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.
What A Feeling
Agnes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But a slow glowing dream
That your fear seems to hide
Deep inside your mind
All alone I have cried
Silent tears full of pride
In a world made of steel
Well, I hear the music
Close my eyes, feel the rhythm
Wrap around, take a hold
Of my heart
What a feeling
Bein's believin'
I can have it all
Now I'm dancing for my life
Take your passion
And make it happen
Pictures come alive
You can dance right through your life
Now I hear the music
Close my eyes, feel the rhythm
In a flash it takes hold
Of my heart
What a feeling
Bein's believin'
I can have it all
Now I'm dancing for my life
Take your passion
And make it happen
Pictures come alive
You can dance right through your life
What a feeling
What a feeling (I am music now)
Bein's believin' (I am rhythm now)
Pictures come alive
You can dance right through your life
What a feeling (You can really have it all)
What a feeling (Pictures come alive when I call)
I can have it all (I can really have it all)
Have it all (Pictures come alive when I call)
What a feeling
The song "What a Feeling" by Agnes is about the power of music and how it can inspire us to overcome our fears and live our dreams. The opening lines describe a dream-like state where fear is holding the singer back from reaching their true potential. The repetition of the phrase "all alone I have cried" suggests that this is something personal and emotional, that the character has had to deal with on their own.
The chorus, "what a feeling, being's believing, I can have it all" is a powerful statement of self-belief, of the idea that if we can overcome our fears and believe in ourselves, anything is possible. The line "take your passion and make it happen" is a call to action, encouraging us to pursue our passions and turn our dreams into reality. The final line, "you can dance right through your life" suggests that music is a way of transcending the difficulties of life, of finding joy in even the most challenging circumstances.
Overall, the song is an uplifting anthem of self-belief and the power of music to inspire us to be our best selves.
Line by Line Meaning
First when there's nothing
When there's emptiness around, with no hope or light
But a slow glowing dream
But a flicker of a dream that sparkles within me
That your fear seems to hide
That my fears conceal and try to break apart
Deep inside your mind
Deep in the depths of my consciousness
All alone I have cried
I've shed tears in solitude
Silent tears full of pride
Proud of myself despite the pain that's hidden behind my tears
In a world made of steel
In a harsh world where everyone is tough and unyielding
Made of stone
Where people have hard hearts and lack empathy
Well, I hear the music
Suddenly the music I love reaches my ears
Close my eyes, feel the rhythm
I close my eyes and connect with the beat
Wrap around, take a hold
It engulfs and captivates me
Of my heart
My heart is now beating in sync with the rhythm
What a feeling
What an amazing sensation
Bein's believin'
Believing in myself is key
I can have it all
I can achieve anything I desire
Now I'm dancing for my life
Now I'm dancing as if my life depended on it
Take your passion
Pursue your greatest interests and talents
And make it happen
Turn your dreams into reality
Pictures come alive
Your visions will become tangible
You can dance right through your life
You can enjoy every moment of your life with the power of dance
What a feeling (I am music now)
It feels as if I am an inseparable part of the music
Bein's believin' (I am rhythm now)
Believing in myself feels like I embody the rhythm itself
Pictures come alive
The images in my mind come to life
You can dance right through your life
Dance is the perfect way to smoothly navigate through life's ups and downs
What a feeling (You can really have it all)
An overwhelming sense of joy, as if anything is possible
What a feeling (Pictures come alive when I call)
My dreams come to life when I envision them
I can have it all (I can really have it all)
I am capable of achieving everything I desire
Have it all (Pictures come alive when I call)
My dreams will come true if I persist and work hard at them
What a feeling
A profound and positive sensation that can change my life
Contributed by Noah G. Suggest a correction in the comments below.