The Hits That Never Were: An A-Z

Ola – All Over The World (2010)

He may have started off as a cheesy balladeer, but Ola Svensson has grown into one of Sweden’s very best popstars. I loved his late ’00s hits such as Natalie and SOS, and on his third album he has made music which is strong enough to compete with the biggest pop stars in the world. In fact, All Over The World is basically a much better version of Somebody To Love by Justin Bieber (but not a copy – they oddly came out at almost exactly the same time). It’s a great, uplifting sing-along song and while it may not stand out enough from other current pop hits to launch Ola in the UK, for the same reason it would have been a great single for a UK or US pop act. Listen and imagine what could have been.

Linda Bengtzing – Alla Flickor (2005)

You’ve probably seen me talking about the brilliant Swedish Eurovision selection show Melodifestivalen here on This Must Be Pop, and Linda Bengtzing is one of the biggest stars it has created. Alla Flickor (which translates as ‘all the girls’) was the first song Linda entered into the competition and it managed to reach the finals, despite Linda not being a well known act in Sweden at the time. Since then she’s become a Melodifestivalen mainstay and her three entries since, Jag ljuger så bra, Hur svårt kan det va and E det fel på mig, all zoomed into the final. However, she’s never won the contest and never had any real success outside of Sweden. As much as I love all of her Melodifestivalen entries, none can compare to the brilliance of Alla Flickor. It’s a perfect example of exuberant Swedish-language pop music.

Josefine – Allt Jag Vill Ha (2010)

Continuing the Swedish theme and the Eurovision theme, here’s someone who did make it to the Eurovision finals… albeit Junior Eurovision. Allt Jag Vill Ha (meaning ‘all that I want’) is better than anything that made it to this year’s Eurovision final, though. It’s a Ryan Tedder-style addictively repetitive pop ballad. I’m not sure if there’s much room for Josefine as a popstar as long as we have the amazing Amy Diamond, but I’d love to hear more music like this, and an English version would be really interesting. I often try to translate and make up the English version in my head as I listen, as the Swedish lyrics are simple and clearly sung enough for me to understand them. If you want to learn Swedish by listening to amazing pop music (the best way to learn!) Allt Jag Vill Ha is a great place to start.