Kategori: FEATURED

Måns Zelmerlöw Continues His Climb with Fire in the Rain

‘Fire in the Rain’ has racked up more than 2 million plays on Spotify and continues its climb on the Swedish singles tally. Moving 50-34, the  Måns Zelmerlöw single precedes an upcoming EP released on June 17th.

Måns Zelmerlöw – Fire in the Rain (Official Lyric Video)

Read about the dark story behind ‘Heroes’ – What’s the meaning?

This summer, Måns Zelmerlöw will have a hectic tour schedule with lots of appearances across Europe. A Swedish tour premiered on May 27th at the Köpingfesten. Since his sensational Eurovision Song Contest Win last May, the Swedish singer has had an amazing year. Following an 8 months tour in Europe and Australia, two multi-platinum certified singles and the platinum album Perfectly Damaged, the singer is definitely on a roll.

As reported previously, ‘Fire in the Rain’ is written by Simon Strömstedt, while Fredrik Sonefors is the producer. I have tracked the song’s success on Spotify, where it has reached No.28. On the daily Swedish Spotify tally dated 27/5, it’s sitting at No.30.

Måns Zelmerlöw – Fire in the Rain

Everything about Måns Zelmerlöw on WelcheMusic

 

From ABBA to Westlife – I Have a Dream Continues Its Success

Originally released in December 1979, ‘I Have a Dream’ became a worldwide hit at the end of that decade for ABBA. 20 years later, Westlife repeated worldwide success with a new version produced by Pete Waterman and Dan Frampton*.

Written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, the single was the fourth and final single off Voulez-Vous, ABBA’s sixth studio album. The b-side was a live version of ’Take a Chance on Me’ recorded at Wembley.

ABBA – I Have a Dream (Live Version Wembley Arena 1979)

Peak positions for ‘I Have a Dream’ (ABBA):

  • Australia: 64
  • Austria: 1
  • Canada: 1
  • The Netherlands: 1
  • Ireland: 2
  • Switzerland: 1
  • UK: 2

Westlife – I Have a Dream

In December 1999, the track returned in a new version by Westlife. The new version was produced by Pete Waterman – one third of the hugely successful production team Stock, Aitken & Waterman – together with David Foster. The latter has produced artists such as Will Young, Rick Astley and Five.

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Read everything about Westlife

Westlife’s version reached No.1, becoming the boy band’s fourth chart-topper in the UK. It was a double A-side single, also including a cover of Jacques Brel’s 1961 hit ‘Seasons in the Sun’ which was made famous by Terry Jacks in 1973.

The 1999 version was the UK Christmas No.1, continuing its chart-run into 2000 – a new millennium. In total, it spent 17 weeks on the chart becoming the 26th biggest selling single of 1999. The hit was succeeded by Bob the Builder’s novelty hit ‘Can We Fix It?’

Peak positions for ‘I Have a Dream’ (Westlife):

  • Denmark: 11
  • Europe: 7
  • Finland: 10
  • Germany: 24
  • Ireland: 1
  • New Zealand: 10
  • Norway: 10
  • Scotland: 1
  • Sweden: 15
  • Switzerland: 18
  • UK: 1

*CORRECTION: In an earlier version of this blog post, David Foster was pointed out as the producer of the Westlife track. Apologies for that.

Streaming for Sound of Silence Declines Across (Almost) All Territories

To secure success in Eurovision is one thing, to maintain interest afterwards another. A surefire favorite of mine, ‘Sound of Silence’ seems to have peaked around the world. Streaming is decreasing everywhere, but Australia where Dami Im reaches a new peak!

Dami Im’s ‘Sound of Silence’ climbs 61-52 in native Australia, besting the previous No.60 position. Written and produced by DNA Songs, I definitely hope that we will hear more from Dami Im soon. So, how did she fare across different Spotify territories?

Peak position

  • Global: 140
  • Sweden: 10
  • Australia: 52
  • Germany: 106
  • Norway: 89
  • The Netherlands: 103
  • Finland: 81
  • Spain: 145
  • Portugal: 61
  • Belgium: 58
  • Denmark: 138
  • Lithuania: 16
  • Iceland: 25
  • Austria: 85
  • Ireland: 123
  • Estonia: 36
  • Malaysia: 146
  • Switzerland: 186

Latest chart data by Kworb.net for 22nd May.

Dami Im – Sound of Silence

Happy 30th Birthday Europe – It’s the Final Countdown

Believe it or not, Europe’s ‘The Final Countdown’ celebrates its 30th birthday this week as it entered the Swedish singles chart at No.3 back in May 1986. Within a week, it had knocked Stye’s ‘Dover-Calais’ off the top spot, spending three weeks in pole position. The track is nothing short of epic, becoming a true classic.

Europe – The Final Countdown

The song is written solely by singer Joey Tempest and ‘The Final Countdown’ was also the name of the group’s debut album. The single became a No.1 hit in no less than 25 countries, including the all-important UK singles chart. It eventually peaked at No.8 on the Billboard Hot 100, faring better than the Album Rock Tracks chart (No.18).

Europe – The Final Countdown (Remix)

In 1999, a dance remix of ‘The Final Countdown’ was released. It made the top ten in Sweden, but didn’t have the blessing of the band members. Drummer Ian Haugland reportedly said that ‘I wodn’t pass water on it if it was on fire.’ The new version was remixed by Brian Rawling, one of the producers behind Cher’s ‘Believe.’

The track was featured in the Eurovision Song Contest final in Stockholm earlier this May.

 

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