Lykke Li [ tickets ]--a hip, 20-something Swedish indie-pop singer--had a creative, almost nomadic upbringing with her musician father and photographer mother. Winters were spent traipsing around Nepal and India for photography's sake and, for five years of her childhood, Li lived in Portugal. Her interests naturally developed in the arts, beginning with dance. Taking ballet as a tot, Li eventually found herself on stage as a young adult, dancing behind artists while they performed for various television shows in her native Sweden.

Video: Lykke Li's LiveDaily Sessions performance

Despite a start in creative movement, Lykke Li found her calling with the help of one cassette tape--Madonna's "Immaculate Collection." Inspired by Madge's high hopes and extreme perseverance, Li followed suit and moved to New York City.

With production help from Bjorn Yttling (of Peter Bjorn and John), Lykke Li released a three-track EP in 2007 entitled "Little Bit," which caused quite a buzz on indie music blogs. Now, she's promoting her full-length debut, "Youth Novels," another project produced by Yttling which recently dropped stateside.

Lykke Li is currently touring a handful of major US and Canadian cities through mid-May before returning to Europe for a summer of shows.