details | Peak chart positions |
---|---|---|
FIN [12] | ||
Have U Seen Her? |
|
1 |
Extended plays
Title | Details | Peak chart positions | |||||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FIN [13] |
SWE [14] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Dye My Hair |
|
— | — | ||||||||||||||||||
Heavy Rules Mixtape |
|
9 | 41 | ||||||||||||||||||
Have U Seen Her? (Part 1) |
|
— | — | ||||||||||||||||||
Have U Seen Her? (Part 2) |
|
— | — | ||||||||||||||||||
Have U Seen Her? (Acoustic) |
|
— | — | ||||||||||||||||||
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. |
Singles
As lead artist
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FIN [13] |
AUT [16] |
DEN [17] |
GER [18] |
NZ Heat. [19] |
SWE [20] |
SWI [21] |
UK [22] | ||||||||||||||
"Karma" | 2016 | 5 | — | — | — | — | 100 | — | — | Dye My Hair | |||||||||||
"Dye My Hair" | 8 | 26 | 38 | 25 | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
"Chasing Highs" | 2017 | 10 | 22 | — | 17 | — | — | 43 | 18 | Non-album singles | |||||||||||
"Phases" (with French Montana) |
14 | — | — | — | 9 | 82 | 97 | 88 | |||||||||||||
"Cowboy" | 2018 | 9 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
"When I Die"[26] | 2019 | 20 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
"Summer" | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | |||||||||||||
"Starlight"[27] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Moominvalley | ||||||||||||
"Lonely Night"[28] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||||||||||||
"How It's Done" (with Kash Doll, Kim Petras and Stefflon Don) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Charlie's Angels | ||||||||||||
"Bad News Baby"[29] | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Have U Seen Her? | ||||||||||||
"LA Money" | 2020 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | ||||||||||||
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. |
As featured artist
Title | Year | Peak positions | Certifications | Album | |||||||||||||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FIN [13] |
AUT [16] |
FRA [30] |
GER [18] |
NL [31] |
SWE [20] |
SWI [21] |
US Dance [32] | ||||||||||||||
"Muuta ku mä" (Sini Sabotage featuring Alma) |
2015 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Lue mun huulilta | |||||||||||
"Bonfire" (Felix Jaehn featuring Alma) |
2016 | 14 | 9 | 120 | 3 | 100 | 62 | 39 | 43 | I | |||||||||||
"Don't You Feel It"[34] (Sub Focus featuring Alma) |
2017 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album singles | |||||||||||
"All Stars" (Martin Solveig featuring Alma) |
— | 24 | 11 | 33 | — | — | 94 | 40 |
| ||||||||||||
"Out of My Head"[35] (Charli XCX featuring Tove Lo and Alma) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Pop 2 | ||||||||||||
"Bitches" (Tove Lo featuring Charli XCX, Icona Pop, Elliphant and Alma) |
2018 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Blue Lips | |||||||||||
"Black Car" (Acoustic)[36] (Miriam Bryant featuring Alma) |
— | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Non-album single | ||||||||||||
"Bad as the Boys" (Tove Lo featuring Alma) |
2019 | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | Sunshine Kitty | |||||||||||
"—" denotes a single that did not chart or was not released. |
Other charted songs
Title | Year | Peak chart positions | Album |
---|---|---|---|
SWE [37] | |||
"Good Vibes" (featuring Tove Styrke) |
2018 | 91 | Heavy Rules Mixtape |
Guest appearances
Title | Year | Other artist(s) | Album |
---|---|---|---|
"Welcome To My Life"[38] | 2013 | None | Idols 2013 |
"Sanctify"[39] | 2018 | Years & Years | Sanctify - Remixes |
"In Us I Believe"[40] | Clean Bandit | What Is Love? | |
"Uuden edessä" | 2020 | Toivon kärki | Non-album single |
Music videos
Year | Title | Director | Artist(s) | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|
As main performer | ||||
2016 | "Karma" | Jens Alexander and Pyry Pelkonen | [41] | |
"Dye My Hair" | Youth Hymns | [42] | ||
2017 | "Chasing Highs" | Thomas Trail | [43] | |
"Phases" | Charli XCX | featuring French Montana | [44] | |
2018 | "Cowboy" | Miikka Lommi | [45] | |
2019 | "When I Die" | Miikka Lommi | [46] | |
"Lonely Night" | Deni Cheng | [47] | ||
"Have U Seen Her?" | CyberAnna | [48] | ||
"Bad News Baby" | [49] | |||
2020 | "Stay All Night" (Quarantine Video) | ALMA | [50] | |
"LA Money" | [51] | |||
As featured performer | ||||
2015 | "Muuta ku mä" | Sini Sabotage featuring Alma | [52] | |
2016 | "Bonfire" | Fridolin Schoepper | Felix Jaehn featuring Alma | [53] |
2017 | "All Stars" | Thomas Lélu and Pierre Dixsaut | Martin Solveig featuring Alma | [54] |
2018 | "Bitches" | Lucia Aniello | Tove Lo, Charli XCX, Icona Pop, Elliphant featuring Alma | [55] |
"Black Car (Acoustic)" | Miriam Bryant featuring Alma | [56] |
Songwriting credits
indicates un-credited lead vocal contribution.
indicates single release
Filmography
Year | Title | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2013 | Idols | Herself; contestant | Season 7 |
2018[60] | Yökylässä Maria Veitola | Herself | Season 3, Episode 9 |
Awards and nominations
Year | Award | Category | Nominated work | Result | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
2016 | Emma-gaala | Vuoden tulokas (Best new artist) | General | Won | |
2017 | Export Emma of the Year | Won | |||
Song of the Year | "Chasing Highs" | Won | |||
MTV Europe Music Award | Best Finnish Act | General | Won | ||
2018 | EBBA Awards | European Border Breakers Award | Won | ||
Sound of... | Sound of 2018 | Longlisted | |||
Rober Awards Music Poll | Floorfiller of the Year | "Out of My Head" (with Charli XCX & Tove Lo) | Nominated | ||
WDM Radio Awards | Best Dancefloor Track | "All Stars" | Nominated | ||
2019 | Sweden GAFFA Awards | Best International Artist | General | Nominated | |
Emma-gaala | Best Female Artist | Nominated |
References
- Koivu, Viivi. "Artistilupaus Alma erottuu tyylillään ja rohkeudellaan: "Aina kun olen ulkomailla, jengi on innoissaan"". Gloria. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- "Suomen Idolsista kansainväliselle uralle – poplupaus Alman hype on poikkeuksellinen". Ylex. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- Mäntylä, Eveliina. "Karma-tähti Alma Miettinen löysi kadotetun itsevarmuuden: "Ei saa jäädä himaan paskojen asioiden kanssa"". Me naiset. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- "Idols-Alma solmi kansainvälisen levytyssopimuksen". MTV. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- "Alma yhteistyössä kansainvälisen huippu DJn kanssa – kuuntele uusi kappale". Kiss. Retrieved 31 August 2016.
- "First European Artists Confirmed for Eurosonic Noorderslag – Eurosonic Noorderslag". Eurosonic Noorderslag. Archived from the original on 2 August 2017. Retrieved 11 October 2016.
- "Chasing Highs by Alma". acharts. Retrieved 7 August 2017.
- Don't You Feel It (feat. Alma) – Single by Sub Focus on Apple Music
- All Stars (feat. Alma) – Single by Martin Solveig on Apple Music
- "ALMA is ready to be the queer female popstar she always wanted to see". Gay Times. March 2019. Retrieved 31 December 2019.
- Määttänen, Juuso (5 February 2020). "Natalia Kallio kirjoitti feministisen runokirjan mutta häneltä kyseltiin vain parisuhteesta laulaja Alman kanssa" (in Finnish). Helsingin Sanomat. Retrieved 5 February 2020.
- "Albumit 21/2020". IFPI Finland. Retrieved 24 May 2020.
- "Discography Alma". Finnish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 10 March 2018. Click on "Veckans albumlista".
- "Have U Seen her? (Part 1)". Spotify. Retrieved 1 November 2019.
- "Discography Alma". Austrian Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 9 February 2017.
- "Discography Alma". Danish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- "Discography Alma". German Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- "NZ Heatseeker Singles Chart". Recorded Music NZ. 2 October 2017. Retrieved 29 September 2017.
- "Discography Alma". Swedish Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- "Discographie Alma". Swiss Charts Portal. Hung Medien. Retrieved 3 April 2017.
- "ALMA". Official Charts Company. Official Charts Company. Retrieved 17 June 2017.
- "Gold-/Platin-Datenbank". Retrieved 1 August 2017.
- "IFPI DEN Certificeringer". ifpi.dk. 30 January 2018. Retrieved 9 April 2020.
- "BPI Awards - bpi" (To access, enter the search parameter "Alma" and select "Search by Keyword"). British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 2 November 2018.
- "When I Die - Single by Alma on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 1 February 2019.
- "ALMA - Starlight" (in Finnish). Musa24.fi. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- "Lonely Night - Coming Soon 💚". 10 June 2019. Retrieved 11 June 2019 – via Twitter.
- "Bad News Baby – Single by Alma on Apple Music". Apple Music. Retrieved 22 November 2019.
- "Discographie Alma". French Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- "Discografie Alma". Dutch Charts Portal. Hung Medien.
- "Alma: Chart History". Billboard. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
- "IFPI Austria - Verband der österreichischen Musikwirtschaft". Retrieved 13 February 2019.
- "Don't You Feel It (feat. Alma) - Single by Sub Focus". iTunes (UK). Retrieved 18 October 2018.
- Hudelson, Molly (11 December 2017). "Charli XCX shares new single "Out Of My Head" with Tove Lo and Alma". Substream Magazine. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- "Black Car (feat. ALMA) [Acoustic] - Single by Miriam Bryant". iTunes (UK). Retrieved 18 October 2018.
- "Sverigetopplistan – Sveriges Officiella Topplista". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 10 March 2018.
- "Idols 2013" (in Finnish). CDON. Retrieved 25 July 2019.
- "Sanctify (Remixes) by Years & Years". Amazon. Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- "What Is Love? (Deluxe) by Clean Bandit". iTunes (UK). Retrieved 22 March 2020.
- "Alma: Karma (2016)". IMDb. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- "Alma: Dye My Hair (2016)". IMDb. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- "Alma: Chasing Highs (2017)". IMDb. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- "Alma & French Montana: Phases (Video 2017)". IMDb. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- "ALMA – Cowboy (Video Premiere)". We Love Nordic. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- Trendell, Andrew (1 February 2019). "ALMA unleashes video for 'When I Die' and announces debut album 'Have You Seen Her'". NME. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- Damshenas, Sam (3 July 2019). "Alma's stunning video for Lonely Night showcases a same-sex relationship". Gay Times. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SsCx-t4RDK0
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9dmbItlMJiw
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RxY8U978Ifw
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fUBeR9v85VU
- "Sini Sabotage - Muuta ku mä (feat. Alma)". YouTube. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- "Felix Jaehn Feat. Alma: Bonfire". IMDb. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- "Martin Solveig ft. ALMA - All Stars (Official Video)". YouTube. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- Gottlieb, Steve (7 June 2018). "Tove Lo f/ Charli XCX, Icona Pop, Elliphant, ALMA "bitches" (Lucia Aniello, dir.)". Videostatic. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- "Miriam Bryant - Black Car (Acoustic) ft. Alma". YouTube. Retrieved 24 July 2019.
- "Zookeepers - Drunk On You". Discogs. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- "Nicole Cross- Highride". Discogs. Retrieved 19 July 2019.
- "La Money | Warner Chappell Music". Warner Chappell Music. Retrieved 18 March 2020.
- "Full Cast & Crew: Yökylässä Maria Veitola (2015– )". IMDb. Retrieved 24 July 2019.