Meet Winona
Born and raised in the Nordic forests of Sweden on a small crop of land called Sollerön – known as the Island of the Sun and serving as the inspiration for her upcoming debut album - Winona Oak is every bit as enchanting as her origin story. With a childhood spent encountering more animals than people, she grew up a trained horse acrobat and pursued creative expression however she could, writing poetry and songs and playing violin and piano from a young age. After moving to Stockholm to pursue her passion for music, Winona honed her craft and landed a deal with Atlantic/Neon Gold Records. Soon after, the budding songstress met Australian electronic maestro What So Not and the two co-wrote his singles "Better," "Stuck In Orbit" and "Beautiful," which highlighted Winona as the track’s featured artist. She then went on to collaborate with The Chainsmokers on their RIAA-certified gold hit single, “Hope” and soon followed with her debut solo single “He Don’t Love Me”, which proved to be a runaway success. In 2020, Winona released her first EP Closure and her critically acclaimed sophomore EP, SHE, which received praise from the likes of PAPER who declared, “Winona Oak is a name you should know.” Winona celebrated SHE with a stirring live performance of the title track as part of CBS’ The Late Show with Stephen Colbert’s #PLAYATHOME series, streaming HERE. 2021 saw Winona collaborate with breakout bedroom pop star ELIO on “Nobody Loves Me,” and also saw her share the graceful and intimate track “Old Insecurities.” Most recently, Winona released “Island of the Sun,” the stunning title track from her forthcoming debut album. The track was praised by Consequence of Sound who said “Winona Oak’s voice is like honey — rich and oozing with elegance, she never has to do too much to leave an impression…[‘Island of the Sun’ is] jarring, exciting, and points to her impressive ability as a producer, songwriter, and arranger.” Winona Oak’s debut album, Island of the Sun, will be released later this year.
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