Written in the Stars

The first woman to win Eurovision twice makes Loreen an artist who will go down in music history. Rolling Stone UK meets the curious Libra to talk winning the world's biggest song contest and the inspirational generations of women in her family who all said "Fuck, no" to men

- By Charlotte Manning

I get to sit down not once, but twice, with Loreen, all in the space of a week. Our time together has done my soul a lot of good; she's a calming influence. The first thing you need to know about the Swedish pop star is that spirituality is everything to her. This also leads to the Libra quickly trying to guess the star sign of every crew member on set for her Rolling Stone UK digital cover shoot.

I am scheduled to delve into the enigma that is Loreen right at the end of a frankly delirious day on set (soundtracked almost entirely by FKA Twigs' and Pa Salieu's banger honda'). But everything runs well over, and as a planned eight-hour day quickly slips into 11 hours, she's pretty exhausted. Consequently, our interview is rescheduled to take place at her London hotel at the weekend.

When I meet her for a second time it feels like a huge intake of fresh air. I arrive at King's Cross, albeit 10 minutes late, but I am soon enveloped by an overwhelming sense of calm. Loreen is sitting in the lobby of The Standard, London hotel drinking a slightly tepid cup of Earl Grey tea. This time, she's dressed down in an allblack ensemble. She instantly recognises me when I arrive, and after giving me a hug, she is desperate to know what we're going to talk about. We settle on: everything.