Velvet

Velvet is the stage name of Swedish singer Jenny Marielle Pettersson, born 5 November 1975 in Helsingborg, Sweden. She entered the music industry in 2005, released two albums, and her first eight singles all reached the top twenty of the Swedish Singles Chart.

In 1993 she moved from Helsingborg to Stockholm to study ballet at Balettakademien. She soon took singing lessons at a dance school, then worked at Wallmans cabaret, where she realised singing was what she wanted to pursue. She went on to tour for eight years as a choir singer and dancer with major artists including Lena PH, Markoolio, Carola, Sanne Salomonsen, Orup, Meat Loaf, Martin Stenmarck and Jessica Folcker. She also spent five years as part of the house choir for the Swedish Eurovision organisation, travelling to Eurovision Song Contests around Europe.

Discovered in 2005, she signed with Bonnier Amigo Music Group and chose the name “Velvet” herself. She soon released Rock Down To (Electric Avenue), a major hit in Sweden and internationally, which spent 22 weeks at number one on the Swedish Dance Charts. The follow-up single Don't Stop Movin' also gained popularity and was supported by a tour.

In 2006 she entered Melodifestivalen with Mi Amore in an attempt to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest, but did not win the spot. The song nevertheless became an international success, was named Song of the Year 2006 in Bulgaria, and stayed high in the charts in Russia, Poland, Hungary, Greece and Italy. That year she released her debut album Finally.

In 2007 she released Fix Me, added to a re-release of Finally: it charted lower than earlier singles in Poland and Russia, but became a major success in the US, peaking at No. 14. In August she followed with Chemistry, her only single to chart in Finland. Alongside her singing career, she also worked as a show producer for several Christmas galas around Sweden, where she also appeared as an artist.

In 2008 she returned to Melodifestivalen with Deja Vu; despite strong reviews, she was knocked out in a semi-final. The track became her most successful song in Sweden, while being her only single to chart exclusively there. After several years of presence in the UK club scene, Fix Me received an official UK release on 11 August 2008. Later that month she released Take My Body Close, reaching No. 8 in Sweden and No. 14 in Poland. In the US, Chemistry was released digitally on 11 November 2008 and physically on 25 November, including four remixes; a music video was shot in London in December 2008.

In 2009, Velvet competed in Melodifestivalen with The Queen, composed by Tony Nilsson and Henrik Janson, placing 6th in the third semi-final (Leksand, 21 February 2009). Her second album The Queen was released on 18 March 2009 and includes Fix Me, Chemistry, Deja Vu, Take My Body Close, The Queen and Come into The Night.

In 2010 she teamed up with PJ to record a cover of Stereo Love, released only on various compilation albums. She later released the singles Love Struck (2011), Enemy (2014) and Friendly Fire (2015). In 2017 she collaborated with Swedish singer Therese on the track Don't Stop.