“Heal,” Loreen’s first studio album, hits stores later this month. Fortunately Loreen’s people gave Deban Aderemi, a London-based correspondent for WiwiBloggs.Com, an advanced copy. Here’s what he thought of the Eurovision winner’s big debut.
The wait is over! On October 24 Loreen’s hotly anticipated debut album “Heal” gets its international release.
The stampede to the music store will be completely justified. In many respects, “Heal” is a work of art. Loreen showcases a variety of singing styles whilst at the same time remaining faithful to the current craze: Euro-dance tracks with a commercial sound.
Swedes will be familiar with many of the tracks, including “Sober,” “Crying Out Your Name,” and “My Heart Is Refusing Me.” Loreen’s success at Eurovision helped turn each of these into domestic hits. And many of the other tracks have garnered heavy airplay in the run up to the album’s release.
That’s great. But the question on everyone’s mind is how much impact “Heal” will have outside of Sweden. Pop music is time sensitive and, sadly, highly disposable. Loreen’s album is six months later than expected. Many of her fellow Eurovision participants promoted their albums in Baku along with their Eurovision songs. Will the buying public hold fire for what seems an eternity? Only time will tell.
The consolation here is that each of the 12 songs on this album are gems in their own right. Loreen does dance music to perfection, and despite the heavily produced instrumentation, her vocals remain stark and she remains in total control. When she strips it down on the slower songs, the result is epic. Loreen sings with passion and a level of conviction and ease that pre-dates her era, harking back to American divas like Whitney and Mariah.
Best of all, she never lets her success compromise her passion. Her attitude to fame and pop culture is refreshing. She produces music on her own terms, and retains creative control over the whole process.
Was “Heal” worth the wait? Absolutely. As singles off this album climb the charts at home—and potentially abroad—they’ll remind you all why you need to own this piece of art.
Here’s a sneak peak of the song, “In My Head”
I´ve just bought her album, “Heal” in Spain… I love it. What a voice, what a sound… she´s so special… I hope she keeps doing other albums… she´s totally different.
Last time I checked, “Heal” has done surprisingly well in the U.K., currently reaching no. 62 on the iTunes top 100 albums.
I’m surprised that nobody commented so far… Perhaps nobody’s got it yet?
It’s a stellar album, indeed, full of gems; each song is a masterpiece.