In the spring of 2005, a 17-year-old Carlsson auditioned for the second series of phenomenally popular Swedish singing competition Idol in Göteborg, singing "Varje Gång Jag Ser Dig" by Lisa Nilsson. The four judges were all hugely impressed by the strong power of her voice and she successfully passed through to the theatre rounds of the contest. Her vocals continued to impress, and she made it to the semi-finals. To the dismay of the judges, Carlsson did not get a place in the final eleven contestants, and when she again failed to grab a place through the special 'wildcard' round, they decided to pass her through to the finals as the judges' choice contestant. Despite this setback, Carlsson wowed both the judges and the public during every week of the finals, and after making it to the grand finale nine weeks later, she defeated runner-up Sebastian Karlsson and was crowned as the second Swedish Idol. Throughout the finals, Carlsson had never landed in the bottom 2 or 3, and she is currently one of only 4 wildcard contestants to win an Idol competition anywhere in the world. She was preceded in 2004 by Canada's Ryan Malcolm and Kazakhstan's Almas Kishkenbayev, and followed in 2007 by Australia's Natalie Gauci.
Immediately after winning Idol, Carlsson signed a recording contract with Sony BMG and her debut single, "Right Here Right Now" was released. A week later, the song debuted at number one on the Swedish singles chart, a position it held for six weeks. It was quickly certified double platinum for the sale of 40,000 copies in Sweden. Just one week later, on December 19, 2005, her debut album Agnes was released to positive reviews and massive opening week sales. It shot into the albums chart a week later at number one, a position it held for two consecutive weeks.
In March 2006, whilst touring in support of her debut album, Carlsson released her second single, "Stranded". Although it received positive critical reviews, the single did not gain commercial success and stalled in the singles chart at number twenty-seven. Despite this however, Carlsson's debut album continued to enjoy huge sales success, selling over 90,000 copies in Sweden alone. It was certified double platinum and to date holds the record for being the highest-selling album by any Idol contestant.
On August 22, 2006, only eight months after her Idol win, Carlsson's third single "Kick Back Relax" premiered on the TV-show "Sommarkrysset". The song, which would serve as the lead single from her much anticipated sophomore album, was released on September 7 and narrowly missed the top spot on the Swedish singles chart, peaking at number two. Her second album, Stronger was released on October 11, less than a year after the release of her debut. Like its predecessor, Stronger debuted at number one on the albums chart, and went on to sell 50,000 copies, certifying it platinum. One of the album's tracks, "Love Is All Around" has since been covered by numerous singers in three continents, the most notable being by Australian Idol alumni Ricki Lee Coulter, which peaked at number two in Australia and became one of the country's biggest hits in 2007.
On November 15, Carlsson released "Champion", the second single from her sophomore album. The song peaked at number nineteen, seemingly setting a pattern of high-low chart positions for Carlsson, which had also occurred with the two singles from her first album. In early 2007, Carlsson embarked upon her second national tour in just over one year. In December, Carlsson and her former Idol fellow contestant Måns Zelmerlöw joined forces for a huge Christmas campaign for clothing store MQ. In order to promote the company, they released a cover of the Mariah Carey song "All I Want For Christmas Is You", which peaked at number three on the Swedish singles chart.
In early 2008, it was announced that Carlsson had parted ways with her record label Sony BMG, citing creative differences as the reason behind the split. She quickly signed to record company Roxy Records, who stated that after taking a short break from the music industry, Carlsson would return with her third studio album, the first with her new label. On August 11, Carlsson's fifth single "On And On" was passed to radio stations and released as a digital download. Geared towards the dance and club genre, the single was a clear change of artistic direction for Carlsson's music, which had previously consisted of pop and RnB. The first public performance of the single was on August 16 during the Swedeish TV-show "Sommarkrysset". The single debuted at number twenty-seven, but following its physical release it surged up the chart and spent three weeks at its peak of number 8, as well as charting at the top spot of the dance and club charts.
On September 13, Kaj Kindvall, the host of the radioshow "Tracks" announced that Carlsson's highly anticipated third studio album would be called "Dance Love Pop" and then went on to explain the reason behind the record's name: "Dance Love Pop covers the three things that the music is all about on this album; dance-music that has a twist of pop and is about love". Roxy Records confirmed the album's title four days later, and also stated that the release date of the album would be October 29, 2008.
In an interview with Swedish radio channel P3 the song "Love Me Senseless" was played, and although it was confirmed as a track on Carlsson's third album, it was not confirmed whether it would be released as the second single. The album Dance! Love! Pop! was released on October 28 and debuted on the Swedish albums chart at number 5 with sales of 10,000 copies. On November 24, "Release Me" was released as the second single from the album. It debuted on the Swedish singles chart at number 60 based on digital downloads alone, whilst the album was certified gold for the sale of 20,000 copies since its release.
Release Me
Agnes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I know it's wrong
So why am I with you now?
I say release me
'Cause I'm not able to convince myself
That I'm better off without you
Yeah, it's perfectly clear love's not what you need
I tell you that I don't care, but I don't want to
Anything that you say I hear myself agree
And I don't recognize what I've turned into
I don't know why I want you so
'Cause I don't need the heart break
I don't know what addictive hold
You have on me I can't shake
No, I'm not in control
So let me go
Release me, release my body
I know it's wrong
So why do I keep coming back?
I say release me
'Cause I'm not able to convince myself
That I'm better off without you
I could sleep by myself, it would burn me alive
Find me somebody else, but I don't want to
Try to leave out the love that goes against the grain
But I can rationalize it if I have to
I don't know why I want you so
Hmm, 'cause I don't need the heart break
I don't know what addictive hold
You have on me I can't shake
No, I'm not in control
So let me go
Release me, release my body
I know it's wrong
So why do I keep coming back?
I say release me
'Cause I'm not able to convince myself
That I'm better off without you
I'm not in control
So let me go
Release me, release my body
I know it's wrong
So why do I keep coming back?
I say release me
'Cause I'm not able to convince myself
That I'm better off without you
Release me, release my body
I know it's wrong
So why do I keep coming back?
I say release me
'Cause I'm not able to convince myself
That I'm better off without you, ooh
Agnes's song Release Me is about being in a toxic relationship and wanting to break free from it. The chorus primarily focuses on the singer's desire to be released from her partner's hold, but she keeps coming back despite knowing that it's wrong for her. She's unable to convince herself that she's better off without him. Thus, the song expresses the internal struggle of someone who recognizes the toxicity of their relationship but is unable to give it up.
The lyrics describe how the singer is no longer in control of her emotions or actions, as her addiction to her partner is stronger than her desire to leave. She acknowledges that love isn't what she needs and that her partner is a source of heartbreak, but she still can't resist him. The singer is trying to come to terms with the reality of the situation and regain her autonomy by letting go, asking her partner to release her from his hold.
Overall, Agnes's Release Me is a powerful depiction of the internal battles that one might face in a toxic or unfulfilling relationship. It highlights the struggle of wanting to break free and the difficulty of doing so.
Line by Line Meaning
Release me, release my body
Agnes pleads to be freed from the hold her partner has on her physical and emotional being
I know it's wrong
Agnes is aware that being with her partner is not healthy or beneficial for her
So why am I with you now?
Despite her knowledge of the situation, Agnes questions why she is still with her partner
I say release me
Agnes reiterates her plea to be let go from her partner's grasp
'Cause I'm not able to convince myself
Agnes admits that she is unable to rationalize or justify staying with her partner
That I'm better off without you
Agnes believes that she would be happier and healthier if she were to leave her partner
Yeah, it's perfectly clear love's not what you need
Agnes acknowledges that her partner's behavior and actions show that they do not truly need or value love
I tell you that I don't care, but I don't want to
Agnes admits that she is torn between her desire to care for her partner and her inability to do so genuinely
Anything that you say I hear myself agree
Agnes recognizes that she has lost control over her own thoughts and opinions, and is easily influenced by her partner's words
And I don't recognize what I've turned into
Agnes is devastated by the realization that she has changed into someone she does not recognize, as a result of being with her partner
I don't know why I want you so
Agnes admits to not understanding why she still desires her partner, despite the negative impact they have on her life
'Cause I don't need the heart break
Agnes knows that being with her partner only leads to heartache and pain
I don't know what addictive hold
Agnes is unsure of what kind of emotional or psychological grip her partner has on her
You have on me I can't shake
Agnes acknowledges that she is unable to break free from her partner's hold on her
No, I'm not in control
Agnes admits that she has lost control over her own life and decisions, and is completely under her partner's control
So let me go
Agnes makes her final plea to be released from her partner's grip
Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing, BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Downtown Music Publishing, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Sharon Vaughn, Anders Hansson, Agnes Carlsson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind