If there’s anyone who has set the bar for P.O.P. and how to do it so right in 2011, it’s Eric Saade. And to think, a few years back, I wasn’t really impressed with the songs I heard by him. But growth in music happens so fast, and when put together with the right team, the results can be astonishing. And I can’t believe that most of the world hasn’t heard him yet. But that will change!
So 2011 started off with Eric competing in Sweden’s Melodifestivalen contest with “Popular” – and he won it, with a couple of starmaking performances of that song as well that led to a third place finish at Eurovision.
Then he announced that he would release two albums in 2011, highly ambitious by any standards. So in July, Saade Volume One appeared to stellar reaction and of course phenomenal sales in Scandinavia. Volume One showed Eric’s diversity, from airy pop like “Timeless” and “Stupid with You” through to bang-on dance tracks like “Popular” and “Made of Pop”, and even an appealing lyrical oddity that is “Killed By A Cop”. As I mentioned in my last blog, Saade Volume One is the album that I constantly return to if I want to feel really good!
Not even a half year later, and Saade Volume Two arrives as promised, with the stunner lead off single “Hotter Than Fire” (featuring Dev) preparing for more goods back in November (watch the impressive ‘one take’ video above, featuring some snazzy Saade moves). That song itself has grown on me, but I really wasn’t prepared for this second edition, which goes full throttle into hard electropop after the first few songs. And you can hear Eric’s enthusiasm for the songs gleaming through each one.
J’son is back on another duet to kick it off with “Sky Falls Down”, a much better song than “Hearts In The Air” to me. “Rocket Science” made me wonder where the album was going, the only song that doesn’t grab me on the record. After “Hotter Than Fire” we have “Love Is Callin'”, which like “Hotter” has a killer hook (“Bring my heart beat back…”). That leads to the core of Volume Two, with “Crashed On The Dance Floor”, which starts off like it might be a lyrical track but after the first two minutes the song sets the clubby vibe of the album into place.
Right up there with “Hotter Than Fire” as one of the best songs is “Explosive Love”, which takes its initial cue from the synth hook from Calvin Harris’ “I’m Not Alone” but runs away from that base with an irresistibly slamming rhythm. “Backseat” is a love letter to the ladies that will set hearts a flutter. Not only that but the rhythm once again hits hard and there is a major sexual subtext here that isn’t in his other songs. “Feel Alive” percolates along while the album closer “Fingerprints” doesn’t let the record wind down, another strong song that could end up being a single. Eric has found a huge niche, his voice perfectly suits the songs, and his team has done a stellar job.
My wishlist for 2012 would include a North American concert/promo tour with Robyn, Eric, and perhaps some other electropop performers. The accomplishments of Saade Volumes One and Two in such a short time show that Eric Saade is Made of P.O.P. and I for one cannot get enough of it.
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