I cried 'til my tears went dry--oh, it took me forever, but now I can smile

A general comment on Sanna Nielsen's new album Stronger: it's actually a really enjoyable listen. It's important to get one thing straight: do not go in expecting disco or schlager--you're better off thinking of Sanna as following in the musical shoes of Celine Dion than Lena Philipsson; it's very much an "easy listening" sort of album. That said, there are pop-rock-ish tracks, tracks that could probably be turned into country songs with little difficulty, and a frosted moody track that's an exciting welcome surprise. There may be a few ballads you don't see yourself returning to much, but there are more than enough other songs on this fourteen track album to make it a worthy purchase, even if it's not an album I'd say you absolutely must own now (you'd probably be more content waiting for its price to drop a bit, though I think it was worth the price I paid for it).

In lieu of a proper album review (there's no way I could do that after only having got the album today), here are my favorites at the moment, listed in the order they appear on the album (not in order of preference); keep in mind that I'm usually slow to appreciate ballads, so those are unlikely to appear on any early favorites list from me but could grow on me with time. If you want to make judgments of your own, listen to clips here or stream the full songs thirty seconds at a time here.

Strong

Wanna be wanna be your love
Wanna be wanna be your one

Sanna's stolen Ne-Yo ("Because Of You") and Mariah's ("I'm That Chick") drum machine! And tweaked it a bit and made it less prominent, setting it back in the mix of a song which unlike "I'm That Chick" doesn't have a disco feel, instead more a feeling of constantly walking on, which fits perfectly with the lyrics. It's a sound I'm surprised to hear from Sanna, but a welcome poppy one.

Nobody Without You

Lost in paradise
Bottled up inside
Playing with dynamite
'Bout to blow my mind

You're my saviour
I'm your prisoner
You have set me free
Under your commaaaaaaaannnndd
Caught in your embraaaaaacccce
Knowing that I aaaa-aa-aa-aa-aa-aam...

Nobody without you
But a wreck of a broken heart
Nobody without you
Just a cry in the desert

...which I wrote about before; Sanna goes dramatic semi-rock chick to fantastic results.

I Believe It's You

You don't have to say another word
I believe in you

Up-tempo in a very Celine Dion (I think--I don't know that much Celine Dion work) sort of way; great catchy easy-to-swallow chorus.

Tomorrow Ends Today

I have drifted way off course
In the sea of love

Stealing Aftonbladet's word, "chilly" is a good way to describe this pop song ("frosty" couldn't be a more appropriate opening word); "moody" as well. Mature pop in the sophisticated sense, not the dull sense. Once again, a surprising sound for Sanna, but a welcome one.

Impatiently Waiting For You

Impatiently waiting for you
Hoping my dream will come true
Impatiently waiting for you
'Cause baby that's all I can do

Another uptempo-in-that-Celine-way track, "Impatiently Waiting For You" is uplifting and pretty fun (though don't let "fun" make you think it's crazy in any way whatsoever), once again with a power chorus.

Those Were The Days And The Nights Of Loving You

Suddenly something came over me
And made me think of you
Maybe the rain on the window
Just sounded like then
Or a song on the radio,
I don't know
But I found myself back again

I was just seventeen
I was granted a wish and you were the dream

This could be turned into a full-fledged country song pretty easily, and as is it already bears some traits of one. It's also (once again) uptempo Celine Dion-esque and has Sanna reminiscing about an old relationship.

But I Know What I Want

But I know what I want
And I know that I want you
'Cause I know what I got
And it's unbelievable

Uptempo and maybe Celine Dion-esque, especially in the verses, but the chorus is a bit different, with this punchy fast-paced delivery of the beginning lines instead of having that soaring feel the choruses of songs like "Impatiently Waiting For You" and "I Believe It's You" do. Wins mega-kudos from me for those lyrics quoted above; don't you just want to using that line?

All of the above songs are fully great in my eyes, which would be enough to make me happy with the album. I can also see a lot of people liking "Magic" (a rockier track, though not in the verses; it's fine, but the chorus makes it just a second-tier pop-rock track for me right now) and "I Can Catch The Moon" (a ballad).

If you're looking to pick it up, I know that you can definitely buy a physical copy here even if you don't live in Sweden; you might be able to buy a digital copy (with unprotected 320 kbps mp3s) here, but I'm unsure if there are regional restrictions [that page will tell you if there are for where you're living].

Next up: those American singers. Or maybe something about another Swedish album released today.