Charlotte Perrelli (born Charlotte Nilsson on October 7, 1974, in Hovmantor… Read Full Bio ↴Charlotte Perrelli (born Charlotte Nilsson on October 7, 1974, in Hovmantorp, Sweden) is a Swedish singer. She is most famous for winning the Eurovision Song Contest in 1999 with Take Me To Your Heaven. Perrelli won Melodifestivalen 2008 and represented Sweden once again in the Eurovision Song Contest with Hero. She has released six albums as of 2008, four in English and two in Swedish.

Charlotte Perrelli is a Swedish singer and occasional television host, perhaps most famous for winning the 1999 Melodifestivalen and subsequently that year's Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Take Me to Your Heaven". Since then she has released six singles and five albums. Perrelli once again won Melodifestivalen 2008 and represented Sweden in Eurovision Song Contest 2008 with her disco song "Hero". She is one of Sweden's most popular female singers, often performing at Sweden's top shows. Throughout her career, she has worked with different types of music, ranging from dansband and schlager, via modern pop, to soulful ballads and jazz melodies.

Perrelli is married to Stockholm-based Italian restaurateur Nicola Ingrosso, brother of Emilio Ingrosso who was married to another Swedish singer Pernilla Wahlgren in the 1990s. Following a feud with the rest of the family, Charlotte and Nicola decided to change both of their last names to Perrelli. They reside in Stockholm with their two sons. In June 2008 the couple officially announced that they were taking a break in their relationship. It had been speculated for some time in the Swedish media that their relationship was on the rocks. It is believed that Charlotte's heavy workload was a contributing factor to the couple's split.[2][3] This was later denied by both Nicola and Charlotte, the couple stated they was just taking a break from each other but were still very much in love.

Eurovision Song Contest 1999 - Jerusalem
Entry for Sweden

Performer: Charlotte Nilsson
Song title: Take Me To Your Heaven
Song writer(s): Gert Lengstrand
Song composer(s): Lars Diedricson

Sang in Position: 15
Final Position: 1
Total Points: 163

In 1999, the long-standing rule that each country had to sing in one of its own national languages was abolished, and it was also decided that France, Germany, Spain and the United Kingdom, as the highest-paying European Broadcasting Union subscribers, would automatically be allowed to participate every year, irrespective of their five-year point average. Also, the requirement of an orchestra was optional.

The Israeli broadcaster chose not to use an orchestra, which meant that for the first time in the history of the contest, all entries would perform using a backing track. This change was criticized by two-time Eurovision Song Contest winner Johnny Logan, who commented that the contest turned into "karaoke". Latvia wanted to take part this year, but the country withdrew at a late stage, giving the opportunity to Hungary, but Hungarian TV didn't except the offer either, so the 23rd spot was given to Portugal. Finland, Greece, Macedonia, Romania and Switzerland stayed at home.

The Lithuanian delegation was trying to keep its budget problems under control and they were allowed to arrive at the Eurovision Song Contest venue a day later than everyone else to save costs. The Cypriot song by Marlain had been one of the favorites to win the contest, so many experts were shocked when the song just got 2 points altogether, both from the United Kingdom televote. The Croatian entry Maria Magdalena was sanctioned after the contest, as it used synthesized male backing vocals despite the rule stating that all vocals would have to be performed live on stage. Croatia lost 33% of their points, giving it a lower five-year average.

The Swedish delegation was very surprised about their victory of Charlotte Nilsson's Take Me To Your Heaven. Had the song in Sweden been seen as old-fashioned, the European televoters thought differently and saw the song as a charming hommage to the ABBA-sound. Sweden's win was endangered by the Icelandic and German songs during the voting, but when the Bosnian jury gave Sweden its 12 points while ignoring Iceland completely, it was clear that Sweden would be the winner of the 1999 Eurovision Song Contest.

When the winner of the 1998 contest, Dana International, was about to hand over the trophy to Charlotte, she fell down on stage in her stilettos causing a security alert in the hall.

Eurovision Song Contest 2008 Semi-Final (2) - Belgrade
Entry for Sweden

Performer: Charlotte Perrelli
Song title: Hero
Composer(s) Fredrik Kempe & Bobby Ljunggren
Lyrics writer(s) Fredrik Kempe

Sang in Position: 2
Final Position: 10
Total Points: 54

Eurovision Song Contest 2008 GRAND-FINAL - Belgrade

Sang in Position: 15
Final Position: 18
Total Points: 47

I Can Tell
Charlotte Perrelli Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I can't really say, that it's just another day
When I feel like I'm walking on air
The boy on my mind, as I think of him an find
What we have is a true love-affair
I know all about heartache
But that won't come my way

I can tell by the smile, he gives me when we meet

I can tell by his kiss, it almost knocks me off my feet
And the look in his eyes, when it's time for us to part
I can tell he will never break my heart

He came out of the blue, surprises always do
Just one look and that was enough
Then he said hello, so I guess that's why I know
How it feels to have fallen in love
When I think of forever
I also think of him

I can tell by the smile, he gives me when we meet
I can tell by his kiss, it almost knocks me off my feet
And the look in his eyes, when it's time for us to part
I can tell he will never break my heart

My dreams, my wildest dreams
Everything is coming true, and I know
He'll try, to love me more
Then I've been loved before

I can tell by the smile, he gives me when we meet
I can tell by his kiss, it almost knocks me off my feet
And the look in his eyes, when it's time for us to part

I can tell he will never break my heart
He will never break my heart

Overall Meaning

In Charlotte Nilsson's song "I can tell," she expresses her feelings towards a man with whom she is in love with. The song talks about a boy who came into her life out of the blue, and she feels like she is walking on air since it happened. The boy is always on her mind, and the connection they have is genuine. The lyrics further state that the boy's smile, kiss, and the look in his eyes are all sincere, and he will never break her heart.

Charlotte mentions that she has experienced heartache before, but she knows that this kind of hurt will not come her way this time. She believes that everything is coming true, which is a very positive and uplifting attitude to take. Charlotte feels that this man will love her more than she has ever been loved before. She is confident that the boy she is in love with will never break her heart.

In conclusion, Charlotte Nilsson's "I can tell" is a love song that expresses feelings of being in love with someone unconditionally. The song talks about the confidence that one feels when they meet someone special, and they can tell that this person will never hurt them. Love can be a complicated emotion that comes with a lot of uncertainties, but when you find someone that genuinely cares for you, fear dissipates, and confidence grows.

Line by Line Meaning

I can't really say, that it's just another day
Today is no ordinary day for me

When I feel like I'm walking on air
I'm ecstatically happy

The boy on my mind, as I think of him an find
I'm thinking of my lover, and as I think of him, I realize

What we have is a true love-affair
we are truly in love

I know all about heartache
I'm familiar with what it feels like to have a broken heart

But that won't come my way
But I won't face that with him

He came out of the blue, surprises always do
He appeared when I least expected, surprises always do

Just one look and that was enough
Just one look was all it took to fall for him

Then he said hello, so I guess that's why I know
He spoke to me, and that's how I knew

How it feels to have fallen in love
What it feels like to fall in love

When I think of forever
I think of him and forever together