| Happy Nation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Ace of Base | ||||
| Released | December 1992 (Scandinavia) February 19, 1993 |
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| Recorded | 1992 | |||
| Genre | Dance/Reggae | |||
| Label | Festival Warner Bros. |
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| Producer | Denniz PoP, Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | |||
| Ace of Base chronology | ||||
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Happy Nation is the debut album of Ace of Base, a pop music group based in Sweden. It was released in early 1993 in Europe, Africa and Latin America on Festival Records. The album is the third highest-selling debut album by a group after Guns N' Roses and Linkin Park. It reached the number one position in at least 14 countries, and it has sold somewhere in the region of 21 million copies worldwide.
A second release in Europe, Happy Nation U.S. Version, came on September 25, 1993, to coincide with the album's release in North America under the title name, The Sign. The Sign was released in North America on November 23, 1993 with four brand new tracks.
Several songs on the album, including "The Sign", "All That She Wants" and "Don't Turn Around", were No. 1 singles in the United States and all over Europe and North Africa.
The Sign is listed among the Top 100 Bestselling Albums of All Time by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).[1]
Contents |
Happy Nation was re-released in Europe only, as Happy Nation (US Version) on September 25, 1993, to coincide with the American version of the album titled The Sign released in the Western Hemisphere on November 23 of that same year. Three new tracks were added to the American version, "Don't Turn Around", "The Sign", "Living in Danger", while Happy Nation (US Version) contained four new songs, "Don't Turn Around", "The Sign", "Living in Danger", "Hear Me Calling", a bonus remix for the track "Happy Nation", and "Fashion Party", which was included on the original release of Happy Nation. The re-release climbed to number one in the UK Albums Chart, beating the number 21 peak of the original release. Happy Nation U.S. Version has almost the same cover as The Sign.
| No. | Title | Writer(s) | Producer(s) | Length |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | "All That She Wants" | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | Denniz Pop, Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | 3:30 |
| 2. | "Don't Turn Around" | Albert Hammond, Diane Warren | Per Adebratt, Tommy Ekman | 3:51 |
| 3. | "Young and Proud" | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | 3:54 |
| 4. | "The Sign" | Jonas Berggren | Denniz Pop, Jonas Berggren, Douglas Carr | 3:09 |
| 5. | "Living in Danger" | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | Per Adebratt, Tommy Ekman | 3:44 |
| 6. | "Voulez-Vous Danser" | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg, T.O.E.C. | 3:21 |
| 7. | "Happy Nation" | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | Jonas Berggren; Ulf Ekberg | 4:10 |
| 8. | "Hear Me Calling" | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg, Jenny Berggren, Linn Berggren | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | 3:52 |
| 9. | "Waiting for Magic (Total Remix 7")" | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | Ulf Ekberg, Stonestream | 3:49 |
| 10. | "Fashion Party" | Jonas Berggren | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | 4:11 |
| 11. | "Wheel of Fortune" | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg, T.O.E.C. | 3:54 |
| 12. | "Dancer in a Daydream" | Jonas Berggren | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | 3:39 |
| 13. | "My Mind (Mindless Mix)" | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | 4:10 |
| 14. | "All That She Wants (Banghra Version)" | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | Denniz Pop, Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | 4:14 |
| 15. | "Happy Nation (Remix)" | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg, Douglas Carr | 3:44 |
| The Sign | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Studio album by Ace of Base | ||||
| Released | November 23, 1993 | |||
| Recorded | 1992—1993 | |||
| Genre | Pop/Dance | |||
| Label | Festival Warner Bros. (1993-1994) Arista (1994 Deluxe) |
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| Producer | Denniz PoP, Jonas Berggren, Ulf Ekberg | |||
| Ace of Base chronology | ||||
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| Professional ratings | |
|---|---|
| Review scores | |
| Source | Rating |
| Allmusic | link |
| Robert Christgau | [2] |
| This table needs to be expanded using prose. See the guideline for more information. | |
Only released in the US, Canada, Japan and some Latin American countries (such as Mexico).
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| Chart (1990–1999) | Position |
|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard 200[3] | 34 |
| Preceded by Superunknown by Soundgarden The Crow (soundtrack) by Various artists |
Billboard 200 number-one album April 2–8, 1994 June 11–17, 1994 |
Succeeded by Far Beyond Driven by Pantera Ill Communication by Beastie Boys |
| Preceded by Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? by The Cranberries |
UK number one album July 2, 1994 – July 15, 1994 |
Succeeded by Music for the Jilted Generation by The Prodigy |
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