Leila K

Leila K
Born
Laila El Khalifi

(1971-09-06) 6 September 1971 (age 55)
OriginBergsjön, Gothenburg, Sweden
Genres
OccupationSinger
Years active
  • 1989–1999
  • 2011–present

Laila El Khalifi (Arabic: ليلى الخليفي; born 6 September 1971) better known by her stage name Leila K, is a Swedish Eurodance singer of Moroccan descent.

Early life

El Khalifi's 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.

Career

Leila 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 set up concerts on her own. In 1990 she collaborated with Dr. Alban on his single "Hello Afrika". Her solo career started in 1991 with the single "Time" which she followed up with other singles, such as "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 single "Electric". She kept releasing new music until 1997, but since then she has not released anything new.

In 1998, SVT made a documentary about Leila K's claim to stardom called Fuck You, Fuck You Very Much. The event focuses on an incident that happened during the 1996 Swedish Grammis awards. In 2000, she appeared on Daisy Dee's "Open Sesame" video, a cover of her own 1992 hit. This mentioned song is sampled on U96's single "Love Religion". Daisy Dee was the presenter of the show Viva Club Rotation at the time. In 2003, Swedish media reported that Leila K was living on the streets, stealing food to survive. The record company decided to help her financially by releasing a compilation album titled Leila K's Greatest Tracks.

In 2005, the Swedish cartoonist Martin Kellerman conducted an interview with Leila K for his own comic book magazine, Rocky. In June 2007, Swedish media reported that she turned up as a surprise guest at a release party for the book Bögjävlar, performing the songs "Ça Plane Pour Moi" and "Electric".

In May 2011, Leila K appeared for the first time in years as a featured guest on a new track called "Legendary", by artist Wallenberg.

Discography

Studio albums

Title Details Peak chart positions
SWE AUT FIN GER NL SWI
Rob'n'Raz feat Leila K
  • Release date: May 1990
  • Label: Telegram Records Stockholm
  • Formats: CD
 1427——8130
Carousel
  • Release date: September 1993
  • Label: Urban Records
  • Formats: CD
 3010—308932
Manic Panic
  • Release date: June 1996
  • Label: Mega Records
  • Formats: CD
 17—4———
Leila K's Greatest Tracks
  • Release date: May 2003
  • Label: Bonnier Music Sweden
  • Formats: CD
 40—————
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Singles

Year Single Peak chart positions Certifications
(sales thresholds)		 Album
SWE
 AUT
 FIN
 GER
 IRE
 NL
 NOR
 SWI
 UK
1989 "Got to Get" 103103142438 Rob'n'Raz feat Leila K
1990 "Rok the Nation" 3—3212116—1341
"Just Tell Me" —————————
"It Feels So Right" —————————
1991 "Time" ————————— Singles only
"Magic Ball" 30————————
1992 "Open Sesame" 21595132—423 Carousel
1993 "Ça Plane Pour Moi" 258613—24—1769
"Check the Dan" —————————
"Slow Motion" 27262037—————
"Close Your Eyes" —————————
1995 "Electric" 8—261————— Manic Panic
1996 "C'Mon Now" 21—3——————
"Rude Boy" 29—8——————
"Blacklisted" —————————
1997 "Party Police" ————————— Single only
"—" denotes releases that did not chart.

Trivia

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Leila K: "Jag snattar min mat"". Expressen.se. Archived from the original on 6 February 2009. Retrieved 20 June 2008.
  2. ↑ "Leila K tillbaka på scen efter missbruksproblemen – Nöje". Expressen.se. Archived from the original on 17 June 2007. Retrieved 15 June 2007.
  3. ↑ "swedishcharts.com - Swedish Charts Portal". Swedishcharts.com. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  4. ↑ "Das österreichische Hitparaden- und Musik-Portal". Austriancharts.at. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  5. ↑ "finnishcharts.com - Finnish charts portal". Finnishcharts.com. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  6. ↑ "Home - Offizielle Deutsche Charts". Offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  7. ↑ "The Irish Charts". Irishcharts.ie. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  8. 1 2 "Dutch Charts". Dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  9. ↑ "Die Offizielle Schweizer Hitparade". Hitparade.ch. Retrieved 22 June 2021.
  10. ↑ Roberts, David (2006). British Hit Singles & Albums (19th ed.). London: Guinness World Records Limited. ISBN 1-904994-10-5.
  11. 1 2 "Sweden's certification-database 1987–1998" (PDF). IFPI (Sweden). Archived from the original (PDF) on 19 May 2012. Retrieved 14 August 2010.
  12. ↑ DJ Mag (26 October 2024). Darude 'Sandstorm' | The Making Of A Dance Anthem. Retrieved 15 April 2026 – via YouTube.
  13. ↑ "Elephant & Castle (2) vs. Leila K – Burning Up". Discogs. 1999. Retrieved 30 April 2023.