1995 single by Ace of Base
"Beautiful Life" is a song by Swedish band Ace of Base, released on October 20, 1995 from their second album, The Bridge (1995).[1] In North America, it was the first single released from the album; in Europe, it followed "Lucky Love" as the second single. Co-written by band member Jonas Berggren and produced by him with Denniz Pop and Max Martin, the single reached number 15 on both the US Billboard Hot 100 and the UK Singles Chart in December 1995.[2] It reached number one on the Canadian RPM Dance/Urban chart and Billboard's Hot Dance Club Play chart. In 2017, BuzzFeed ranked "Beautiful Life" number 51 in their list of The 101 Greatest Dance Songs Of the '90s.[3]
Background and release
"I was at the Canary Islands in Spain, and the last evening I just heard the song ‘Beautiful Life’ in my head. I have the ability to hear three different melodies in my head at the same time — it’s very helpful while composing songs. Melody, bass and a flute on a chorus for example. It was melancholic to leave the islands and it was a wonderful evening, with the mood and sunset. It was a beautiful life!"
—Jonas Berggren talking to Idolator about how the song was made.[4]
The song was written on January 1, 1994 by band member Jonas Berggren while he was in the Canary Islands. At the time, "The Sign" had reached number one on the US Billboard Hot 100 chart, which inspired him to write the song. On a late flight home he heard some chords, and started humming, and there the song was made. He had to record it swiftly so he wouldn't forget it. Berggren incorporated gospel elements into the song and the roof-raising gospel singing toward the end was made by a four-piece female group that Denniz Pop had. They tracked those vocals many times over for maximum soulful impact.[5]
In a 2018 interview, Ulf Ekberg said that Michael Jackson, after asking to meet the band when they performed "Beautiful Life" at World Music Awards in Monaco, told them that he thought that it was the best song that he had heard in many years.[6]
Critical reception
J.D. Considine from The Baltimore Sun described "Beautiful Life" as "techno-tinged", adding that it "tempers its impetuous pulse and seemingly happy message with a memorably sad melody."[7] Larry Flick from Billboard deemed it a "jaunty, incredibly catchy li'l ditty that indulges in Euro-NRG dance rhythms while continuing to mine the ABBA-esque pop melodies". He stated that "even the act's detractors will find it impossible to resist the sugar-coated confection, with shoulder-shaking percussion and sing-along chorus."[8] Steve Baltin from Cash Box called it "ridiculous",[9] noting that "for this track, the quartet has jumped into this decade with a rocking dance beat that embodies the group's European heritage."[10] The Daily Vault's Michael R. Smith declared it as a "high-octane techno gem".[11] Dave Sholin from the Gavin Report commented, "Those asking the musical question—can Ace Of Base repeat? The answer is Yes! Yes! Yes!"[12] Pan-European magazine Music & Media said the song has a "hyper-kinetic rhythm topped off by a killer hook that's part of your system before you realise it."[13] A reviewer from Music Week rated it three out of five, noting the band's "switch from light reggae to pure Europop" and describing it as "uplifting but unremarkable."[14]
Neil Strauss from The New York Times felt it is "pure treacly pleasure, with bubbling keyboards and a fast, chirpy rhythm that will inspire most listeners to forget that the 70's ever ended and accept the chorus – "It's a beautiful life"—for one night of disco-era hedonism."[15] Bob Waliszewski of Plugged In viewed it as "a joyful admonition to hang tough when times get hard."[16] J.D. Considine for Spin magazine noted in a writeup about The Bridge that "the real genius of Ace of Base lies not with perky singing... but with the ability to make melancholy sound so damned appealing." The evaluation continues to narrow in scope as he continues to say "even the cheerfully titled 'Beautiful life' dampens its club-savvy stomp with a heartbreaking minor key chorus."[17] A reviewer from People Magazine opined that it "offers a blast of jumpy techno".[18] Chuck Campbell from Scripps Howard News Service said that it is "contagious" and "a high-energy dance song that rings with unbridled optimism (and eschews the reggae cadence of the group's previous American hits)." He added that "the Berggren sisters sing in ABBA-esque exclamation points on the song."[19]
Chart performance
"Beautiful Life" was very successful worldwide, reaching number-one both on the RPM Dance/Urban chart in Canada and the Billboard Hot Dance Club Play chart in the United States. In Europe, it made it to the top 10 in Denmark, Finland, France, Hungary and Lithuania, as well as on the Eurochart Hot 100 and MTV's European Top 20, where it hit number nine and eight. Additionally, the single was a top 20 hit in Belgium, Germany, Ireland, Scotland and the United Kingdom. In the latter, it peaked at number 15 in its second week at the UK Singles Chart, on January 28, 1996.[20] Outside Europe, "Beautiful Life" also reached number three on the RPM Top Singles chart in Canada, number 11 in Australia, number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 and number ten on the Cash Box Top 100 in the US. It earned a gold record in Australia, with a sale of 35,000 singles.
Music video
The accompanying music video for the song was directed by British director Richard Heslop, who would go on to direct the band's later video for "Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry". The video was shot on YFO Studios in Gothenburg in October 1995.[21] The music video included computer-generated bubbles which whisked the band from place to place. According to music channel VH1 in the United States, the band's record label, Arista Records, insisted the bubbles be removed from the video, leading to a somewhat strange-looking U.S. video, with the band members looking at (and reacting to) bubbles that were no longer there. In Europe, both versions of the video were released. In addition to the two alternate videos, remix videos were also created, and VH1 released a Pop-Up Video version of the video in 1998. "Beautiful Life" was uploaded to YouTube in January 2015. As of August 2023, the video has amassed more than 137 million views.[22]
Cover versions
Indie band Jukebox The Ghost recorded a cover of the song for Engine Room Recordings' compilation album Guilt by Association Vol. 2, which was released in November 2008.[63]
In 2015, the American dance-pop trio Punch !nc recorded a reimagined version of the song, titled "Heaven (Beautiful Life)." This version has reached number six on Billboard's Dance Club Songs chart.[64]
Russian metal cover project Even Blurry Videos released their version of the song on YouTube in November 2019.
