Tranås and Gävle Interviews

Here are two media articles from early and mid-October. One is from the Tranås newspaper the day after Jenny sang and spoke at Löfstad church. The second is a radio interview from a radio station in Gävle.

Tranås article by Bodil Molin:

Pop star presents her life

As a pop star in Ace of Base, Jenny Berggren reached the top, but didn't exactly feel very well. Those who came to see her speak in Tranås yesterday heard her speak and sing about her life.

Ace of Base broke through internationally in the beginning of the 90s and became one of Sweden's biggest music exports ever.

Their debut album sold 23 million copies worldwide. But Jenny Berggren wasn't just one of the four celebrated stars. The carousel spun faster and faster and in turn made her feel bad.
"I fell apart even though I reached the top", she says. Of course it was difficult for all four of us, but in different ways and I was maybe the one who took on the most reserved roll.

A first album

Ace of Base lives on but with two new singers. Jenny Berggren has chosen to do a solo career and she will shortly release her first album titled "My Story".

She has written some of the lyrics herself. They are about her time with Ace of Base, an attack that happened to her, and the focus on outside appearances. According to her, she has received many positive reactions.
"I call myself an unofficial writer, and I've written everything myself, but have gotten some help with the editing. But I'll call myself an author with the next book."

Lecture and song

Jenny Berggren travels around singing and talking about her life. On Sunday, she visited Löfstad church.
"The lectures are nothing new, as I've been doing them since 1995. But now I'm focusing more on my book."

The singer talks about both her life and her Christian faith. She dares to be a little more personal these days.
"I am 38, of course, and have landed with both feet in a very good place."

Her life experience and her time in Ace of Base will be a good help if the pace of her solo career really takes off.
"If it becomes big again, I am steering myself in another way. But the important thing for me is not to be an artist who who lives for the charts, but an artist who has the opportunity to do what I want."

Jenny Berggren thinks she has ten times as much fun now as when she traveled the world with Ace of Base.
"It's not so painful now. I think in a completely different way and know how to do things. But in the end, there still has to be good music."

During the concert in Tranås, Jenny Berggren was accompanied by Simon Petrén on the piano.
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Cityradion 102.7 Gävle interview from 12 October:


Download interview here


Jenny: Hello!

Host: I'm thinking about Ace of Base.

J: Yes, I see that.

H: When did you start playing music?

J: The lineup with me, my brother, my sister - I was fourteen then.

H: Oh my God!

J: Well, He wasn't there then, but maybe later.

H: He came into the picture later. Listening to the songs from Ace of Base, there are an amazing number of hit songs from the band.

J: Yes, there were a few.

H: I remember Lucky Love was one of my favorites.

J: That's a good one.

H: And that first one, what is it called? Wheel of Fortune? I loved that one.

J: That's good.

H: Is the Ace of Base project ending or is it continuing on?

J: Well, we'll see. I'm focusing on a slightly different direction right now.

H: I see that. You're out now doing some solo work. Is that right?

J: Yes.

H: And an album. They should have sent it, but I don't have it yet.

J: It's being released tomorrow.

H: Ah. Let's talk about you Jenny. You were with Ace of Base for many years, so are you changing your music style or are you staying with the style you had before?

J: I've always been a little bit of everything. There's a hit-list Jenny and a Jenny who's very classical and a third that's very acoustic if you think about singing in the singer/songwriter genre. There are three different ones and they fight a little on this album, well, maybe not much of the classical one, but you can hear it in there.

H: I'm thinking a little bit about this new song I'm about to play. It has a little bit of pep and life to it.

J: That's true.

H: Aren't you a little like that too?

J: I don't think I've ever been anything else.

H: That's good. We want these uptempo songs but maybe there are a few slower songs on the album.

J: There has to be something you can drive to, otherwise life wouldn't be so much fun.

H: Have you written everything yourself?

J: I have written songs together with others. There are a few I have written by myself.

H: If we look to the future, do you have an tour plans?

J: I have a few things planned, not terribly much. I have presentations and concerts lined up, which I've done for many years. I have a lot of those right now, so I'm out often with those. I'll be out traveling this week with those in the churches. But with this, I've had a few inquiries from Europe, so I'll look at those and determine if it's something for me.

H: That can last well into the new year with those types of things.

J: A lot can happen.

H: I can imagine.

J: I have even more ideas, so I'm not sure how I'm going to fit it all in.

H: Will you be putting together a band to tour with you?

J: That's already been taken care of.

H: It's done and taken care of and finished up.

J: Yep.

H: No one from the old Ace of Base is a part of it, right?

J: No.

H: It's only you, then?

J: They're live musicians and singers.

H: It can be good to have those. Will you have a big tour or will it only be this band with you or will you put several bands together on one stage?

J: There are a few things I've been invited to do, yes.

H: Before, it was more popular to bring together several bands and go out on a tour together.

J: True. But I've not quite gotten to that just yet, maybe in the Summer. There aren't many things like that during the Winter, but I think there will be a few.

H: Maybe a few club gigs anyway. Jenny, we're crossing our fingers that everything goes well for you and your album. Would you please introduce your song and tell us a little bit about it?

J: Sure, this is called Gotta Go and it blends a music style that I love in a wonderful way. It has roots in, well not exactly this song in particular, but I like it when it has a break out like Billy Idol combined with live bass and then pops over into a real dance floor beat.

H: It really pounds the dance floor.

J: You'd better hold onto something, yes.

H: We like that. Thank you, Jenny.

J: Thank you. Take care!