Cornelia Jakobs

Cornelia Jakobs is the stage name of Anna Cornelia Jakobsdotter Samuelsson, a Swedish songwriter and pop singer who won her country's annual song competition, Melodifestivalen, in 2022. The daughter of rock vocalist Jakob Samuel, who had previously fronted the platinum-selling band The Poodles, Jakobs was born on March 9, 1992, in the Nacka district of Stockholm. While still a teenager, she joined the pop group Love Generation and earned a Top 40 hit with the trio's 2011 single, "Dance Alone." The group competed in Melodifestivalen that same year but failed to qualify for the finals. After making another Melodifestivalen appearance in 2012, Love Generation changed its name to Stockholm Syndrome and began releasing singles like 2013's "Karma" and 2014's "Kalabalik," both of which found Jakobs taking an increased role in the group's songwriting process. She also co-wrote Efraim Leo's "Best of Me," which Leo performed in Melodifestivalen 2021, and entered the yearly competition as a solo artist in 2022. "Hold Me Closer" — which Jakobs co-wrote alongside David Zandén and Isa Molin — became the most popular song at Melodifestivalen 2022, earning Jakobs a first-place finish as well as the opportunity to represent Sweden at the Eurovision Song Contest 2022. The song was also a hit on the Swedish charts, where it peaked at Number 5.