After coming third in Melodifestivalen 2016 with her song “Don’t Worry”, Ace Wilder has returned with her new single “Selfish”. It’s a different sound from the dance-pop of her previous singles, this time offering a cool tropical house sound with a laid-back feeling.
Selfishness has been a recurring theme in Ace Wilder’s songs. “Busy Doin’ Nothin'” was a parody of the perceived lazy and selfish attitudes of millennials, while “Don’t Worry” was a self-help guide for people whose selfish lifestyle (“dressed as a clown you show up drunk and high in church”) had got them in trouble.
“Selfish” takes another angle, looking at relationships. It’s a kiss-off to a troubled coupling, and on the surface, it seems like Ace is being nasty: “I love to see you cry/Better you than I”.
But look a little closer and there’s some fragility in there. It turns out Ace is preemptively breaking up her relationship in order to avoid potential heartbreak in future. “I don’t like that you might end up leaving,” she explains, so to avoid this she has decided, “I’ll be the first to go”.
The song comes with a video shot in one take. Ace, looking super glammed up, walks through a building, giving blue steel to the camera. All around her are partygoers, but the sexy cool of the beginning slowly turns into a more uneasy feelings and chaos creeps in, echoing the emotional turmoil of the song.
Ace Wilder – “Selfish” (official video)
Ace Wilder – “Selfish” (lyrics)
Oh, the moment I said it I knew it
The words too strong
I’ve stayed too long
I don’t like that you might end up leaving
I’ll be the first to go
Cos we both know
I love to see you cry
Better you than I
I love you see you cry
Love you see you cry
Cos I’m selfish
Don’t care about anybody else
Don’t care about anybody else
Cos I’m selfish
Cos I’m selfish
Don’t care about anybody
Prove it to myself
I don’t care about anybody else
I regret it the moment I said it
But it’s my pride
That tells this lie
I can’t count all the hearts that I’ve broken
I saw the first to go
Cos we both know
I love to see you cry
Better you than I
I love you see you cry
Love you see you cry
Cos I’m selfish
Don’t care about anybody else
Don’t care about anybody else
Cos I’m selfish
Cos I’m selfish
Don’t care about anybody
Prove it to myself
I don’t care about anybody else
La-la-love you so so so
But I’m much better on my own
Ha-ha-hate me if you wish
It’s so hard being this selfish
La-la-love you so so so
But I’m much better on my own
Ha-ha-hate me if you wish
It’s so hard being this selfish
Cos I’m selfish
Don’t care about anybody else
Don’t care about anybody else
Cos I’m selfish
Cos I’m selfish
Don’t care about anybody
Prove it to myself
I don’t care about anybody else
Don’t care about anybody
Anybody else
Ace should win Melodifestivalen in this year but people voted for Frans:(
Love it. More pleas!
Her lyrics are so clever 😀
This is not one of her best songs, maybe she’s holding back the good stuff for next year’s MF ;-).
She’s a very charismatic performer. In my opinion, her songs sound quite bland at first listen, but once you dig into them you might find out that they’re quite cleverly written.
Boring. 🙁
Nobody does lyrics quite like Ace Wilder!
I love this! Quality pop star material, and so unique at the same time. I’m constantly expecting for a big finish that never comes – but I’m not disappointed!