There once was a time when Sweden’s musical output amounted to ABBA and Yngwie Malmsteen, but over the years the Scandinavian nation has turned into pop! central. The Cardigans charmed us with “Lovefool,” Stockholm’s Max Martin became the pen behind hits for the Backstreet Boys and ‘N Sync, and this year the Hives landed on our shores with their well-dressed take on ‘60s power punk. The latest arrival is Titiyo, half-sister of Neneh Cherry (“Buffalo Stance”) and the woman believed to have brought modern R&B to Sweden with her album Extended. For her American debut Come Along, she’s trying something different. Working with Cardigans guitarist Peter Svensson and Kent’s Joakim Berg, Titiyo’s commanding voice is perfectly at home in a catchy collection of adult pop. The more mature musings of the title track, currently heard in spots promoting ABC’s fall line-up, sit well with the singer. As she explained to VH1.com, she grew up fast trying to counter the excesses of her hippie musician parents, and takes joy from simple pleasures like chilling, grilling and watching Formula One. Just don’t ask her to drive!

VH1: Who were your vocal idols growing up?

Titiyo: There are three of them: Vicki Anderson, Marva Whitney and Lyn Collins. They were all produced by James Brown, and they were like female James Browns. They were so strong! When Whitney Houston, Michael Jackson, and hip-hop came to Sweden, I realized I didn’t have to like ABBA any more. For the first time I picked up records from my parents’ record collection. I listened to a lot of Marvin Gaye, Aretha Franklin, Roberta Flack, and Millie Jackson. In my room, I sang along to their albums. Aretha Franklin’s “Rock Steady” was actually the first song I ever performed live by myself, standing in the front of the band.

VH1: What was your first gig like?

Titiyo: We had this band called Telegram Family. We were the first band in Sweden who played black American music like Sly Stone and James Brown. They knew I had this voice, and finally the drummer grabbed me, forced me into the bathroom, gave me a cassette and lyrics and said, “You’re going to sing this on Saturday.” I said, “No, no, no!” But finally I did it and it was a big success. After that performance, I wanted to be in front all the time! That was a big step.

VH1: So it all clicked for you once you were leading the band.

Titiyo: Yeah. I was pretty shy as a teenager. My family were hippies. My father Amadu Jah would bring his drums to school and I would be like, “Oh, just go home and take your drums with you! Don’t embarrass me! Get proper clothes on!” I was kind of conservative as a kid. I was like, “Mom! Get a skirt on!”

VH1: As hippies, did your parents have any special ideas about child rearing?

Titiyo: Have you seen the movie Together? We lived in a commune like in the movie. The script is based on a daybook kept by a guy who lived with our family in the ‘60s. It was very cozy but at the same time we were going to all those demonstrations where we didn’t know what we were demonstrating against. We were just kids! We ate really dark bread that you had to chew for half-an-hour to get it down. Only raw rice. Organic stuff. Not the food that you enjoy when you were a kid! I wasn’t very impressed; I wanted to work with horses! Then when I was 11 we went to Sierra Leone, my father’s home country in West Africa, for the first time. That cooled me down! I realized where everything came from – where my father’s drumming came from, where all our African stuff from the wall came from. Before I went to Africa, I wondered, “What are those weird things that other people don’t have on their walls in Sweden?” That made me mature a little bit.

VH1: Were you a big ABBA fan?

Titiyo: Yes! I cried when I saw their movie. My father was invited to go with them on a big tour in Australia. At the time, my mother was totally into the hippie progressive movement. She said, “If you go with ABBA – a very commercial, Americanized band – I will divorce you!” So he didn’t go. I hated my mother for that! “You have to let him go! I want to meet them!” I’ve since met them a few times. Everybody except Agnetha. They’re just as sweet as you think they are. Really down to earth.

VH1: What’s it like having Neneh Cherry for a sister?

Titiyo: We share the same dad, but her mother, who is also Swedish, and our father split up when she was a year old. Then Neneh’s mother met Don Cherry and they lived together. So Neneh was totally brought up with Don and with Eagle-Eye and their mother. We saw each other once a year every summer when they came to Sweden, and had a fantastic time together. Then when I became a teenager, I started to go visit her by myself, and we saw each other all the time.

VH1: When you got into the music business, did she give you any advice?

Titiyo: Yeah. A lot. When I released my first album Titiyo in Britain, I stayed with her. That was when she was at her biggest, and my album was being compared to this amazing woman’s! I didn’t say anything but I think she knew it was a little bit tough for me. She was the biggest support. It might sound like a cliché, but it’s true – this family, even if there are a lot of mothers and half-brothers, all of us are really kind, simple people. We’re not the Jackson Five!

VH1: You’ve been through a couple of musical transformations in your career. Can you describe that musical journey from your first album onwards?

Titiyo: Titiyo came out in 1990, and was very much inspired by the British music scene at the time - Massive Attack, Lisa Stansfield, Bomb the Bass. Then I became more American. Extended was inspired by Mary J. Blige, Faith Evans and all those American artists coming over to Sweden. There have been a lot of influences, everything from Prince to Joni Mitchell to Sly Stone.

VH1: On Come Along, why did you turn over the songwriting reins to The Cardigans’ Peter Svensson and Kent’s Joakim Berg?

Titiyo: When I heard the album they did together as Paus, I knew that this was the team for me. They were tired of the rock scene and wanted to try their skills writing something more “black,” and I was really interested in going over to their side. We met in the middle, dragging the stuff out of each other. The producer, Tore Johansson was also a perfect match, because he brought in that airy minimalist sound and made Come Along into a pop album. It’s not soul, it’s not rock; it’s pure pop … with a twist!

VH1: There are vintage cars in the video and on your Web site. Is that a passion of yours?

Titiyo: I love old American cars, especially Oldsmobile. I also really enjoy following Formula One. I was a big fan of the Finnish driver Mika Hakkinen, but he gave up. He had a bad year. Now I support Rubens Barrichello from Brazil. Michael Schumacher is just too good. He’s got too many fans all ready! If I could choose one job, I would be the world’s best Formula One driver. But I don’t have a driver’s license!

VH1: Why not?

Titiyo: I hate studying! I wasn’t very good at school. I was just dreaming and looking out the window. I have this hang-up about studying and then realizing it’s never going to work out. Getting a driver’s license in Sweden is completely different to taking it in America. It costs about $1500. You can go on a course for two weeks and study and drive and study and drive and sleep for about two hours. It’s the worst.

VH1: When you learn to drive, what kind of car will you get?

Titiyo: A ’72 Oldsmobile Cutlass. Or a ’67 Toronado. The gas is really expensive in Sweden, but I would get one anyway.

VH1: What do you do to relax?

Titiyo: What I enjoy the most is not doing anything, really! I cook a lot. That’s what I really enjoy. I wake up in the morning or I decide the day before what I’m going to cook, and who is going to eat with me. It’s an obsession, this eating thing. I love food. When I work, that’s the only thing I’m really picky about. I must have breakfast, lunch and dinner. No fast food for me. Proper good food!

VH1: What’s your big specialty?

Titiyo: They’re all different. I got this book on my birthday about Chinese cooking. I’ve been cooking Chinese for two months now, seriously! I’m really happy when I’m standing over the grill. I love grilling! Even in the winter, I do it in the snow! You put the grill out and you have your jacket on. But it’s great!

For bio, songs, CDs and more go to the Titiyo Artist A - Z pages.