We interviewed Anna Abreu this week. She’s been on our radar for quite while now, but it wasn’t until last month that we really fell in love with her. The reason? Her third album to be released in her native Finland, ‘Just A Pretty Face?’. It’s an epic collection of uptempo club tracks. Heavy on synths, loaded with beats, and abundant in basslines! And on top of the music are delightfully catchy melodies and often quite brilliant lyrics. Definitely one of our favourite albums of the year so far.
Before that, she had two other albums; ‘Anna Abreu’ and ‘Now’. Both enjoyable affairs that spawned two excellent singles that brought Anna to our attention; ‘Ivory Tower’ from the former, and ‘Vinegar’ from the latter. And even before those albums she was a well known name in Finland. Aged 16, she competed in the Finnish version of the Idol television show, where she finished as first runner up.
On top of all this, she was signed to a UK record label a few months back. ‘Vinegar’ was cherry picked as the first single, it was given a slick new remix, and as it happens, is released this week – it’s currently available to buy on UK iTunes! In the New Year, the UK is getting the ‘Not Just A Pretty Face?’ album, with ‘Music Everywhere’ (the lead single from the album back in Finland), as the second single from Anna.
So we were looking forward to having a chat with her and asking her all about everything. With her being 19 years old, we weren’t quite sure what to expect. But we certainly didn’t expect to be conversing with the girl that Anna turned out to be! Very mature, highly articulate, extremely polite, and with a crystal clear vision of what she wants. She loves her music, is fiercely proud of it, but still understands the obstacles that pop music so often has to overcome to be accepted by people. Her attitude and outlook are commendable. And with her being only 19 years old yet having had three years in music, it made us realise just how quickly these children from music reality shows have to grow up. It seems to be a bit of a sink or swim option, and after speaking with Anna, we’re pretty certain that she’s going to be around for quite some time to come! We just hope that her new love affair with club music lasts just as long!
Here she is;
scandipop: Hello Anna, how are you?
Anna: I’m fine thank you, how are you?
scandipop: Good thanks. What are you up to at the moment?
Anna: I’m just hanging out really. I was in the hairdressers earlier because I don’t have any work today.
scandipop: Ah so you’re looking pretty for us then!
Anna: Ha ha, yeah I guess.
scandipop: So, you’ve now released three albums in Finland, but this week ‘Vinegar’ is your debut single released in the UK. Are you feeling pretty excited about this new chapter in your career?
Anna: Oh most definitely. I’ve been working so hard during my time in Finland. I’m really surprised and actually really thankful at the same time that there has been some interest in my music in the UK, since it’s such a great and competitive market. So I’m really happy and excited, yeah.
scandipop: You’ve been a successful recording artist in Finland for quite a while now. Were you starting to get frustrated at not being launched internationally, or were you more than happy to continue your career solely in your home country?
Anna: No, I wasn’t getting frustrated. I wanted to wait until I was completely ready for this kind of a big move. I didn’t want to do anything without proper thinking, and just preparing myself. So I’m really happy I did that at this time, because now I’m completely ready to do it.
scandipop: Yeah, you’ve got so much experience behind you now.
Anna: Exactly. Not SO much, but three years and three albums and many many concerts. I’ve improved so much from my time on Idol and now I feel I’m ready for the big step!
scandipop: Ok. Have the Finnish media been reporting your UK launch, and are they proud of you?
Anna: Oh yeah! My promoter sent them an announcement about my 21st place in the UK dance chart, and now they’re getting really excited about it. I think the majority of the people at home really want to believe in me and be proud of me. But of course there are sceptic people and there are people that don’t believe in me. But mostly, people are really excited for me and happy for me.
scandipop: Good, cos it’s been a while since a Finnish act has got big in the UK hasn’t it?
Anna: Yeah it has. And especially an artist doing pop music. It’s really difficult for a pop artist to be released in the UK or elsewhere in the world. Nobody ever looks to pop music for that sort of thing.
scandipop: Yeah that’s true. Off the top of my head I can only think of The Rasmus who are of course rock, and then Darude and Bomfunk MC’s from years back, but they were dance! So it’s good to have a pop export.
Anna: Yeah, and I’m so happy about that.
scandipop: Aside from the UK, are there any current plans to release your music elsewhere in the world?
Anna: Erm, no we don’t have any current plans yet, but the other Scandinavian countries have been really interested, so I hope something comes up. But I’m not sure yet.
scandipop: Ok. So, how do you think the new version of ‘Vinegar’ compares to the original?
Anna: Oh I love the remix! I think it’s great and really fresh, and it’s nice to hear new and updated versions of my songs, I love that the feeling. Yeah, it’s great.
scandipop: Yeah I guess if you’ve been singing the same version of the song for the last eighteen months, it’s nice to have a different edit to freshen things up for you.
Anna: Oh yeah, believe me. I really love the remix because now I can listen to the song and I don’t feel ‘’oh, turn it off’’! Now I can listen to it in a new way and it’s really great. I think it’s really British too, which is good. I think that the British like that kind of sound more over there, so hopefully they’ll like the new version.
scandipop: So now when you tour around Finland and perform, do you sing the new version, or do you still sing the older version?
Anna: I have been singing the old version, because I have a live band when I’m on tour, so it’s a bit difficult to get that kind of sound. But yeah, we also have a DJ on tour so maybe we could learn the new version and sing that.
scandipop: Yeah you’re going on tour aren’t you?
Anna: Well I’m on tour now actually. Here in Finland it’s quite different, because you’re doing many many concerts all year round. It’s not like you do it all in one month and then have one month off. I do it all year round. And I think this year maybe I have only one or two months off where I’m not touring.
scandipop: It was announced this week that ‘Vinegar’ will be followed in the UK by the release of ‘Music Everywhere’ as a single, and then the ‘Not Just A Pretty Face’ album. Will you come over to promote it?
Anna: Oh I would definitely love to go because I’ve never been in the UK. And if everything goes well and I have the opportunity to, then I will do it without a doubt! But we don’t know yet and I don’t want to expect more than what maybe happens you know. I want just to see what happens, but I really hope that I can go there and promote my album because it would be great to meet my fans over there. If I have any fans over there (laughs)! It would be so great. I’m really happy about the ‘Just A Pretty Face’ release because it’s my favourite album of them all. I want people in the UK to hear my third album.
scandipop: I do too! It’s a really great album, so current.
Anna: I think so too. And the ‘Music Everywhere’ single has been played so much in Finland too, so I’m really pleased with everything.
scandipop: The new album has got a solid, club feel to it, which is a first for one your albums, they’ve previously been quite r&b/pop. Do you think you’ll settle on this kind of dance music for future albums too?
Anna: I don’t know yet, because I always go with the flow and do what I feel like doing. So I don’t know exactly what I’m gonna do next, but I think it’s going to be something like this. I can promise that my next album will have that club vibe and also lots of rhythm for sure, so don’t worry about that! But I don’t know whether it’s gonna be dance or some other kind of club music, but it’s gonna have rhythm so don’t worry (laughs).
scandipop: Good, lots of basslines and beats yeah?
Anna: Yeah yeah yeah! Great beats. That’s for sure!
scandipop: Cool. Was the dance music direction your decision, or was it something that was suggested and presented to you, by maybe your management or the label?
Anna: Yeah, it was my decision. I don’t think I’d be able to do anything if I was pressurised into it, you know. I think that people notice those kinds of things. If you don’t do it from the heart and just do it because people ask you to, then people see that. And I’ve always done what I’ve felt like doing, and now I feel like doing this. So nobody presented or suggested it to me, I just wanted to do it.
scandipop: Ok. What’s gonna be the second single from the album in Finland?
Anna: It’ll be ‘Impatient’.
scandipop: Good stuff! Your career started through the Idol television show. Do you have happy memories of your time on the show?
Anna: Yeah of course! I think it was great and all, but I’m really happy that I don’t have to do it again, you know. It was so nerve wrecking back then. I was just a little girl on the stage and I didn’t know anything about the real world! But (laughs) believe me, you learn quickly with that kind of pressure! I met many great people and learned a lot there so of course it’s a part of what brought me here. I wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for Idol. So I’m really happy that I did go through it and I have happy memories.
scandipop: You were only 16 at the time weren’t you?
Anna: Yeah, I was only 16 and little. And I didn’t know anything about anything, but I learned quickly. In one year, I grew up ten years, you know! It’s a great school for this kind of job, Idol. Because everything comes so quickly, you have to learn everything quickly. And if you don’t learn, then you just drop out of the competition.
scandipop: Well, well done – you obviously chose to learn!
Anna: (laughs) I hope so!
scandipop: Obviously Idol has catapulted you to massive success, but have you encountered any experiences yet where the Idol connection has closed any doors on you?
Anna: Yeah I think so. Finland is a very rock and heavy metal country. And so this kind of music and this kind of competition can close many doors for you, because people don’t take you that seriously. But I think that they are now starting to take me seriously because of my platinum albums and because they see I have become a real artist, you know. But I just do my own thing, and if someone doesn’t like it, I don’t take it personally.
scandipop: I think that you’ve certainly proved yourself as an artist now, that third album is so strong. And it’s a world away from what Idol participants are usually given to record straight after they finish on the show.
Anna: I think the third album is so much more like adult music than the first album. So I see the progression from the first album to the third. I think I have proved that I’ve grown up as an artist from the little girl I was, and I’ve learned how to understand other things like how to handle the media, and all these other important things that I didn’t know then. I feel that’s why people have now started taking me seriously in comparison to my first album.
scandipop: Would you ever follow your fellow Finnish Idol graduate, Hanna Pakarinen, into the Eurovision Song Contest?
Anna: I have to say no, because I don’t think it’s my kind of thing. And I think no Finnish artist has upgraded their career from that competition. I think they maybe they have for a couple of months afterwards, but then…..I don’t know. The image of the Eurovision Song Contest here in Finland is not that good. And like I said, I wouldn’t do a song contest again, because it’s so never wrecking and I would rather compete with other artists all over the world and in Finland and in the UK. I feel like I wouldn’t go to a song contest again. It’s not my thing.
scandipop: You’re happy just doing what you’re doing now yeah?
Anna: Exactly, I’m happy doing what I do now. I just want people to like my music, rather than having to compete against others in a contest. But it is a good promoting tool, if you want to promote your album all over the world. I just don’t think that the image suits me that well.
scandipop: Are you a fan of it though, do you watch it?
Anna: Oh yeah definitely, I usually watch it most years.
scandipop: Ok. There’s been a recent influx of Scandinavian pop music into the UK. And Scandinavian producers like Red One, Max Martin, Dr Luke and Stargate are producing so much of the world’s pop music at the moment. What is it, do you think, that makes Scandinavian musicians make pop music so well?
Anna: I think that Scandinavian musicians, just maybe do it differently. I think it’s not better or worse than say in the UK or US, there are just many different ways and styles of making pop music. And also, even within Scandinavia, Swedish pop music is very different to Finnish pop music. Finnish is more melancholic and Swedish pop music is all, you know, not as dark. But I think that Scandinavians definitely have a different point of view. I don’t know if it’s better or worse, I’m a bit blinded because I’m living it. But it can be good everywhere in the world, if you make it good.
scandipop: Are there any particular singers, writers, or producers that you’d like to work with for your next album?
Anna: Oh there are so many of them! But most are almost impossible for them to get to work with me, because they are such big stars. But maybe someday, you never know. But there’s one particular, a Scandinavian rapper called Adam Tensta that I really like. He’s got a great flow, he’s really great. So maybe one day I will do something with him, you never know.
scandipop: But either way, it looks like 2010 is gonna be quite exciting for you isn’t it?
Anna: Yes, it definitely is going to be exciting. And I can’t wait!