"Boten Anna" ("Anna the

Bot Bot or BOT may refer to: Sciences Computing and technology * Chatbot, a computer program that converses in natural language * Internet bot, a software application that runs automated tasks (scripts) over the Internet **Spambot, an internet bot ...

") is a song by Swedish musician

Basshunter Jonas Erik Altberg (; born 22 December 1984), known professionally as Basshunter, is a Swedish singer, record producer, songwriter and DJ. As indicated by his stage name, Basshunter is known for bass-heavy Eurodance music. Born and raised in Ha ...

, from his first studio album, ''

LOL LOL, or lol, is an initialism for laughing out loud, and a popular element of Internet slang, which can be used to indicate amusement, irony, or double meanings. It was first used almost exclusively on Usenet, but has since become widesprea ...

''. Following the single's release in 2006, Basshunter gained popularity in his native Sweden, as well as Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Poland and the Netherlands. The song topped hit charts and, on 3 May 2006, was named Norway's official Russ-song of the year. It was also the most popular song at The Gathering LAN party 2006. An English version titled " Now You're Gone", sung by Sebastian Westwood, using unrelated lyrics, was released in December 2007. In 2023 Basshunter collaborated with Victor Leksell on "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)". It peaked on Swedish singles chart at number four.

Lyrics and composition

The Swedish lyrics of "Boten Anna" tell the story of a female

Internet Relay Chat IRC (Internet Relay Chat) is a text-based chat system for instant messaging. IRC is designed for Many-to-many, group communication in discussion forums, called ''#Channels, channels'', but also allows one-on-one communication via instant mess ...

user who the vocalist believes is a

bot Bot or BOT may refer to: Sciences Computing and technology * Chatbot, a computer program that converses in natural language * Internet bot, a software application that runs automated tasks (scripts) over the Internet **Spambot, an internet bot ...

but later finds out to be a beautiful woman, although she will always remain a bot in his eyes. The song is based on an actual experience of

. At the beginning of 2006 he created #basshunter.se channel in QuakeNet with the help of a fan. The fan created a bot with administrative capabilities; when this happened, Basshunter saw a new user with administrative capabilities named "Anna" enter the channel, and thought this was the bot. One day in March Basshunter returned home after playing at the club La Cocaracha in Halmstad. He and his friends played the computer game ''

Counter-Strike ''Counter-Strike'' (''CS'') is a series of multiplayer tactical first-person shooter video games, in which opposing teams attempt to complete various objectives. The series began on Windows in 1999 with the release of the first game, '' Counte ...

'' while they were connected to the chat program

mIRC mIRC is an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) client for Windows with an integrated scripting language allowing the creation of extensions. The software was first released in 1995 and has since been described as "one of the most popular IRC clients avai ...

. Basshunter typed a command into the command line to the bot to kick himself out of the channel. His drunk friend had taken control of the bot and kicked everyone out of the channel except for the two of them. Channel users started laughing. It turned out that Anna was the fan's girlfriend. The artist stated that the song is easy to understand and sing, even when the person does not speak Swedish language. The Swedish word "bot" ("bot") was frequently mistaken for "boat" ("båt"). The double meaning of the word "kanal" – which can refer to an IRC channel, as well as a water

canal Canals or artificial waterways are waterways or engineered channels built for drainage management (e.g. flood control and irrigation) or for conveyancing water transport vehicles (e.g. water taxi). They carry free, calm surface ...

, added to the confusion. "Boten Anna" has a tempo of 140

beats per minute Beat, beats, or beating may refer to: Common uses * Assault, inflicting physical harm or unwanted physical contact * Battery (crime), a criminal offense involving unlawful physical contact * Battery (tort), a civil wrong in common law of in ...

and is written in the key of

A minor A minor is a minor scale based on A, B, C, D, E, F, and G. Its key signature has no flats or sharps. Its relative major is C major and its parallel major is A major. The A natural minor scale is: Changes needed for the melodic ...

Release

Basshunter recorded "Boten Anna" in March 2006 in one night over the course of six hours. He made it available on his website for free download. The song has been downloaded 37,000 times in within twenty-four hours. Access to the full article is possible by paid subscription. With this success, Basshunter received several proposals from managers and music labels. Swedish DJ and party organizer Joakim Jarny contacted Basshunter via

and Jarny was soon overwhelmed by hundreds of requests from club owners in Sweden, Norway and Denmark who wanted Basshunter to perform at their clubs. Jarny contacted his friend Henrik Uhlmann at Extensive Music Click on "Klicka för att läsa vidare". In the unarchived version, access to the article is possible after purchase or by paid subscription. and in April 2006, Basshunter signed with Extensive Music and

Warner Music Sweden Warner Music Sweden AB (previously Metronome Records) is a Swedish record company and label, a subsidiary of Warner Music Group. The Swedish division of WMG is a successor to Metronome Records, which was established in 1949 by Anders Burman, Lar ...

. On 9 May 2006, "Boten Anna" was officially released as a single. By 8 June 2006, the song had been downloaded over one million times. In that year, Basshunter moved to

Malmö Malmö is the List of urban areas in Sweden by population, third-largest city in Sweden, after Stockholm and Gothenburg, and the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, sixth-largest city in Nordic countries, the Nordic region. Located on ...

, where the headquarters of Extensive Music are located. In the unarchived version, access to the article is possible by paid subscription. "Boten Anna" was included on Basshunter's second studio album ''

''. Basshunter said that it is impossible to record a whole album in style of "Boten Anna", or it would take him a very long time, and he wanted to show that he is able to mix different styles. Basshunter said that he wanted to continue recording Swedish songs until he had six or seven songs in Swedish which satisfied him and then he wanted to translate them into English language.

Music video

Three days were allotted for the production of the music video for "Boten Anna". The music video to the song deliberately plays on double meanings. It shows Basshunter riding a pedal boat in

. Music video features text-based chat system for instant messaging

Reception

An editor from '' Sundsvalls Tidning'' compared "Boten Anna" to songs " Hej hej Monika" by Nic & the Family and "

Axel F "Axel F" is an electronic instrumental track by German musician Harold Faltermeyer. The track served as the theme tune to the film '' Beverly Hills Cop'', its eponymous character, and the film franchise it is based on, and became an interna ...

" by

Crazy Frog Crazy Frog (originally known as The Annoying Thing) is a Swedish CGI-animated character and Eurodance musician created in 2003 by actor and playwright Erik Wernquist. Marketed by the ringtone provider Jamba!, the character was originally creat ...

. Christopher Lembke from Ystads Allehanda said that "

Crazy Insanity, madness, lunacy, and craziness are behaviors caused by certain abnormal mental or behavioral patterns. Insanity can manifest as violations of societal norms, including a person or persons becoming a danger to themselves or to other ...

" by

Gnarls Barkley Gnarls Barkley is an American soul music, soul duo composed of singer-songwriter CeeLo Green and producer Danger Mouse (musician), Danger Mouse. They released their debut studio album, ''St. Elsewhere (album), St. Elsewhere'', in 2006. It contai ...

is the only good song which can compete with "Boten Anna" for radio listeners' favor this summer. Brynjar Mår from FM957 recommended the song and said that "Boten Anna" is a hilarious dance song and has an addictive melody. Uffe Jørgensen from '' B.T.'' that "Boten Anna" consists of equal parts Swedish sense of pop and hard-hitting beats reminiscent of 90s hits such as " Mr. Vain" by

Culture Beat Culture Beat is a German Eurodance project formed in 1989 by Torsten Fenslau. The act has gone through a number of lineup changes over the years; they achieved the most success whilst fronted by singer Tania Evans and rapper Jay Supreme. Their 1 ...

. In 2010 Danish musician Henrik Marstal described "Boten Anna" as a model summer hit and explained that in the past, the summer hit was something that people bet on a lot and it was a matter of having a song that could hit the mark and live for a single summer. Tom Jerry Boman in his ranking of summer hits for Mitt i described "Boten Anna" as the most unlikely summer torment of all time but he noted it is both festive and gives

nerd A nerd is a person seen as overly intellectual, obsessive, introverted, or lacking social skills. Such a person may spend inordinate amounts of time on unpopular, little known, or non-mainstream activities, which are generally either highly t ...

s a certain amount of fresh feeling. In 2018 Finnish singer Nelli Matula admitted in the publication that she did not know that the song is not about a boat but about a bot which caused discussion of the lyrics and Anna Abreu, Laura Friman and Kimmo Sainio also admitted not understanding the lyrics. In 2007, Birgitte Söndergaard and Johan Andersson danced to the song on Swedish television series '' Let's Dance''. This year also saw the release of the computer game '' Singstar Pop Hits'', the Scandinavian version of which includes the song "Boten Anna". "Boten Anna" was played in 2015 during The Gathering LAN party. In 2019 "Boten Anna" was ranked seventh in ''

Gaffa ''Gaffa'' (stylized as ''GAFFA'') is a free Nordic music magazine with local editions in Denmark, Norway, and Sweden. ''Gaffa'' is Denmark's largest and oldest music magazine. It has been published since 1983 and has 320,000 print readers and 75 ...

'' poll for song that is the biggest summer torment. 2022 song "Vandraren" by Daniela Rathana was inspired by "Boten Anna". In 2023 "Boten Anna" was fourth the most streamed Swedish language song in

Spotify Spotify (; ) is a List of companies of Sweden, Swedish Music streaming service, audio streaming and media service provider founded on 23 April 2006 by Daniel Ek and Martin Lorentzon. , it is one of the largest providers of music streaming services ...

with 99 million streams.

Chart performance

"Boten Anna" entered

Swedish singles chart 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 s ...

at number three on 8 June 2006 and peaked in its ninth week at number one. It was certified Platinum and became the fourth single of the year. The song sold 60,000 copies in Sweden. In

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

"Boten Anna" debuted at number two on 23 June then peaked at number one on the next week and spent a total of 14 consecutive weeks at number one becoming the second single of the year. It was sold in 27,000 copies and 23,000 ringtones in 2006. "Boten Anna" was certified triple Platinum in the beginning of 2007. "Boten Anna" entered

Dutch singles chart The Dutch Top 40 () is a weekly music chart compiled by ''Stichting Nederlandse Top 40''. It started as a radio program titled "Veronica Top 40", on the offshore station Radio Veronica in 1965. It remained "The Veronica Top 40" until 1974, w ...

on 29 July and it peaked at second place on 19 August, where it spent six consecutive weeks at number two. On 16 and 23 September Basshunter's "Boten Anna" was at second place while Gebroeders Ko version was third. "Boten Anna" peaked at number one the on Swedish and Norwegian

ringtone A ringtone is the sound made by a telephone to indicate an incoming telephone call. Originally referring to the sound of electromechanical striking of bells or gongs, the term refers to any sound by any device alerting of an incoming call. On p ...

s chart. In December "Boten Anna" entered Austrian singles chart and peaked at number two in 2007. Song spent 39 weeks on chart and was certified Gold. "Boten Anna" charted at number 30 on

European Hot 100 Singles 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 ...

Track listing

* CD single (9 May 2006) # "Boten Anna" (Radio Mix) – 3:29 # "Boten Anna" (Club Mix) – 5:26 * CD single (4 September 2006) # "Boten Anna" (Radio Edit) – 3:29 # "Boten Anna" (Club Remix) – 5:26 # "Boten Anna" (DJ Micro Spankin Club Remix) – 5:30 # "Boten Anna" (Backslash Fluffy Style Remix) – 4:40 # "Boten Anna" (SkillsToPayTheBills Remix) – 4:34 # "Boten Anna" (Instrumental) – 3:20

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Awards

Gebroeders Ko version

Background

Dutch duo Gebroeders Ko recorded bootleg version of "Boten Anna", which was released on 7 July 2006. This version tells about a boat named Anna. Basshunter treated the song as a tribute. On 17 November "Sinterklaas boot (Boten Anna)" version was released.

Track listing

Chart performance

In the

Netherlands , Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...

, a spoof of the song entered the chart on 22 July 2006 at number 48 and peaked at number 3 on 16 and 23 September. The song became the 14th single of the year. In Belgian Flanders the song entered on 21 November and peaked at number eight on 16 December. In November another spoof of the song by Gebroeders Ko, charted in the Dutch chart. "Sinterklaas Boot (Boten Anna)" entered Dutch chart on 4 November and peaked at number two on 2 December. This version of "Boten Anna" is about the boat of

Sinterklaas Sinterklaas () or Sint-Nicolaas () is a legendary figure based on Saint Nicholas, patron saint of children. Other Dutch names for the figure include ''De Sint'' ("The Saint"), ''De Goede Sint'' ("The Good Saint") and ''De Goedheiligman'' (derive ...

Charts

Year-end charts

"Now You're Gone"

An English version of "Boten Anna" titled "Now You're Gone", sung by Sebastian Westwood using unrelated lyrics by DJ Mental Theo's Bazzheadz which was originally released in 2006, became the music to a video by Basshunter with the same title in November 2007. The video and the track were met with world chart success and became the most requested record in summer holiday resorts around Europe in early 2008. As people returning from their holidays wanted to hear it again, TV channels in the UK were inundated with requests for the video. On 13 January 2008, "Now You're Gone" entered number one in the UK Singles Chart and spent five weeks at the top of the chart, ending

Leon Jackson Leon Jackson (born 30 December 1988) is a Scottish singer. He won the The X Factor (British series 4), fourth series of the British talent show ''The X Factor (British TV series), The X Factor'' in 2007. Following his win, Jackson was the main ...

's three-week run with "

When You Believe "When You Believe" is a song made for the 1998 DreamWorks Pictures, DreamWorks musical animated feature ''The Prince of Egypt'', with music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz. A pop single version of "When You Believe" performed by American singers ...

". In the sixth week after the song's release it was knocked off the top by Welsh singer Duffy, with her song "

Mercy Mercy (Middle English, from Anglo-French , from Medieval Latin , "price paid, wages", from Latin , "merchandise") is benevolence, forgiveness, and kindness in a variety of ethical, religious, social, and legal contexts. In the social and le ...

"Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)"

Background

The previous

single, "End the Lies", released on 2 September 2022, was a collaboration with Italian duo . In 2023 Basshunter collaborated with Victor Leksell on "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)". The previous Leksell single "Fånga mig när jag faller" was released on 28 April, and reached number three on

. "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)" was written by Basshunter and Victor Leksell, and produced by Basshunter, Pontus Persson and

Robert Uhlmann Robert Erik Uhlmann (born 14 March 1968) is a Swedish media executive and composer who has written/produced music for the artists Dr. Alban, Jonny Jakobsen, Arash (singer), Arash, Basshunter, Margaret (singer), Margaret, Samantha Fox, Shaggy (m ...

. Leksell was in talks with Basshunter about working together and originally Basshunter was supposed to remix his 2020 song " Svag", but instead of it they recorded "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)". "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)" was recorded during one weekend in Dubai's studio. Basshunter praised Viktor Leksell and described him as very talented person. Viktor Leksell said that the song goes well with other songs on his set list, and he will play it live, however Liselott Lindberg from LiveNews.se noticed that Leksell did not play the song during

Lollapalooza Lollapalooza () is an annual American four-day music festival held in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park in Chicago. It originally started as a touring event in 1991, with Chicago becoming its permanent location beginning in 2005. Music genres i ...

in Stockholm. Basshunter said that he doesn't have any concert scheduled in Sweden during summer, but he stated that it is possible for him to perform during Leksell's summer festival tour. The next Leksell single "Stor man" is a collaboration with Danish singer Tobias Rahim and was released on 7 July. On 28 July Victor Leksell sang the song at the Amaze Festival in Smögen.

Reception and chart performance

Tali da Silva from ''

Sveriges Television Sveriges Television AB ("Sweden's Television aktiebolag, Stock Company"), shortened to SVT (), is the Sweden, Swedish national public broadcasting, public television broadcaster, funded by a public service tax on personal income set by the Riksd ...

'' stated that Victor Leksell made a joke about the original lyrics by singing about the boat at the beginning. Karin Pihl from ''

Göteborgs-Posten (), abbreviated GP, is a major Swedish language, Swedish-language daily newspaper published in Gothenburg, Sweden. History and profile was first published in 1813, but ceased publication in 1822. It re-appeared in 1850. Publication seven day ...

'' described "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)" as slickly produced version with "silly, buttery vocals and without the brain-dead gaming charm". On 30 June 2023 "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)" entered the Swedish singles chart at number 10. Lars Nylin from Musikindustrin described it as the strongest news of the week. On next week it peaked at number fourth. In the third week on chat of "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)" Victor Leksell's next single "Stor man" debuted on 15th position on Swedish chart. "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)" is the first Basshunter single which entered Swedish chart since " Fest i hela huset" from 2011. Song spent 13 weeks on chart.

Track listing

Personnel

Credits User has to click on the three dots on the right of the track to access its credits. * Writer – Basshunter, Victor Leksell, Pontus Persson * Producer – Basshunter, Pontus Persson,

Charts

Other versions

In 2006 company JME Data used "Boten Anna" with different lyrics for their advertisement. An Israeli band called Hovevey Zion (חובבי ציון) spoofed "Boten Anna" with their popular single, "Rotze banot" (רוצה בנות, meaning "I Want Girls"). "Dicke Anna" by was released on 20 April 2007. It charted on singles chart in

Austria Austria, formally the Republic of Austria, is a landlocked country in Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine Federal states of Austria, states, of which the capital Vienna is the List of largest cities in Aust ...

and

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

. In 2010 Swedish band Torgny Melins released '' Dansbandsnatt'' studio album which cointaned cover of "Boten Anna". ''Dansbandsnatt'' peaked at number two on

Swedish albums chart 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 s ...

. In 2021 "Boten Anna" was covered by Finnish Millennium Project.

References

External links

* {{Authority control 2006 songs 2006 singles Basshunter songs Dutch Top 40 number-one singles Fiction about artificial intelligence Number-one singles in Denmark Number-one singles in Sweden Song recordings produced by Basshunter Songs based on actual events Songs written by Basshunter Songs in Swedish Warner Music Sweden singles

Lyrics and composition

Release

Music video

Reception

Chart performance

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

Awards

Gebroeders Ko version

Background

Track listing

Chart performance

Charts

Year-end charts

"Now You're Gone"

"Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)"

Background

Reception and chart performance

Track listing

Personnel

Charts

Other versions

See also

References

External links