Who is she?
Sophie Hanson (born May 7, 1989 in Eskilstuna, Sweden) is a Swedish country artist.
Her musical journey began in 2011 when she started releasing music-video covers on social media, often with her own interpretations of Johnny Cash, the artist who shaped her sound from an early age.
Sophie draws inspiration from both classic Americana and the great soul voices of previous generations. Her influences include legendary names such as Johnny Cash, Little Richard and Chuck Berry, as well as powerhouse vocalists like Etta James, Aretha Franklin, Whitney Houston and Lady Gaga.
BACKGROUND
Sophie grew up in the industrial city of Eskilstuna, southwest of Stockholm, together with her mother Christina Swärd, father Lasse Hansson and younger brother Lars Hansson.
Music surrounded her from childhood. Her mother is a dancer and performer who moved from Arvika to Eskilstuna at age 19 to work with the legendary Charlie Rivel. She later joined the local band Rock N’ Roll Machine, which served as Ted Gärdestad’s final backing band from 1991–1996, performing alongside artists such as Helen Sjöholm.
Today, Christina continues touring across Sweden with the tribute production “Rock N’ Roll Machine hyllar Ted & Kenneth Gärdestad” and when she’s not on stage she performs as a backing vocalist for Sophie.
Sophie’s father is also a musician and guitarist who has been active both during the Ted Gärdestad era and in later projects. Over the years he has worked as booking and event manager for both Rock N’ Roll Machine and for Sophie when needed, playing an important role behind the scenes in the family’s musical life.
Sophie attended Gamla Stadens Musikklasser in Eskilstuna and at age 17 she moved to Stockholm to study Film/TV/Photography at Mediagymnasiet in Nacka Strand, graduating in 2008.
EARLY CAREER (2009–2015)
From 2009 to 2011, Sophie traveled and explored the world, a journey that began in Norway and ended in Los Angeles.
Between 2011 and 2015 she was recruited by Naughty Monkey Music, a team consisting of four music producers from four different countries. One of them, a Swedish producer, later became her manager.
In 2012 Sophie moved to Budapest for music projects and returned to Sweden at the end of the year.
Together with the team, she co-wrote her first single “Hurricane” released in May 2013.
She signed with United Stage in 2014 but due to conflicts between her management and the agency, the team dissolved in late 2015 leaving Sophie still locked into a long management contract until she eventually fought her way out.
2016–2017
After being released from the contract, Sophie continued independently. She recorded a musicvideo cover with producer/artist Richard Lundh that gained major traction online. Later that year, the two became a couple and now work together under Swandive Records, owned by Lundh.
In 2017 Sophie and Richard created the duo SophieAlex, an occasional collaborative project. On April 21 they released “Talk To You” a song about closing past chapters from previous relationships in order to move forward together.
2018
Sophie released her debut single “So Long”, written and produced by Richard Lundh.
The song quickly gained traction, earning rotation on Swedish national radio (P4) its first week and picking up support from stations in the UK, Canada, Australia, India, Florida and more.
Her second single “You Only Love My Praise” followed later that year.
2019
On March 17, Sophie announced a collaboration between Swandive Records and Eleven B Studios for the music video to her third single “Die At 29” (released May 3, 2019). The track was produced by Richard Lundh and Dejo Andersson.
The music video was filmed on a frozen lake near the well known ski resort Sälen in Dalarna, Sweden. Over 15 hours of outdoor shooting in snow and subzero temperatures resulted in one of Sophie’s most striking visuals.
Later in 2019 she completed her first UK tour, performing in Birmingham, Manchester and Glasgow through Buckle & Boots.
2020
Sophie was scheduled to return to Glasgow for Country On The Clyde and to perform at the UK’s largest country festival, Buckle & Boots but the pandemic halted all plans.
She released “Hit Rock Bottom” produced by Richard Lundh, which charted in the Top 100 Country in Germany, China and the UK for several weeks.
That same year she released a duet cover of “O Holy Night” with UK country artist Gary Quinn. The video premiered on the British Country Music Association’s social channels on December 3 and the song was released the following day earning support from BBC, where it has been played every Christmas since.
2021
In spring 2021 Sophie was nominated for the British Country Music Awards (BCMA) with “Pour Me Up a Drink” competing in the same category as Taylor Swift and Ingrid Andress.
In December Sophie and Richard released their first Christmas single together, “A Place to Call Home” which reached #1 on several iTunes holiday charts worldwide.
2022
Sophie released “Brother” a deeply personal letter to her younger brother who survived a life-threatening heart condition at birth. The song won “Original Song of the Year” at the Texas International Country Music Awards in the USA. Sophie and Richard also received the Duo of the Year award for their performance at the ceremony.
In June she debuted at the UK’s largest country festival, Buckle & Boots and later performed for more than 5,000 people at Picnic i Parken in Eskilstuna.
In November Sophie and Richard received Eskilstuna’s first ever “Special Recognition Award” at the annual Kulturfesten for their contributions to the city’s music scene.
2023
Sophie made her Denmark debut at Nashville Nights, touring with artists such as Stiko Per Larsson (SWE), Richard Alex (SWE) Kinsey Rose (USA) and Dan Smalley (USA).
That summer she appeared in an international campaign with Solid State Logic, Nordic Audio and Ehrlund Microphones for whom she has been an ambassador since 2013. The campaign featured Sophie recording “Tattoo,” Loreen’s winning Eurovision 2023 entry.
She also made her debut at Sweden’s largest country festival, EDS Countryfest, sharing the stage with Weeping Willows, Maja Francis, Tennessee Tears and Jens Hult.
In November she traveled to Nashville after receiving her first nomination at the Josie Music Awards held at the iconic Grand Ole Opry.
2024
Sophie began 2024 with her firstvever Swedish headline show, HOMETOWN PREMIERE, at the iconic venue Lokomotivet in Eskilstuna. She became the first local artist to sell out the venue earning 5/5 reviews and being called “the event of the year.”
In August Sophie was selected to open for global artist Dasha at Nalen in Stockholm a breakthrough moment that led to new opportunities.
In November Sophie and Richard received Eskilstuna’s Music Award, previously given to artists such as KENT, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Towa Carson.
2025
Sophie returned with her first release since 2022: “Country Kinda Vibe.”
The song pays tribute to her roots and to Johnny Cash, featuring the iconic line “and it burns burns burns” from “Ring of Fire.” Securing the license took nearly a year working with Reservoir Music, the official publisher of Cash’s catalog. The release date April 19, 2025 was intentionally chosen to honor the original 1963 release.
Sophie and producer/songwriter Richard Lundh now share official songwriting credits with June Carter Cash and Merle Kilgore.
That spring, Sophie and Richard opened for Chris Kläfford on his nationwide tour “The Long Way Tour.”
Throughout the year she performed at several major festivals including High Chaparral Country Festival (15,000+ tickets sold) and Countrylife Festival in Sölvesborg.
She returned to Nashville Nights in Denmark, this time to perform at the festival in Odense and closed the summer by opening for Jill Johnson at Mary’s Café.
In October, Sophie and Richard performed one final acoustic duo concert together at the newly opened Ovest Trattoria, a venue deeply connected to their family’s musical history. The intimate show sold out immediately.
Sophie received three nominations at the Josie Music Awards that year:
• Rising Star – Modern Country/Pop Country (Female)
• Vocalist of the Year – Country Rock/Southern Rock (Female)
• Song of the Year – Modern Country/Pop Country (Female)
A NEW ERA
By the end of 2025, Sophie began teasing the arrival of a new artistic chapter.
Her visual identity shifted toward pumpkins, warm orange tones and cryptic hints, prompting widespread speculation among fans about new music and possibly a tour.
Nothing has been officially announced.
