Remember that Fame Factory special I started a while back? No, probably not--I really will finish it one of these days, but consider this a random installment in it. Annis was on the final season of Fame Factory, the one Sandra Oxenryd won and Linda Bengtzing was part of. She released the song I'm posting as a single in 2005, shortly after the show, but if her MySpace is to be believed she's finally got an album coming out this year, and she's worked with people like Aleena Gibson (as a songwriter) and Titiyo (as a singer).One Suitcase--oddly enough (for me), I think this song might benefit from having a slower and slightly less "produced" arrangement, one that provides time for the emotion of the lyrics to sink in, one that takes time for pauses which match the hesitation experienced by the narrator and plays up the melancholy just a bit more--or gives us time to recognize it, at least. It's already had the opposite treatment applied to it: Mexican singer Fey gave it a dance treatment and released it as "Aquí Estoy," the lead single from her 2006 album Faltan Lunas (which was just a SILLY decision made even more frustrating by the next and even more unsuccessful followup single choice; when you have the adorable "Me Has Vuelto Loca," one of the three happiest songs of 2006,* in your pocket, why on Earth you wouldn't be selling that to the largest audience possible I have no idea [though apparently that's a cover too, but from what I've heard it's a huge improvement on the original]). It's still a good song even in this version, though, though given that the song's speed (which is still no more than mid-tempo) means the lyrics are slightly less likely to hit home at first, a lot of the "heavy lifting" in conveying the angst and emotion of those lyrics falls to Annis and her slightly country-tinged voice, which luckily is more than up to the job.
You can get Annis's "One Suitcase" on Fame Factory Vol. 10, which can be purchased here (physical) or here (digital).
Next up: I may have fallen madly in love with a Swedish synth-pop song, but I probably won't write about that until a few days from now--maybe a British boy band?
*Incidentally, the other two were Alphabeat's "Fascination" and Magnus Carlsson's "Lev Livet!".
