Swedish pop singer Agnes has been in the music industrysince 2005 after winning that year of the Swedish version of Pop Idol. Yet thesinger really became a major success in 2009 with the release of her hit single‘Release Me’ that has sold over 900,000 copies worldwide. Yet the whilst thesinger had the odd follow up hit in certain territories, her star has seeminglygone back to her original pop status, as she only seems to be gainingcommercial success in her native country Sweden. Yet based on her properinternationally released album that saw her come back to the music stage, isthis actually an artist that deserves to be much bigger than she is in terms ofsuccess? Agnes’ biggest hit to date, Release Me is a vibrant dancepop tune that finds the singer blending heartfelt and emotional lyrics andvocals with a get yourself on the dance floor now sound. Lyrically the trackfinds the singer wishing her lover to set her free as she knows therelationship isn’t right, but she still wants and loves him and so can’t setherself free. The heartbreak but almost hopeful lyrical content gives the songa commanding presence in that in just focusing on the lyrics alone you couldhave easily taken this song to be a ballad.
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Agnes gives us a smooth andpowerful vocal performance that is better than other dance pop songs in that ithas this glamorous and classy quality, with the singer’s voice having an airytone in the chorus through the use of vocal layering that makes things veryappealing and catchy. The production features this vibrant blend of a heavybass, stirring strings and great dance beats that just gives the song apolished but fun quality that will get you wanting to sing along and dancealong, and so whilst this is in many ways a typical dance pop tune, the songsdifferent elements really come together to create a glamorous, emotional andfun track that is a deserved worldwide hit. On and On was the albums lead single in Sweden and finds thesinger once again getting us on the dance floor, but this time she is in a muchhappier frame of mind. The lyrics of the song find the singer focusing on theidea of how the world is a crazy place but you can cope with love, and shetells this guy that she really loves him and her love will continue forever.The song is lyrically sweet and structured well, with a catchy chorus that ismade even better by Agnes’ smooth vocals that are full of energy and conveysthis sense of love very nicely. However the problem for me with this track isthat the production lets it down, as the dance beats are vibrant with thissteady back beat, but the song doesn’t have that quality sheen of the previoustrack, and so if possible listen to the UK edit of this song, has that featuresa slightly different sound which is much better. Based around a ‘da da do da’ hook, How Do You Know is moreof a straightforward pop song with a slight bubble gum pop edge. The song findsthe singer lyrically and vocally in more of a delicate frame of mind, as she isscared of life and doesn’t understand the idea of love, and questions how youcan know if you are really in love.
Agnes Dance Love Pop Songs
The songs message offers a nice change ofpace in the record, but the chorus feels to repetitive, and at times the singercan come across as a bit of a whiny girl. The vocal performance is light andfragile and so feels very in tune with the lyrical content, although thebreathy quality of the background vocals feels a bit too unoriginal. Productionwise the song features simple guitar strumming and snappy pop beats that givesthis airy sound to the track that makes this a chilled tune, but it doesn’texcite you in the way the first few tracks really did. Things are taken down to a softer and musically organicstate with this mid tempo pop ballad that finds the singer going back to thisstate of being powerfully in love. Here we find Agnes telling her lover howmuch she needs and wants him, with the singer giving us a soft vocalperformance that is layered with this sweet but also pleading, emotional tone.The track utilises a mixture of strings and simple guitar strumming to give thesong this potent edge, and so this is a nice track that shows a different sideto Agnes, and it is a shame that this song had to be remixed into a danceformat for the UK release. We are taken back to an up tempo dance state of mind withthis track that finds the singer firmly moving on from a relationship.Lyrically the track is based in the idea of this relationship ending whereAgnes gave her all to this man, but now things have ended she is doing greatand this guy should just look at her, as he thought she would be a wreck.
The positivity of the song is infectious, butoverall the lyrics don’t feel like anything we haven’t heard from otherartists. This is perhaps because although the vocals are powerful and emphasisethe freedom aspect of the lyrics, the vocals don’t have the forceful qualitythat is really need for this to be a really great break up anthem. Theproduction features slightly more of Euro pop sound with the dance beat, andthe track also has these hand clapping rhythms that make the song feel a littleunique. It is a nice dance song, just not that original.
Don’t Pull Your Love Out has a slight dance hall feel withthe production, and finds the singer giving us another love based tune thatoffers a look at a different type of relationship. The singer asks her lovernot to pull his love out and give up on the relationship, as she just wants tolove him and knows they will be great together, as she believes in them sostrongly. The track is nicely in the way the vocal builds towards the powerfulbridge, and the emotional intensity increases in a way that makes the song feelbelievable. However, the lyrical quality of the track is slightly poor as thereis too much repetition, and the concept feels too simple to command thelistener’s attention in an exciting way. The funky dance groove of theproduction is nice but also perhaps a bit too simple and typical of the dancegenre, and so this is another offering from the singer that once again suffersfrom lack of originality or an attention grabbing quality, and so by this pointit seems that this factor is the singers main downfall with the whole record. Things are slowed down for this simple pop ballad which actsas an ode to Agnes love for this guy, with the singer lyrically conveying thesentiment of how she sometimes forgets to really express her feelings, but heshould just know that she really does love him.
The track nicely employs amixture of French and English, and finds the singer giving us a pure vocalperformance that shows of the singers voice in a grand way. The songsproduction features a simple back beat and stirring strings for a nice popballad sound that isn’t unique but which still works and sounds powerful enoughto leave some form of impression on the listener.