HotStar: Lykke Li

The Swedish-born and well-traveled Lykke Li started quietly enough with debut LP Youth Novels, sugary indie pop produced by Björn Yttling (of Peter Björn and John) and released in the Nordic region in early 2008, winning praise from critics and hitting a few charts locally.

Since then she’s caught on in a big way and gained some notable fans, including Kanye West, Drake and Kings of Leon. She was featured on West’s “Gifted,” Drake’s remix of her own “Little Bit” single and did her own version of Kings Of Leon’s “Knocked Up” after the band approached her to cover a K.O.L. song of her choice. She’s had songs in vampire romance sequel “New Moon,” hit TV show “Glee” and was even one of the official faces for Levi’s “Curve ID” ad campaign.

Lykke Li more than stands up on her own as a headliner, too. The singer-songwriter is in the middle of a run of 1,000-capacity venues on both U.S. coasts, which agent Tom Windish tells Pollstar is nearly sold out. She also counts Lollapalooza and Coachella among her touring credentials.

“She’s been successful basically right out of the gate,” The Windish Agency chief said. “We toured her with a little bit of an underplay – being conservative with the record [Wounded Rhymes] just coming out – to keep the demand high.”

She’ll be back in August for some “really big” shows including at SummerStage in New York City and The Greek Theatre in Los Angeles. She’ll tour again in November in bigger rooms, 1,500- to 3,000-capacity, “and I expect those to sell out as well,” Windish said.

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Sold out two nights at NYC’s Webster Hall May 17-18.

Wounded Rhymes peaked at No. 7 on Nielsen SoundScan Alternative Albums chart.