And so we come to the most famous of the should've beens so far. The A*Teens were an act put together to do an album of Abba covers and give them a modern up to date pop vibe. Seeing as you really can't improve on what Abba did with the songs, this was a bit of a useless folly, but luckily the A*Teens turned into a great pop act that rivals Steps and S-Club. And therein lies the should've been – the climate was ideal for pop acts circa 2001, and yet A*Teens were unfairly branded as kiddie bubblegum pop and failed to break out of the pre-teen Disney mode that would've ensured bigger success. As I kind of ignored their debut, we'll start with their first album of original material. Lead off single Upside Down was a frothy slice of goodness that would've been right at home on cd:uk, but it was second single Halfway Round The World that really grabbed my attention. It just seemed more solid and rounded and hitworthy, plus sported a great video that I was obsessed with for about 2 weeks. It briefly flirted with the UK top twenty but didn't do the business that it should have. And the album Teen Spirit (no smells like for these clean cut youngsters) was packed with music that just stood for what it was – unpretentious pop genius. Sugar Rush and FireFly were lovely mid tempo moments while Princess Diaries gave us a ballad, Heartbreak Lullaby which was soon remixed into dancey pop goodness. Second album Pop Til Ya Drop was more cohesive than the fun Teen Spirit and kicked off with an elvis cover (I Can't help Falling In Love With You) from the movie Lilo And Stitch. Perhaps not the wisest move as it just reinforced the kindergarten Disney tag. However, other tracks like the stomping FloorFiller and energetic Slam, showed they could throw down with acts like Sugababes and produce some quality pop. Hi and Goodbye and In The Blink Of An Eye were great ballads that showcased the softer side of Sears. Er, I mean the group ;) Third and final album (remember I'm discounting the debut) New Arrival was some tracks from their last album, but enough new ones to make it worthwhile. The set is a grand tour of pop music from lively and catchy floorfillers to slow and romantic ballads. If I had been picking singles from this album, I would have led off with their amazing version of One Night In Bangkok (equally as enjoyable as Steps Tragedy and Chain Reaction covers) and followed it up with Shame Shame Shame, which would have slotted in nicely with several disco covers in the charts at the time (Atomic Kitten's Ladies Night and Blue's Signed Sealed Delivered to name but a few). Perfect Match was the 00s version of Opposites Attract and just as catchy while Let your Heart Do All The Talking is swede pop at it's finest. A greatest hits followed, Dhani tried to go solo, Maria succeeded and the time for their music passed. But it sure was a lot of fun while they were around :) Here's how the greatest hits should have looked…
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Upside Down
Halfway Round The World (mp3)
Firefly
Sugar Rush
Around The Corner Of Your Eye
Heartbreak Lullaby
I Can't Help Falling In Love With You
Floorfiller
Hi And Goodbye (mp3)
Slam
In The Blink Of An Eye
One Night In Bangkok (mp3)
Shame Shame Shame
Let Your Heart Do All The Talking
Perfect Match
I Promised Myself
With or Without You
The Final Cut
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LINK: Buy A*Teens greatest hits cd
LINK: Buy Maria Serneholt's Enjoy The Ride cd
