Jenny was born in Gothenburg, Sweden and she is the third of three children born to Göran Berggren, an X-ray technician, and Birgitta Berggren. She was raised in a Christian family in the Gothenburg suburbs.
All three Berggren children took music lessons, and Jenny, along with her older sister Malin, practiced violin. Educated to become a teacher, Berggren studied classical music and sang for her church choir with her sister.
During the late 1980s, the Berggren siblings, along with Johnny Lindén and Nicklas Tränk, formed the techno band Tech Noir. The group eventually became Ace of Base. Berggren also attended university, with the intention of becoming a teacher. This plan fell apart when Ace of Base was signed to Danish label Mega Records, with the band's debut album eventually selling more than 20 million copies worldwide.
Berggren's original role in the band was equal with her sister, Linn, although the first singles chosen by the record company had Linn singing most of the lead vocals. In the early years, she and Linn only had a minor role in the production or writing of any of the band's first songs. Later, with sister Malin's sudden withdrawal from the spotlight, Berggren was forced into a more prominent role.
On the night of 27 April 1994, Berggren and her mother were attacked in their home by a crazed woman who had followed Berggren home. Berggren's mother was stabbed in the hands, and the woman, a 21 year old German named Manuela Behrendt, was banned from ever returning to Sweden.
Berggren composed several songs for the band's The Bridge album, including "Ravine", a song about the 27 April attack, as well as "Wave Wet Sand" and "Experience Pearls". She continued to compose songs for the band's albums, and a her compositions have been included on each successive album.
Berggren continues to volunteer her time to various humanitarian charities and has staged several Christian concerts, and sings in churches.
On 18 September 2004, Berggren married her long-time boyfriend Jakob Petrén, a Swedish pianist. They have two children together, a son and a daughter. Her husband belongs to an old (and in Sweden very well known) Swedish family of high academic scholars and scientists, statesmen and politicians. Berggren and her family currently reside in Gothenburg.
Jenny, Jonas, and Ulf performed a series of concerts in 2007-2009 in Europe and Asia. During the touring they recorded new songs designated to a fifth studio album.The trio didn't get a record contract with the songs that were produced and Jenny continued working on her own solo material. Jenny announced on her newly started Twitter account 2009 that she was working on new songs to a solo album.
During this time, Ulf and Jonas recruited two other female vocalists, Clara Hagman and Julia Williamson. When this came to the fan's attention, Jonas and Jenny independently stated that this new constellation would not be called Ace of Base, but have another name.
This alternative line-up later presented slightly changed name: "Ace.of.Base", but this was mainly a graphical adjustment used on the cover of their releases only. In an interview for Swedish TV Ulf stated: "We're still called Ace of Base. The dots are more for styling and the logo" .
Name dispute and reasons of breakup
Jenny has stated several times that she has never left the band and on the contrary declared that all four original members are still band members and own the brand Ace of Base, by agreement with her brother Jonas and by legal documents.
This was later confirmed by Jonas in an interview stating: "She (Jenny) never officially said ‘’I quit’’. But to the record company, she was a leaving member. And they cancelled her contract. But she never said ‘’oh, I don’t want to be in the band’’." When asked about the record company demanding a new additional singer: "It wasn’t so much that it had to be younger girl, but yes, they wanted a new girl, a new lead vocalist."
Regarding the name dispute, Ulf stated that he had "no problems using the name even though all the original members are not included" Jenny discussed further on this topic in a newspaper interview on 18 October 2010. She expressed that she wasn't allowed by Jonas and Ulf to participate in the song writing for the band's album. "From now on, I want paper on things. I agreed to work under certain conditions, and they just vanished." "They didn't want me in". When asked, "Do you want to go back to Ace of Base again?" she responded "Not right now. It would take some apologies".
In 2008, Jenny wrote an autobiography in Swedish "Vinna hela världen". The first edition of the book sold out in Sweden (which only 4% of the books in Sweden do), and a second edition had to be pressed. The English version will be called "To Win the World" and is planned to be available in 2011.
On New Year's Day 2010, Jenny released her solo song "Free Me" as a free download to her fans via her new website.
In May 2010, Jenny released her first solo single "Here I Am" which is available on iTunes. The single reached number 14 on the Swedish singles charts. On September 15, 2010 she released her second single "Gotta Go". Her debut album "My Story" was released on October 13, 2010.
Berggren was revealed on February 3 to be a wildcard for the Danish national final for the Eurovision Song Contest 2011 with her entry Let your heart be mine. At the national final on February 26, 2011, Jenny performed "Let Your Heart Be Mine" to roaring applause. After the first round of voting, Jenny failed to place in the top four. As a result, she did not advance further in the competition. Nevertheless, fans generally considered this performance among the best of Jenny's live performances.
Here I Am
Jenny Berggren Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I am dreaming, I have been far away
But I always will find your direction
Look down in the darkness, in the brightest sky
Where can I hide your reflection?
Running, moving up and down
I am the queen of confusion
But as I am yearning, trying to find my home
Here I am, with you all over me
Here I am, to touch eternity
Here I am, to give me back to you
All I am, I am because of you
Here I am, here I am
Turning, every inside out
Trying to catch what I am missing
But you are always greater, then my simple
tries
There is a secret in listening
Here I am, with you all over me
Here I am, to touch eternity
Here I am, to give me back to you
All I am, I am because of you
Here I am, here I am
(Here I am) Whooo
(Ahha) Whooo
(All I am) Yeahyeahyeah
(All I am)
Here I am, with you all over me
Here I am, to touch eternity
Here I am, to give me back to you
All I am, I am because of you
Here I am, here I am
To give me back to you
Here I am, here we are
All I am, I am because of you
Here I am
In the lyrics of the song “Here I Am” by Jenny Berggren, the artist speaks about being lost and trying to find her way back home. This home can be interpreted as a metaphorical representation of the place where the artist feels safe and comfortable; the place where she is complete. She describes herself as the queen of confusion, someone who is constantly searching for guidance and direction in life. In the midst of her search, she recognizes the importance of the people around her and their influence on her life. She acknowledges that her loved ones are the reason for her existence and everything she is today. In the chorus, the artist sings about being with the people she loves and her desire to be reunited with them. She speaks about wanting to connect with them on a deeper level and become one with them. She also talks about eternity, the idea of being with the ones she loves forever.
The artist uses various metaphors throughout the lyrics to express her emotions. For example, she speaks about looking down in the darkness and in the brightest sky for her loved ones, symbolizing that she is always searching for them no matter where she goes. She also uses the metaphor of turning herself inside out to describe her efforts to catch what she is missing. This can be interpreted as a metaphor for her inner struggles.
Overall, “Here I Am” is a song about finding oneself amidst the chaos of life and recognizing the importance of the people around us. It speaks to the idea that our loved ones are an integral part of our existence, and without them, we are incomplete.
Line by Line Meaning
Here I am
Presenting myself, ready and willing to be with you
I am dreaming, I have been far away
I have been far away in my thoughts and imagination
But I always will find your direction
I will always find my way back to you
Look down in the darkness, in the brightest sky
Wherever I may look, I see your reflection
Where can I hide your reflection?
Even when I try to hide, your reflection is still with me
Running, moving up and down, I am the queen of confusion
I am moving around in chaos as the queen of confusion
But as I am yearning, trying to find my home, This is my only conclusion
Despite my confusion, I know that you are my home
Turning, every inside out, Trying to catch what I am missing
I am trying my best to find something I am missing by turning everything inside out
But you are always greater, then my simple tries
You are always greater than my attempts
There is a secret in listening
There is a hidden message in paying attention
Whooo
An expression of excitement
Here I am, with you all over me
I am fully immersed in being with you
Here I am, to touch eternity
I am willing to touch the infinite with you
Here I am, to give me back to you
I give myself back to you
All I am, I am because of you
I am who I am because of you
Here we are
We are together in this moment
Writer(s): Jenny Berggren, Jenny Magdalena Jauren, Josef Simon Sakarias Petren, Terese Anna Fredenwall, Staffan Carl Birgersson Copyright: Warner/Chappell Music Scandinavia AB
Contributed by Mackenzie T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
UHA
This is great! Her delivery is amazing.
It should've been a bigger hit. It's better than some of the songs she sang with AoB.
Bruce D'aMATO
She really has quite the powerful voice!
LoveSpent
What a damn shame!This needs more views!!! Fuck the record company for not giving this better promotion! I know she works alot to get out there and do live shows, but the record company doesnt give her much promotion so its always smaller venues (which at the same time, I gotta say, I love more intimate shows so youre up close to them), but she deserves alot more than shes getting. Shes beyond beautiful and has a voice of an angel, and from what Ive seen, she seems so fun and sweet! Love ya Jen!
Carla_C
Beautiful comment
Yes! Jenny's the greatest ❣️❣️❣️
Carla_C
Jenny is just amazing in every single aspect
I love her 💖💓💞💟💜💝💘💗 in every single way 😘
She is my 😇😇😇
hapacer
She's great!
Diego Brando
i love jenny and my story!! i love ace of base !!
imarcoi123
love her voice .. :)
Carla_C
I love the "whole" Jenny 😁🤪❣️
crazyescfan
it seems I have another musical obsession. jenny, you`re great! here, in romania, we miss the kind of music you`re doing because all the radios broadcast only commercial songs that are forgotten the minute other is released. we need the swedish beat!!!