"Happy Nation" is a song recorded by Swedish group

Ace of Base Ace of Base is a Swedish pop group formed in 1987, originally consisting of siblings Jonas, Linn, and Jenny Berggren, with Ulf Ekberg. They achieved worldwide success following the release of their debut album, '' Happy Nation'', in 1992. L ...

from their debut album with the same name (1992). It was first released in Scandinavia in December 1992 by

Mega Records Mega Records was a Nashville, Tennessee-based music label founded in 1970 by former RCA Records executive Brad McCuen along with Harry E. Pratt. Its most successful recording artist was Sammi Smith who also recorded the label's first single.

and later released twice in the UK. The first appearance was in October 1993, when it peaked at number 42, it re-entered the chart twelve months later at number 40.UK Singles Char
Official Charts Company
(Retrieved 10 April 2008) "Happy Nation" reached number-one on the singles charts of Denmark, Finland, France in 1993 and 1994. Its music video was directed by

Matt Broadley Matt Broadley is a Swedish director. He has made music videos for several songs that went #1 on the charts, like "All That She Wants" and " Mr. Vain". Career Broadley has directed many TV commercials and music videos. His clients include: * A ...

. In 2008, the song was remade by Ace of Base for a remix kit. "Happy Nation" is a mid-tempo

dance-pop Dance-pop is a Music genre, genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1970s to early 1980s. It is generally uptempo music intended for nightclubs with the intention of being danceable but also suitable for contemporary hit ra ...

song with strong influences from

reggae fusion Reggae fusion is a Music_genre#Subtypes, fusion genre of reggae that mixes reggae and/or dancehall with other genres, such as pop music, pop, rock music, rock, hip hop music, hip-hop/rap, Contemporary R&B, R&B, jazz, funk, soul music, soul, disco ...

and

Euro house Eurodance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of rap, techno and Eurodisco. This genre of music is heavily influenced by the use of rich ...

. It was written by group members Jonas "Joker" Berggren and Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg and contains both English and Latin lyrics. The first verse is sung in Latin by Joker, and

Linn Berggren Malin Sofia Katarina Berggren (born 31 October 1970) is a Swedish singer-songwriter, best known as a former member of the pop music band Ace of Base. Having been interested and involved in music since her childhood, she formed the band in 1987, ...

sings the rest as the lead singer. The band has described the song, written as a response to reports of Ekberg's past associations with neo-Nazi skinheads, as an "

anti-fascist Anti-fascism is a political movement in opposition to fascist ideologies, groups and individuals. Beginning in European countries in the 1920s, it was at its most significant shortly before and during World War II, where the Axis powers were op ...

song and a hymn to life". Ekberg has also said the song is a response to "everybody talking about how bad everything is! ... I think hebest thing is to see hepositive."

Critical reception

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

editor Jose F. Promis complimented the song as "maravilhosa". In a retrospective review,

Annie Zaleski Annie Zaleski is a ''New York Times'' best-selling author and music historian. Career Zaleski is a regular writer for mainstream media outlets such as The Guardian and NPR Music, and a columnist at ''Salon''. She is based in Cleveland, Ohio w ...

of American online newspaper ''

The A.V. Club ''The A.V. Club'' is an online newspaper and entertainment website featuring reviews, interviews, and other articles that examine films, music, television, books, games, and other elements of pop-culture media. ''The A.V. Club'' was created in ...

'' noted that it takes influence from " taut

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempos being in the range from 120 to 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time ( ) and often ...

". ''Fort Worth Examiner'' remarked that it "provides a positive mindset for how we should relate to and live with one another." Swedish '' Göteborgsposten'' stated that the

reggae Reggae () is a music genre that originated in Jamaica during the late 1960s. The term also denotes the modern popular music of Jamaica and its Jamaican diaspora, diaspora. A 1968 single by Toots and the Maytals, "Do the Reggay", was the first ...

-rhythms from "

All That She Wants "All That She Wants" is a song by Swedish group Ace of Base. It was released in Scandinavia in August 1992, by Edel-Mega Records, Mega Records, as the second single from the group's first studio album, ''Happy Nation'' (1992), and in the followi ...

" also "shows up" in the song, but "most of the sound is taken from European

synth A synthesizer (also synthesiser or synth) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis a ...

-based music."

Chuck Eddy Chuck Eddy (born November 26, 1960) is an American music journalist. Life and career Chuck Eddy was born in Detroit, Michigan. After starting his journalism career with ''The Village Voice'' and ''Creem'', where he published one of the first nati ...

from ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. The paper covers music, arts, film, theater, culture, and other local news in the Los Angeles area. ''LA Weekly'' was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin (among others), ...

'' named it "the record's saddest-sounding song". Andrew Balkin from ''

Kingston Informer Local World Holdings Ltd. was a large regional newspaper publisher in the UK that published around 100 print titles and more than 70 websites. It was formed in 2012 by David Montgomery, a former chief executive of Trinity Mirror, to buy the Dail ...

'' noted that "the

Aces An ace is a playing card. Ace(s), ACE(S) and variants may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Awards * ACE Awards (Award for Cable Excellence) Comics * ''Ace Comics'', a 1937-1959 comic book series * Ace Magazines (comics), a 1940- ...

downbeat ''DownBeat'' (styled in all caps) is an American music magazine devoted to "jazz, blues and beyond", the last word indicating its expansion beyond the jazz realm that it covered exclusively in previous years. The publication was established in 1 ...

" on "Happy Nation" and " Wheel of Fortune", adding further that both songs "have a

soul The soul is the purported Mind–body dualism, immaterial aspect or essence of a Outline of life forms, living being. It is typically believed to be Immortality, immortal and to exist apart from the material world. The three main theories that ...

dance Dance is an The arts, art form, consisting of sequences of body movements with aesthetic and often Symbol, symbolic value, either improvised or purposefully selected. Dance can be categorized and described by its choreography, by its repertoir ...

feel about them and wouldn't be out of place on the dance floor, or setting the mood in a smoky club." In another article, the newspaper described it as "a luvvly bubbly song". In his weekly UK chart commentary,

James Masterton James Masterton (born 2 September 1973) is a British music critic and columnist, his work focusing on the UK Singles Chart having been an online fixture on various sites since the 1990s. Masterton is also a producer for talkSPORT, and has worke ...

viewed it as "another piece of darkly brilliant dub reggae". Mario Tarradell from ''

Miami Herald The ''Miami Herald'' is an American daily newspaper owned by McClatchy, The McClatchy Company and headquartered in Miami-Dade County, Florida. Founded in 1903, it is the fifth-largest newspaper in Florida, serving Miami-Dade, Broward County, Fl ...

'' stated, "Just try to shake the irresistible hook of "All That She Wants" and "Happy Nation": you won't succeed." When the single was released for the second time in the UK, Alan Jones from ''

Music Week ''Music Week'' is a trade publication for the UK record industry distributed via a website and a monthly print magazine. It is published by Future. History Founded in 1959 as ''Record Retailer'', it relaunched on 18 March 1972 as ''Music We ...

'' rated it three out of five, deeming it as a "fairly unambitious regga plod" that "will inevitably do better this time around, but it will still be one of their smaller hits." A reviewer from ''

People Magazine ''People'' is an American weekly magazine that specializes in celebrity news and human-interest stories. It is published by Dotdash Meredith, a subsidiary of IAC (company), IAC. With a readership of 46.6 million adults in 2009, ''Peopl ...

'' felt that the tune "prove Ace of Base to be more substantive than a mere

ABBA ABBA ( ) were a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the List ...

clone." Bob Waliszewski of ''

Plugged In (publication) Focus on the Family (FOTF or FotF) is an American Evangelical Protestant organization founded in 1977 in Southern California by James Dobson, based in Colorado Springs, Colorado. The group is one of a number of evangelical parachurch organizati ...

'' remarked that it "promotes brotherhood".

James Hamilton James Hamilton may refer to: Dukes *James Hamilton, 1st Duke of Hamilton (1606–1649), heir to the throne of Scotland *James Hamilton, 4th Duke of Hamilton (1658–1712), Scottish nobleman *James Hamilton, 5th Duke of Hamilton (1703–1743), Sco ...

from the ''

Record Mirror ''Record Mirror'' was a British weekly music newspaper published between 1954 and 1991, aimed at pop fans and record collectors. Launched two years after ''New Musical Express'', it never attained the circulation of its rival. The first UK Album ...

'' Dance Update viewed it as a "rumbling

Boney M Boney M. is a German reggae, funk and disco music group founded in 1974. It achieved popularity during the disco era in the second half of the 1970s. The band was created by German record producer Frank Farian, who was the group's primary song ...

-ish 0–95.9bpm lurcher". Chuck Campbell from ''

Scripps Howard News Service The E. W. Scripps Company, also known as Scripps, is an American broadcasting company founded in 1878 as a chain of daily newspapers by E. W. Scripps, Edward Willis "E. W." Scripps and his sister, Ellen Browning Scripps. It was also formerly a ...

'' called it a "reggae-paced" number.

Sylvia Patterson Sylvia Patterson (born 8 March 1965) is a Scottish author and music journalist. A former contributor to ''Smash Hits'' and the ''NME'', she is the author of the memoirs ''I'm Not With The Band'' (2016) and ''Same Old Girl'' (2023). Life Patterson ...

from ''

Smash Hits ''Smash Hits'' was a British music magazine aimed at young adults, originally published by EMAP. It ran from 1978 to 2006, and, after initially appearing monthly, was issued fortnightly during most of that time. The name survived as a brand ...

'' gave it two out of five. She added, "Much moodier than the unfeasibly catchy "All That She Wants" thing, thank goodness, this is sort of like

R.E.M. R.E.M. was an American alternative rock band formed in Athens, Georgia, in 1980 by drummer Bill Berry, guitarist Peter Buck, bassist Mike Mills, and lead vocalist Michael Stipe, who were students at the University of Georgia. One of the fir ...

's "

Shiny Happy People "Shiny Happy People" is a song by the American rock band R.E.M., released as the second single from their seventh studio album, '' Out of Time'' (1991). It features guest vocals by Kate Pierson of the B-52's, who also appears in the music vide ...

" if it was by The Beloved, if you see what I mean. A pan-global religo-spook reverie with warbly Indian bits on and some whistling."

Edna Gundersen Edna Gundersen is an American journalist who was a longtime music writer and critic for ''USA Today''. Gundersen grew up in El Paso, Texas. She attained a degree in journalism from the University of Texas at El Paso and then wrote features and en ...

from ''

USA Today ''USA Today'' (often stylized in all caps) is an American daily middle-market newspaper and news broadcasting company. Founded by Al Neuharth in 1980 and launched on September 14, 1982, the newspaper operates from Gannett's corporate headq ...

'' complimented it as a "cheery tune". ''

The Vindicator ''The Vindicator'' is a daily newspaper serving Youngstown, Ohio, United States and the Mahoning County region as well as southern Trumbull County and northern Columbiana County. ''The Vindicator'' was established in 1869. As of September 1, ...

'' stated that "the blend of melody and rhythm" in a song like "Happy Nation" "is all but irresistible".

Chart performance

"Happy Nation" reached number one in Denmark, Finland, and France. It peaked within the top five in Lithuania, See ''LW'' column. the Netherlands and in the group's native Sweden, where it hit number four and stayed within the

Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, based on sales data from IFPI Sverige. It was formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and has been known by its current name si ...

for a total of eight weeks. Additionally, the single was a top-10 hit in Austria, Belgium (Flanders), Germany and Norway. In Iceland, it entered the top 20, peaking at number 14, while in Italy and Switzerland, it was a top-30 hit. Set "Tipo" on "Singoli". Then, in the "Artista" field, search "Ace Of Base". In the UK, it reached the top 40 during its second run on the UK Singles Chart, peaking at number 40 on 9 October 1994. On the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by ''Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately f ...

, which was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries, "Happy Nation" peaked at number 19 in September 1993. It had made its debut on the chart nine months earlier, at number 94, at the beginning of January 1993, after charting in Denmark. Elsewhere, the single peaked at number 22 and 80 in New Zealand and Australia, respectively. "Happy Nation" was awarded with a

gold record Gold is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol Au (from Latin ) and atomic number 79. In its pure form, it is a brightness, bright, slightly orange-yellow, dense, soft, malleable, and ductile metal. Chemically, gold is a transition metal ...

in Germany with 250,000 singles sold and a

silver record Silver is a chemical element; it has Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag () and atomic number 47. A soft, whitish-gray, lustrous transition metal, it exhibits the highest electrical conductivity, thermal conductivity, and reflectivity of any metal. ...

in France, after 125,000 units were sold.

Music video

The accompanying music video of "Happy Nation" was directed by Swedish-based director

, who had previously directed the video of "

". It was shot in

Gothenburg Gothenburg ( ; ) is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, second-largest city in Sweden, after the capital Stockholm, and the fifth-largest in the Nordic countries. Situated by the Kattegat on the west coast of Sweden, it is the gub ...

, Sweden, in January 1993.

Synopsis

The video begins with a lit candle, the flame of which blowing to the side. During Joker's verse, he sings flanked on both sides by a candelabrum, with

Linn Linn may refer to: People * Linn (surname) * Linn (given name) * Carl Linnaeus, abbreviated as Linn. * Linn da Quebrada, stage name of Brazilian singer, actress, screenwriter and television personality Lina Pereira dos Santos (born 1990) Place ...

's face and different ancient symbols and pictures moving in the background. These images include the peace symbol,

runic inscriptions A runic inscription is an inscription made in one of the various runic alphabets. They generally contained practical information or memorials instead of magic or mythic stories. The body of runic inscriptions falls into the three categories of E ...

Egyptian hieroglyphs Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphs ( ) were the formal writing system used in Ancient Egypt for writing the Egyptian language. Hieroglyphs combined Ideogram, ideographic, logographic, syllabic and alphabetic elements, with more than 1,000 distinct char ...

Indigenous Australian art Indigenous Australian art includes art made by Aboriginal Australians and Torres Strait Islanders, including collaborations with others. It includes works in a wide range of media including painting on leaves, bark painting, wood carving, rock ...

the Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a śramaṇa, wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist lege ...

, the Zodiac signs, the yin yang symbol,

the Crucifixion of Jesus The crucifixion of Jesus was the death of Jesus by being nailed to a cross.The instrument of crucifixion is taken to be an upright wooden beam to which was added a transverse wooden beam, thus forming a "cruciform" or T-shaped structure. ...

Holy Trinity The Trinity (, from 'threefold') is the Christian doctrine concerning the nature of God, which defines one God existing in three, , consubstantial divine persons: God the Father, God the Son (Jesus Christ) and God the Holy Spirit, three ...

Al-Fatiha Al-Fatiha () is the first chapter () of the Quran. It consists of seven verses (') which consist of a prayer for guidance and mercy. Al-Fatiha is recited in Muslim obligatory and voluntary prayers, known as ''salah''. The primary literal mea ...

, and the book ''

The Origin of Species ''On the Origin of Species'' (or, more completely, ''On the Origin of Species by Means of Natural Selection, or the Preservation of Favoured Races in the Struggle for Life'')The book's full original title was ''On the Origin of Species by M ...

'' by

Charles Darwin Charles Robert Darwin ( ; 12 February 1809 – 19 April 1882) was an English Natural history#Before 1900, naturalist, geologist, and biologist, widely known for his contributions to evolutionary biology. His proposition that all speci ...

. After Joker's verse, the rest of the video focuses on Linn singing. She is mostly seen standing, but at one point she is seen sitting at a long wooden table, appearing to be deep in thought. At other times,

Jenny Berggren Jenny Cecilia Petrén (née Berggren; born 19 May 1972), professionally known as Jenny Berggren and Jenny from Ace of Base is a Swedish mezzo-soprano singer and former lead singer in the Swedish pop band Ace of Base. Since 1995, she has also bee ...

appears singing with Linn for a moment, even though, like in "All That She Wants", she didn't provide any vocals for this song. The background images continue to appear during this part, along with scenes of

Buddha Siddhartha Gautama, most commonly referred to as the Buddha (),* * * was a wandering ascetic and religious teacher who lived in South Asia during the 6th or 5th century BCE and founded Buddhism. According to Buddhist legends, he was ...

typing on a stationary computer, Jenny reading from an old book, Joker singing the background vocals, and other short clips featuring the band members. Old movie footage is also shown during Linn's section, such as an

atomic bomb A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear expl ...

exploding, people walking, and

deforestation Deforestation or forest clearance is the removal and destruction of a forest or stand of trees from land that is then converted to non-forest use. Deforestation can involve conversion of forest land to farms, ranches, or urban use. Ab ...

. When the music fades out, the lit candle shown at the start of the video is blown out.

Track listings

* 7-inch single # "Happy Nation" (radio edit) – 3:32 # "Happy Nation" (album version) – 4:11 * CD single – UK # "Happy Nation" (radio rdit) – 3:32 # "Happy Nation" (12-inch version) – 6:39 # "Happy Nation" (album version) – 4:11 * CD maxi # "Happy Nation" (Gold Zone club mix) # "Happy Nation" (Gold Zone 7-inch edit) # "Happy Nation" (Gold dub edit) # "Happy Nation" (Moody Gold mix)

Personnel

* Vocals by Linn Berggren * Latin Choir by Jonas Berggren * Backing Vocals by John Ballard * Written by Jonas Berggren and Ulf Ekberg * Produced by Jonas Berggren and Ulf Ekberg * Recorded at Tuff Studios

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Release history

Other recordings

During the 6th series of ''

Så mycket bättre Så mycket bättre (, ) is a Swedish reality television show broadcast on TV4 (Sweden), TV4. The basic premise is that each participating musician performs their own version of a well-known song by another artist, with each episode focusing on ...

'' in 2015,

Niklas Strömstedt Bo Anders Niklas Strömstedt (born 25 July 1958) is a Swedish singer, songwriter and actor. Early life Bo Anders Niklas Strömstedt was born on 25 July 1958 in Lund, Sweden, to Gunhild Margareta (née Henriksson) and Bo Eugén Strömstedt. S ...

performed the song in Swedish as "Lyckolandet", with lyrics against racism and xenophobia.

In other media

Television

The song was used in the ''

X-Men '97 ''X-Men '97'' is an American animated television series created by Beau DeMayo for the streaming service Disney+, based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the X-Men. It is a revival of '' X-Men: The Animated Series'' (1992–1997) produced b ...

'' episode "Remember It", played during the Hellfire Gala that directly preceded genocide on the island of Genosha.

Legacy

The song experienced a resurgence in 2024 through the short-form

video hosting An online video platform (OVP) enables users to upload, convert, store, and play back video content on the Internet, often via a private server structured, large-scale system that may generate revenue. Users will generally upload video content vi ...

service

TikTok TikTok, known in mainland China and Hong Kong as Douyin (), is a social media and Short-form content, short-form online video platform owned by Chinese Internet company ByteDance. It hosts user-submitted videos, which may range in duration f ...

. Usually in a video of the S.W.A.T. or corruption and violence.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 1992 songs 1992 singles 1993 singles Ace of Base songs Mega Records singles Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Finland SNEP Top Singles number-one singles Songs written by Jonas Berggren Songs written by Ulf Ekberg Music videos directed by Matt Broadley Music videos shot in Sweden Reggae fusion songs English-language Swedish songs Songs in Latin