The history of the hit “All That She Wants” by Ace Of Base…
"All That She Wants" is a widely acclaimed song by Ace of Base, released as a hit single from their Happy Nation album. Fun fact: The drum beat was inspired by the song "Another Mother" by Kayo. The composition has a pronounced reggae-pop character, and the insightful lyrics tell about a promiscuous woman:
"When she woke up in the late morning light
And her day has just begun
She opened her eyes and thought:
“Oh, what a morning!
This day is not for work.
It's a day to sunbathe!"
The song quickly became an international hit: after its release, it became a resounding success, becoming number one in more than ten countries! In America, the single was awarded platinum status ... Let's remember the history of its creation!
Where did it all begin?
As mentioned above, the inspiration was the track "Another Mother" by Kayo. As a result, Ace Of Base recorded what became their breakthrough hit, which also had a positive impact on the sales of the Happy Nation! album itself! But how did it happen? And what about singer Kayo? Let's figure it out...
It all started with the fact that the group released a demo version of their future hit: it was called “Mr. Ace. Before that, they had already released "Wheel of Fortune", but ... as such, this release did not bring success. As for "All That She Wants", soon after the release, it became clear to everyone that this was not quite the sound that the members of Ace Of Base were trying to achieve ... They were looking for inspiration in the works of other artists for a long time, but everything was in vain ... Until the singer Kayo released her track "Another Mother"! The song entered the top 20, and the drum rhythm from it made an indelible impression on Ace Of Base ... That is, without "Another Mother" there might not have been that hit that we all know very well today! But, fortunately, the circumstances turned out in the most beautiful way ...
Difficulties and recording...
But, as is often the case, the band soon faced some difficulties… “All That She Wants” was re-recorded: sustained in a major key, the track changed its vector towards a minor one. According to the members of Ace Of Base, this was done to enhance the feeling of sadness and depth of sound... By the way: the gloomy mood of "All That She Wants" is reflected in most of the album... Yes, in fact, Happy Nation has a rather gloomy sound, but this is - already a separate story. Let's get back to the song!
When the track was re-recorded, Ace Of Base contacted Another Mother producer Denniz Pop: the band sent a demo version of the upcoming hit, which, in fact, did not inspire Denniz at all ... And again, the circumstances were in the most favorable way for Ace Of Base ! The cassette with the track got stuck in the player in Pop's car! Thus, the producer was forced to listen to this song over and over again... In the end, he agreed to work on the track. It is worth noting that he made many changes, for example: instead of rap, short phrases were included, as well as an additional verse. And if in the original version of “All That She Wants” the vocals are performed by all the members of the group, then in the final version, Yenny’s vocals were cut out ...
The end result of "All That She Wants" was generously endowed with hints of reggae-pop ... This sound eventually became signature for Ace Of Base. As for Denniz Pop, he and the band also reunited to work on some tracks from The Bridge.
Release and ... success!
"All That She Wants" was released as a single from the iconic Happy Nation! She later topped the charts in over ten countries around the world, including the UK and Greece! Subsequently, the track became a very big hit in America, where it was constantly played on the radio. He also became the leader of the Top 40 Mainstream ... By the end of the decade, the world circulation of the single amounted to about four million copies!
https://youtu.be/roWjzhHBazU
Not only listeners, but also critics accepted the creation of Ace Of Base and Denniz Pop very warmly... Many noted the melodic reggae sound, with mysterious flutes and an explosive chorus. The lyrics about the "stealer of men's hearts" were not overlooked either ... Many influential magazines wrote that together - the lyrics and the melody create an incredibly realistic picture that seems to be unfolding before your own eyes ... You could say that it was "All That She Wants became the gold standard of the 1990s musical landscape...
Music video
The video was filmed with artist Christian Bjorg Nielsen in the title role. Filming took place partly in her apartment. In total, two thousand dollars were allocated for them. We'll see:
As mentioned above, in "All That She Wants" Jenny Berggren's vocals were cut, so in the video she just lip-syncs her performance. The video was an MTV bestseller: many considered it very pure and sincere, with a happy ending ... To date, the video has received more than 90 million views.
