1. Kerli was born Kerli Koiv was born in Elva, Estonia on 7 February 1987.
43 Facts About Kerli
1. 2.
Kerli's mother, Piret Koiv, was a social worker, and her father, Toivo Koiv, was an auto mechanic.
3.
Kerli's younger sister, Eliisa, is a musician who competed in the third season of Eesti otsib superstaari.
4.
Kerli was first introduced to music by her kindergarten teacher, who told her mother that Kerli had "nice pitch" and that she was interested in taking her to various singing competitions.
5.
At eight years old, Kerli gained an interest in classical music, and as there was an absence of music in her early life, she only possessed two cassettes, which were albums of Bonnie Tyler and Phil Collins.
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Kerli began writing stories, mini books, and poems at the age of 10 to escape from her "abusive" household to an "imaginary world".
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Kerli ended up winning the contest, gaining a singing contract to Universal Republic Records by Rob Stevenson.
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Kerli was later dropped as Stevenson's position at the label changed.
9.
Kerli has stated that she feels no resentment towards her home country.
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At the age of 16, Kerli moved to Stockholm where she competed in Melodifestivalen in 2003 but was eliminated in the second semifinals.
11.
In 2006, Kerli worked with producer, songwriter, and mixer David Maurice on an autobiographical set of songs, the first set of which were released on a self-titled EP in 2007.
12.
Kerli finally released her debut album, titled Love Is Dead on 8 July 2008, following her debut single "Walking on Air" which charted at number 75 on the European Hot 100, and a promotional single "Creepshow".
13.
In 2009, Kerli performed at the Estonian music festival Ollesummer in Tallinn.
14.
Kerli re-released her song "The Creationist" as a duet with the Italian songwriter Cesare Cremonini.
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Kerli received a European Border Breakers Award for the success of the album Love Is Dead in Estonia.
16.
Kerli covered the song "Nature Boy" for a promo for the tenth season of Smallville.
17.
On 19 December 2010, Kerli performed a song in Estonian titled "Sa kuldseks jaa" at her grandparents' art show in Estonia.
18.
Kerli stated that she wished to officially release the song in Estonia to gain local airplay.
19.
In May 2012, Kerli wrote on Facebook the album was finished and mastered, and in September confirmed that a single from the album titled "The Lucky Ones" would be released on 29 October 2012.
20.
Kerli is currently working on her third studio album and has stated that she would like it to be "a little more punk rock" and "a little more raw" than her previous work.
21.
In November 2013, Kerli parted ways with Island Records and joined Ultra Music.
22.
Kerli collaborated with Seven Lions in two songs for his EP Worlds Apart, with the title song being released as a single by Ultra Records at 3 June 2014.
23.
In 2014, Kerli co-wrote the song "See Through" by Pentatonix with Joonas Angeria and Thomas Kirjonen for their third extended play, PTX, Vol.
24.
On 5 November 2015, it was revealed that Kerli composed a song for Eesti Laul 2016, Estonia's national selection for the Eurovision Song Contest 2016.
25.
In 2015, Kerli left Los Angeles and returned to Estonia, where she spent nine months with no running water and only her music-making gear to keep her company, where she produced her first independent album.
26.
Kerli explained that it was one of three songs written for the 2016 film Alice Through the Looking Glass.
27.
Kerli had previously contributed to the Almost Alice concept album for the 2010 film Alice in Wonderland.
28.
On 22 April 2016, Kerli was featured as a vocalist and co-wrote a song on British artist Katy B's Honey album.
29.
On 8 November 2016, it was revealed that Kerli would compete in Eesti Laul 2017, with the song "Spirit Animal".
30.
Kerli reached the final and finished second in the competition.
31.
Kerli was later announced to be representing Estonia in the OGAE Second Chance Contest 2017 with "Spirit Animal", held in Warsaw.
32.
In February of 2023, Kerli released a single titled "21st Century Kids", following it up with an EP titled "Oversoul" in 2024.
33.
Kerli asked them to "give [her] something else really good", "something that people buy".
34.
Kerli was given Greatest Hits by Bjork, whom she was unfamiliar with at the time.
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Kerli now cites Bjork as a major influence and her favourite musician.
36.
Kerli cites Bonnie Tyler and Phil Collins as influences as well as they recorded the only two albums she possessed prior to this.
37.
Kerli has spoken of influence from Sigur Ros and has cited them as her favourite band.
38.
Kerli is fond of wearing various unique and colourful hairstyles, often inspired by cyberpunk and goth fashion.
39.
In 2011, Kerli was listed as one of the 100 Most Influential Estonian Women.
40.
At the age of 15, Kerli asked her mother for a tattoo that read "music" in Chinese.
41.
Kerli did as requested, and her mother took her to get the tattoo the day before her 16th birthday.
42.
In 2017, Kerli got a tattoo of a snake around her wrist.
43.
Kerli has said that she has bipolar disorder and attempted suicide when she was 17 as a result of her troubled upbringing, stating that her background has "made [her] stronger and now [she] can be here for other kids who are like [her]" and that she is happy to be alive, describing life as a "beautiful and rare gift".