Tove Lo Cat, Lynx Back of Hand Tattoo

Youtube / Tove Lo; Instagram / @tovelo

Tove Lo added new ink to her collection of tattoos with this huge lynx on the back of her hand. Lynxes are her favorite animal and “Lo” means “lynx” in her native language Swedish. The singer-songwriter, whose real name is Ebba Tove Elsa Nilsson, explains how the nickname came about in a YouTube vlog:

Basically there was a lynx in a zoo that was named Tova and I fell in love with it as a kid. So after that my family and relatives starting calling me Tove Lo. I think I kind of stuck with that name because I wanted it to be me and at the time I didn’t know anyone else who had the same. So I kept it as a writer and it then it just felt natural to keep it as a solo artist. It feels like my spirit animal just because it’s been one of my favorite animals since I was so little.

She visted artist Alex McWatt, founder of Three Kings Tattoo in New York City, while on tour with Maroon 5 in September 2016. She didn’t think too much about the specific details of the tattoo, but she wanted it on her microphone-holding hand so that it would be very visible.

Most people would stress about where and when and why to get a tattoo because it is for life. I honestly did not think about it too much. I just figured it would be so nice with the little tassels on the ears. And it’s my mic hand so I figured it would look cool.