Karen Marie Ørsted (born August 13 1988), better known by her stage name MØ, is a Danish singer-songwriter. Born in Odense, Denmark, MØ was just seven when the Spice Girls inspired her to make music. In her teenage years, she sang in the punk duo MOR and looked up to Kim Gordon as a "big hero and role model". Then in her early twenties, she "fell in love" with hip-hop. All of these influences led to her dreamy electro-pop vibe as MØ, which means "maiden" or "virgin" in Danish. In 2012, she and Ronni Vindahl began to collaborate on her first tracks. Glass was released in Janurary 2013, and Pilgrim followed in March. MØ was recognized as P3s Uundgåelige (P3 Unavoidable), a label given to rising artists by Danish radio station DR P3, as Pilgrim charted on the Danish Singles Chart. In November, she released her debut EP, Bikini Daze. Finishing out the year, she won the P3 Guld award in December. In March 2014, she released her album No Mythologies to Follow and began touring in Europe and North America. It was supported by singles Don't Wanna Dance, Say You'll Be There (Spice Girls cover), and Walk This Way. In October 2014, she was featured on Iggy Azalea's single Beg For It and performed on Saturday Night Live — her first entry on the US Billboard charts peaking at #27. In 2015, MØ contributed vocals to Lean On, the Major Lazer and DJ Snake dancehall hit that reached #4 on the US Billboard and topped several other charts around the world. In 2016, MØ released two singles for her upcoming second studio album — both Kamikaze and Final Song charted in several countries, with the latter reaching #1 on the UK charts. Cold Water, featuring Justin Bieber and MØ, was another Major Lazer track that reached 2 on the Billboard charts in August.
