Leila K | |
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Birth name | Laila El Khalifi |
Born | September 6, 1971 |
Origin | Bergsjön, Gothenburg, Sweden |
Genres | Pop, Eurodance |
Years active | 1989–1999 ; 2011–Present |
Laila El Khalifi (Arabic: ليلى الخليفي; born September 6, 1971) better known by her stage name Leila K, is a Swedish Eurodance singer and former rapper of Moroccan descent.
Her parents decided to send her to a school in Morocco, but she did not fit into the system so after one year she returned to Sweden.
She was discovered by the musical duo Rob'n'Raz when singing in a music contest. They liked her music and offered her a recording contract in 1988. Together with Rob'n'Raz she had her first hit in 1989 with the song "Got to Get" (first recorded within the UK as a pre-production demo by Pete Towns of P&P Productions) and released an album in 1990, Rob'n'Raz featuring Leila K.
During the first years of her career she had many chart-topping hits and her music was played all over Europe. She broke up with Rob'n'Raz and went on her own to Ibiza, where she was treated like a superstar and managed to set up concerts on her own. In 1990 she collaborated with Dr. Alban on his single "Hello Afrika!", a big hit across Europe. Her solo career started in 1991 with the single "Time" which she followed up with many other popular singles, such as her biggest hit "Open Sesame" and a cover version of Plastic Bertrand's "Ça Plane Pour Moi".
In 1995 Leila K was back on the music scene with the hit single "Electric". She kept releasing new music until 1997, but since then she has not released anything new.