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Sweden: The powerhouse of pop

SINGAPORE — So you want to be a pop star. You’ve got the looks, you’ve got the voice, you even have your own YouTube channel. All you need is the right song and you’ll be riding the waves to the top of the charts. And for that, you only need to look to Sweden for that winning tune.

SINGAPORE — So you want to be a pop star. You’ve got the looks, you’ve got the voice, you even have your own YouTube channel. All you need is the right song and you’ll be riding the waves to the top of the charts. And for that, you only need to look to Sweden for that winning tune.

The country’s pop culture influence on Singapore may not be immediately identifiable. But take a look around: Clothes from Swedish high street giant H&M have pride of place in our closets, many people here drive Volvos, our furniture comes from Ikea, and we listen to a lot of Swedish pop music.

Hang on, you say? That can’t be right? Well, while we probably can’t name more than a handful of Swedish pop artistes off the top of our heads — Abba, Roxette and Ace Of Base come to most people’s minds — the truth is far different. The hipsters among us will probably spout names such as Lykke Li, Tove Lo or Nina Persson; and EDM aficionados will recognise Swedish House Mafia and Avicii; while those who grew up in the 1990s will undoubtedly remember Robyn or The Wannadies. And who hasn’t heard those strident opening notes to The Final Countdown, by Swedish rock act Europe, at over-the-top dinners?

Like it or not, the pop music we hear on the radio or streamed online has Swedish fingerprints all over it. We’re not just talking about Swedish company Spotify. Sweden claims to export more music per capita than any other country. The nation’s songwriters became particularly sought-after in the late 1990s, when Stockholm songwriting house Cheiron Studios began churning out hits for acts such as the Backstreet Boys (BSB) and ‘N SYNC.

When Taylor Swift, for example, wanted to make the full transition to pop music and record her superlative offering, 1989, she turned to the Swedish pop producer with the Midas touch, Max Martin. This wasn’t Martin’s first musical dalliance with Swift: He produced and co-wrote the No 1 hit We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together on Swift’s 2012 album Red, which became her first No 1 single in the United States. The song reached the top position on the iTunes singles chart in 50 minutes, making We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together the fastest selling single in digital history at that time. It also set the record for the biggest digital sales week (623,000) ever for a song by a female artiste. Martin also co-wrote and produced two other singles on the album — I Knew You Were Trouble and 22.

The producer’s relationship with American pop stars stretches back to the 1990s. He took part in the production of BSB’s self-titled album, helming Quit Playing Games (With My Heart), a single that quickly went platinum, as well as the other singles As Long As You Love Me and Everybody (Backstreet’s Back). He worked with BSB on several more hits, most notably, I Want It That Way and Shape Of My Heart.

In 1998, Martin wrote and co-produced Britney Spears’ Baby One More Time, her big hit of that decade. (Incidentally, the song was originally offered to both BSB, who turned it down, and TLC, who passed because they were apparently “taking time off”).

Since then, the producer has helmed efforts by Pink, Katy Perry, Christina Aguilera, Kelly Clarkson, Justin Bieber, Shakira, Jessie J, Avril Lavigne, Celine Dion and then some. It has been said that Martin has produced more No 1 songs than any other individual producer besides another Martin — George, who produced The Beatles — and Pharrell Williams.

But of course, it’s not just Martin who is making pop waves behind the scenes. Patrik Berger, for example, has produced some of the catchiest pop tunes from the likes of Charli XCX, Icona Pop and Lana Del Rey. Songwriter-producer Shellback has worked with Maroon 5, Tove Lo, Ke$ha, Cher Lloyd and Ariana Grande, as well as others he co-produced with Martin; while Rami Yacoub (another Martin collaborator) has worked with Nicki Minaj, Madonna, Bon Jovi, One Direction, Enrique Iglesias, Tiesto, Demi Lovato and ‘NSYNC.

Singer Lo told The New Yorker that the key to Swedish pop success lies in the “clear but simple lyrics”, the melody and also “having a little bit of melancholy or a darker sense to it, to not make it too sugary or too bubble-gum”. Sure, elitists will argue that it’s codswallop and that the music produced by this band (or should we say, brand) of Swedes is cookie-cutter and predictable. But chances are, if you want to have a pop hit, you’d probably do well to place your bets with these Nordic hit-makers.

And, if nothing else, consider the numbers: Swift’s 1989 album has been breaking records ever since it was released last year, selling seven million units worldwide — a veritable number considering how streaming services have begun to dominate the way people consume music. Even taking into consideration the successes of her previous albums — Red, Speak Now, Fearless and her self-titled debut — it is hardly a number to scoff at.

And to paraphrase that old Elvis record, seven million fans can’t be wrong, can they?

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