Fanny Matilda Dagmar Hamlin (born 23 October 1987 in Stockholm, Sweden), known professionally as Faye, is a former Swedish singer, songwriter, and model. She was the lead singer of the Swedish pop group Play in the early 2000s. In 2012, she debuted as a solo artist. Hamlin quit the music industry in 2014.
Early life
Fanny "Faye" Matilda Dagmar Hamlin grew up in Täby, a suburb outside of Stockholm with her parents, older sister, and older brother. When she was 11 years old, she won a national talent contest. Hamlin attended Rytmus, a performing arts high school in Stockholm. She has referenced Beyonce and Destiny's Child as influences.
Career
2000–2003: Play
In 2000, at the age of 13, Faye was one of hundreds of young girls to audition for a spot in Play, an all-girl pop group formed by Laila Bagge, Anders Bagge, and Andreas Karlsson in Stockholm, Sweden. After nationwide auditions, Faye and her best friend Rosanna were selected to be a part of the group. While rehearsing at Laila's home, Tommy Mottola (who was involved in a phone conversation with Bagge) overheard the group in the background. He was so impressed with their sound that he flew them to Los Angeles a few days later. After performing for label executives, Play was signed to Columbia Records. Faye was considered to be the lead voice of Play and, as a mezzo-soprano, she was often heard singing the melody and doing the ad-libs in songs.
In December 2001, Play released their first album entitled Us Against the World. The album peaked at number 74 on the Billboard Top 200 and their debut single, "Us Against the World", found success on Radio Disney and Nickelodeon. Play also made a cameo appearance in Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen's movie Holiday in the Sun performing "Us Against the World". To promote the album, the group toured nearly non-stop for a year, opening for Destiny's Child, Aaron Carter, and touring with Eden's Crush and A-Teens. Their song "Disco Hippie" was featured on a commercial for Build-A-Bear Workshop. In 2002, they recorded a song and later a filmed a video with Lil' Fizz, formerly of B2K, for the Master of Disguise film.
In June 2003, the group released their sophomore album titled Replay, which debuted at number 67 on the Billboard Top 200, and remained on the chart for several weeks. The album's second single "I Must Not Chase The Boys" reached Number 10 on MTV's TRL. The group later went on to perform "I Must Not Chase The Boys" on Live with Regis and Kelly. After nearly a year hiatus, it was officially reported in October 2003 that Faye had left the group to return to college, and was replaced by Janet Leon, a 13-year-old singer from Gothenburg.
In 2010, Faye recalled her decision to leave the group saying, "In autumn 2003, I chose to drop out of Play. The sense of feeling lost, tired and alone had been around for a while, but it was in the autumn that I became fed up and made the decision to leave. Strangely enough, it was loneliness that was most evident towards the end, although I had always had people around me, it was still short of securing the pillars. I was far from home and just wanted to be with family and friends. I chose to invest all my time in high school. Luckily, my mom helped me with applications to the music school Rytmus."
2004–2009: Modeling and music
After leaving Play, Faye returned to college and modeling, attending the music school Rytmus and signing with Swedish modeling agency Synkcasting. Faye appeared in several photo shoots and runway shows. She also kept her foot in the music business, releasing occasional singles through modeling campaigns and providing background vocals.
In 2004 Faye performed a duet with Adam Appel titled "Ready for Love" that was featured on the soundtrack to the Swedish film Kärlekens Språk. In 2006 Faye provided background vocals for Swedish artist Velvet's album Finally, most notably on the track "Mi Amore."
In February 2008, Faye appeared in commercials for Swedish clothing chain MQ. The commercials featured Faye performing the Fleetwood Mac hit "Go Your Own Way" in a style all her own. Behind the scene videos were posted to MQ's website and the full song and music video were made available for download.
In November 2008, Faye was once again featured in an MQ campaign. This campaign saw Faye perform the Supertramp hit "Give a Little Bit" alongside some of Sweden's most popular stars including Nina Persson of The Cardigans, Darin and Marie Serneholt. The full version of the song was made available for purchase and proceeds benefited The Red Cross.