Amanda Linnéa Cecilia Winberg (born 20 June 1996), performing as Amwin (stylized in uppercase), is a Swedish pop singer-songwriter, model, and influencer who first came to prominence as runner-up of the eleventh season of Swedish Idol in 2015, which led to her being signed to Universal Sweden, Island Records for UK, and Dew Process for Australia and New Zealand.[1][2] Her debut EP AMWIN in Wonderland was released in 2019.

Amwin
Birth nameAmanda Linnéa Cecilia Winberg
Born (1996-06-20) 20 June 1996 (age 27)
Särö, Sweden
OriginStockholm, Sweden
Genres
Occupation(s)
  • Singer-songwriter
  • model
  • influencer
Years active2015 (2015)–present
Labels

Early life edit

Amanda Linnéa Cecilia Winberg was born south of Gothenburg in Särö, Kungsbacka Municipality, Halland County, Sweden on 20 June 1996.[3] Winberg stated she took a while to realize her passion for music, and had originally planned to become a lawyer.[4]

Career edit

2015–2017: Early years and Swedish Idol edit

In August 2015 at the age of 18, Amanda Winberg successfully auditioned for the eleventh season of Swedish Idol where she covered Rita Ora's "R.I.P."[5] On 20 November, during the finals, Winberg performed her original song "Rule the World" which got her through to the grand final, the song was later released as a single.[6][7] During the grand final with Martin Almgren, she lost to his original song "Can't Hold Me Down".[8] On 27 November, Winberg was featured on the Christmas compilation album Jul med Idol performing "Ave Maria", and "Last Christmas" featuring the other top 12 Swedish Idol co-stars.[9]

Signing onto Universal Sweden in 2016, Winberg released three singles under her own name.[10] Her debut single "Shutdown" was released on 23 March alongside an accompanying music video.[11][12] Her second single "Clouds" was released on 23 September alongside an accompanying music video.[13][14] Her third and final single under her own name, "Goodbye" was released on 2 December alongside an accompanying music video.[15][16]

2018–present: Name change and AMWIN in Wonderland edit

In 2018, Amanda begun performing under the moniker 'Amwin', an abbreviation of her given and surname.[17] Her debut single as Amwin, "Uber", produced by Martin René Falkebo, was released on 13 March alongside an accompanying music video.[18] Her next single, "Living Mistake" was released on 12 July alongside an accompanying music video.[19] The single "DeLorean" was released on 10 October alongside its music video.[20] Finding a DeLorean proved to be difficult however as they are a rare sight, in Sweden especially, Amwin and her team eventually got in contact with the only person in Stockholm who owned one who later agreed to have it used in the music video.[21] Amanda also became an influencer, using her presence on social media to promote anything from clothing lines to charities.[22]

In February 2019, at the Stockholm Fashion Week, Winberg modeled in her stylist Selam Fessahaye's show.[4] On 15 February, Australian electronic musician and producer Alice Ivy released a remix of Amwin's track "DeLorean".[23][24] Her debut EP AMWIN in Wonderland was released on 29 March and contained her previously singles released under her 'Amwin' moniker. Making the EP, Amwin collaborated with songwriters and producers like Carli Löf (Robyn, Galantis), Jay Weathers (Not3s, Jacob Banks), and Carl Lehman (Liam Payne, Panic At The Disco!).[25][26] On 3 April, Amwin released the single "Dua Lipa" (named after the British singer of the same name), alongside an accompanying music video.[27][28] The single is a self-proclaimed love song to the British artist.[29] Amwin then went on to perform a summer tour in her home country of Sweden in May, she does plan to touring internationally in the future.[4] In June, Amwin participated in Midem's second annual Songwriting Camp.[30]

Musical style edit

Amwin's genre of music is described as being a mix of pop, electronic, and hip-hop.[1] Amwin states she grew up listening to, and being influence by, a variety of music and genres ranging from Nirvana to Sinéad O'Connor, to the Fugees, Madonna and Britney Spears.[8] Amwin also says she draws inspiration from the artists FKA Twigs' fashion and rapper M.I.A.[4] Often her songs contain overly sexual lyrics and themes, they've also been described as blunt and straightforward.[26]

Discography edit

Extended plays edit

List of extended plays
Title EP details
AMWIN in Wonderland

Singles edit

Title Year Album
as Amanda Winberg
"Rule the World" 2015 non-album singles
"Shutdown" 2016
"Clouds"
"Goodbye"
as AMWIN
"Uber" 2018 AMWIN in Wonderland
"Living Mistake"
"DeLorean"
"Dua Lipa" 2019

Album appearances edit

List of album appearances
Title Year Album
"Last Christmas" (with Swedish Idol Top 12) 2015 Jul med Idol[9]
"Ave Maria"

Music videos edit

Title Year Director(s)
"Shutdown" 2016 Mauri Chifflét
"Clouds" August Segerholm
"Goodbye" Simon Jung Krestesen
"Living Mistake" 2018 Amwin
Simon Jung Krestesen
"DeLorean" Unknown
"Dua Lipa" 2019 Nicolina Knapp

References edit

  1. ^ a b Klonowski, Laura (5 March 2019). "EXCLUSIVE: Interview With AMWIN". CelebMix. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  2. ^ "How Soon is Now?". The Forumist. 28 September 2018. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  3. ^ Monger, Timothy. "Amwin". AllMusic. Complex. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  4. ^ a b c d Brungardt, Leah (1 May 2019). "An Interview The Swedish Alt-Pop Artist, AMWIN All About Her Most Recent EP and More!". All Access. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  5. ^ Idol Sverige i TV4 (19 August 2015). "Amanda Winberg - R.I.P. (hela audition) - Idol Sverige (TV4)". Retrieved 9 July 2019 – via YouTube.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link) (in Swedish)
  6. ^ "Swedish Idol 2015: Original song week!". Scandipop. 21 November 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  7. ^ "Rule the World by Amanda Windberg". Spotify. 20 November 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  8. ^ a b "Introducing Swedish alt-pop singer AMWIN with songs "Dua Lipa" & "Uber"". Wonderland Magazine. 16 April 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  9. ^ a b "Jul med Idol by Idolerna 2015". Apple Music. 27 November 2015. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  10. ^ Clibanoff, Matt (11 April 2018). "Who is AMWIN?". Popdust. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  11. ^ "Shutdown - Single by Amanda Winberg". Apple Music. 23 March 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  12. ^ AMWIN (24 March 2016). "Amanda Winberg - Shutdown". Retrieved 9 July 2019 – via YouTube.
  13. ^ "Clouds - Single by Amanda Winberg". Apple Music. 23 September 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  14. ^ AMWIN (23 September 2016). "Amanda Winberg - Clouds". Retrieved 9 July 2019 – via YouTube.
  15. ^ "Goodbye - Single by Amanda Winberg". Apple Music. 2 December 2016. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  16. ^ AMWIN (2 December 2016). "Amanda Winberg - Goodbye". Retrieved 9 July 2019 – via YouTube.
  17. ^ Monger, Timothy. "Amwin Biography". AllMusic. Complex. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  18. ^ AMWIN (3 March 2018). "AMWIN - Uber". Retrieved 9 July 2019 – via YouTube.
  19. ^ AMWIN (12 July 2018). "AMWIN - Living Mistake". Retrieved 9 July 2019 – via YouTube.
  20. ^ AMWIN (10 October 2018). "AMWIN - DeLorean". Retrieved 9 July 2019 – via YouTube.
  21. ^ Murray, Robin (9 October 2018). "Premiere: AMWIN - 'DeLorean'". Clash Magazine. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  22. ^ Svensson, Ellinor (13 April 2019). "Artisten Amanda Winberg: Så mycket pengar tjänar jag". Expressen. Retrieved 9 July 2019. (in Swedish)
  23. ^ AMWIN (15 February 2019). "AMWIN - DeLorean (Alice Ivy Remix / Audio)". Retrieved 10 July 2019 – via YouTube.
  24. ^ "AMWIN - Oh holy mother! Timetravelling with Alice Ivy..." Facebook. 15 February 2019. Retrieved 10 July 2019.
  25. ^ Bruce, Dave (1 April 2019). "AMWIN Unleashes Her Debut EP AMWIN In Wonderland Featuring The New Single 'Dua Lipa'". Amnplify. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  26. ^ a b "INTERVIEW: Sweden's AMWIN releases debut EP "It's scary to be fragile and vulnerable"". Women in Pop. 29 March 2019. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  27. ^ Rowley, Glenn (3 April 2019). "Swedish Pop Singer AMWIN Sparkles in High-Fashion 'Dua Lipa' Video: Exclusive Premiere". Billboard. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  28. ^ AMWIN (18 April 2019). "AMWIN - Dua Lipa". Retrieved 9 July 2019 – via YouTube.
  29. ^ Jackman, Josh (5 April 2019). "Swedish singer AMWIN releases stunning love song about Dua Lipa". Pink News. Retrieved 9 July 2019.
  30. ^ "Songwriting Camp - Conferences 2019". Midem. Retrieved 9 July 2019.