A 'Utopia' only Björk could build

Björk's message of emancipation for a world that combines nature and technology is explicit in her latest album. In "Tabula Rasa," she sings "Break the chains ... of our fathers/For us women to rise and not just take it lying down." Yet the rage is partnered with affection as the singer asks in "Blissing Me," "Did I just fall in love with love?" Here's a look back at the artist's unique journey.

The Icelandic singer Björk Gudmundsdottir first made a name for herself as the front woman for the pop-punk band, The Sugarcubes. As she told the BBC in a recent interview, she always knew she'd work in music, so when the band broke up, she set off on her own, releasing "Debut" in 1993. With music inspired by the landscape of her native Iceland, the album went platinum and ignited her career.

With the release of her third album, "Homogenic," Björk showcased her versatility, creating a more electronic background beat for her vocals that fit the musical tastes of 1997 and won her fans in the dance music scene. Although she continues to collaborate with other musicians, Björk carries her own in the studio as a producer, often pioneering new technologies.

In August 2001, the singer released her fourth album, "Vespertine." Although the producers Matmos were largely credited with the album's sounds, Björk said that working with laptop and software like Pro Tools changed her approach to composition and ultimately, she had laid most of the groundwork of microbeats. On tour, she was accompanied by a woman's chorus from Greenland and a string orchestra.

A musician at heart, Björk has only taken center stage in one movie, starring as a single mother losing her sight in the Lars von Trier musical, "Dancer in the Dark." An atmospheric tragedy, the movie follows a singing, dancing Björk through the mundanities of life as a factory worker in love with musicals because "nothing bad ever happens in them." She was nominated for an Oscar for Best Music.

After filming "Dancer in the Dark," Björk was quoted as saying that she would never work on another movie, as the stress of doing so was too much for her. Despite that, she took home the Best Actress award from Cannes for her performance; the film likewise won that year's Palme d'or.

Björk has been known to push boundaries with her fashion choices, wearing one-of-a-kind costumes in loud colors on stage. When she arrived on the Oscars' red carpet in 2000 wearing a dress made to look like a swan had been wrapped around her neck, she got tongues wagging. Opinion was divided, with fans cheering her originality. Like it or not, the swan certainly left an impression.

Although she would not return to acting, the singer carried on with unique performances that showcased her creativity both in the music she created and in her unique stage appearances. In 2007, the singer released "Volta," her most colorful album yet.

An inspiration to clubkids and outsiders, Björk continued to push fashion limits with her unique stage costumes, including this dandelion-inspired headpiece worn onstage in Berlin in 2013. Among designers who've worked with her to create these one-offs are Iris van Herpen and Alexander McQueen.

A multi-media exhibition at New York's Museum of Modern Art brought Björk's contributions to art into focus. The exhibition, said to highlight her collaborative nature, included an immersive sound experience, the "Black Swan" video installation and items from her past that included unusual costumes as well as a robot from her music video for "All is full of love."

In her eighth album, which was released early to avoid leaks, Björk reflects on the dissolution of her relationship with her longtime partner, the artist Matthew Barney. The music returns to the electronic roots she'd uncovered in "Homogenic," and is strikingly confessional in its lyrics: "When I'm broken I am whole / and when I'm whole I'm broken.”

In 2017, the singer took to her Facebook page to offer her support for the #metoo movement and write about being sexually harassed by "a Danish director." In it, she detailed her experiences and says, "I fully sympathize with everyone who hesitates, even for years. … If being difficult is standing up to being treated like that, I'll own it."