Monday, May 25, 2009

Addictive hold

We are a little less than a week away from what could be the biggest case of "I never really expected it to happen" pop justice for a Swedish song in the UK since Robyn got a pair of top 10 hits, including a #1.



As much as I fell in instant, unshakable love with Agnes's disco-pop "Release Me" the moment I heard it--the moment I heard those opening strings, probably--I never really thought its UK release would result in anything other than another song to add to the seemingly endless list of Swedish pop songs scheduled for British release, ignored by British media outlets, and then switched to a half-hearted small release at the last moment in recognition of the fact that they're guaranteed to flop. As much as I'm glad for September's success there, it didn't surprise me on anything near my levels of shock at seeing Agnes's "Release Me" sitting at #6 on the UK iTunes chart a day after its release.



If you live in the UK, you can buy the UK edit of "Release Me"--which, as I understand it, isn't having a physical release, so needs all the digital sales it can get--from iTunes here. Regardless of where you live, you can buy the most complete Swedish edition of the album from which "Release Me" comes, Dance Love Pop, here (physical) or here (digital). It's joyous disco-pop meets uplifting luscious '80s poppy R&B made by Anders Hansson, whose role in Sweden in the '80s you could maybe roughly compare to a member of SAW's but who has continued to be an important if not always fully acknowledged pop hitmaker there (though over the past year the success and quality of his work has become increasingly hard to ignore).

8 comments:

Anonymous said...

Ooh that really is great news, its had its fair share on plays on the Radio lately, the first time i heard on UK radio was an amazing feeling, i hope she stays in the Top 10.

I have to say i never really appreciated Kat DeLuna and New Kid On The Block's albums when i got them both last year.
But now both the albums have finally finally grown on me.
'Animal', 'In The End' and 'Run The Show' are examples of how brilliant RedOne used to be.

As for NKOTB, i always loved 'Twisted' and 'Full Service' from first listen and that still hasnt changed.
'Lights Camera Action' and 'Big Girl Now' have finally grown on me.

The new Dragonette single 'Fixin To Thrill' i never thought much of when i heard it the other week but its another song which has now become amazing.

Conor
x

Yuяi said...

Excellent! "Release Me" is such a great song. It's placement already on the iIunes chart gives me hope that the UK may be opening its arms to her.

Aaron said...

You're Kidding......

That's FANTASTIC!!!! - I'm so glad that Agnes is doing well - I hope everything keeps going well for her!!

Anonymous said...

Good luck Agnes!
Fellow Scandi stars: Star Pilots made #21 and Alexander Rybak made #10 in the chart this week.
Fingers crossed lots of airplay on Radio 1 should keep her in the top 10!
'Love love love' it!

Mike said...

LOL - I have a feeling you wont like my latest post if this evil pop robot floats your boat!

Erik said...

I love your latest post Mike. It's great news for us Agnes fans.
And not everyone can recognize good music, a stunning voice or an enchanting personality. :D

Poster Girl said...

Conor, hearing Agnes on the radio...sigh...that'd be an experience! Kat's "In The End" is a GREAT song which I really need to post. I need to check out that album! NKOTB's really had a surprising number of gems on it; sadly, the latest single isn't one of them (though I did hear it on the radio some weeks ago--couldn't believe it--and it wasn't as bad as I remembered). "Full Service" and "Twisted" are still AWESOME. I'll give the Dragonette song another try!

Yuri, it looks like it is! Despite it being a song that I always thought should have mass appeal, I didn't think the song would actually get the exposure it needed. I'm pleased to be wrong!

Aaron, I hope so, too! It's jaw-dropping but fantastic news.


I was pleased for them, too--especially Alexander, since that's quite a good placement for a Eurovision song in the UK (Star Pilots' song is amazing and deserves to be world-conquering, but I imagine the label was hoping for a better placing; I'm glad for what they got, though).

Mike, we all know your thoughts on Agnes by now ;) At least we can agree on Holly Valance! And hey, at least you said "Release Me" is, in and of itself, a great song.

Erik, check, check, check! It couldn't happen to a more deserving song or popstar.

Erik said...

Release Me is now #1 on iTunes, #1 on Livehits (24 hour download tracking) and #3 on the UK Midweek Chart.
It could actually reach #1 next week. Fantastic!

A while ago, Ladbrokes had the odds 1.7 for a top10 and 10 for a number one, so this isn’t totally unexpected, but everyone in the UK music forums are in shock.