Among her best known songs are "Private Emotion", a (duet with Ricky Martin) from his multi-Platinum album Ricky Martin (1999), and "All 'bout the Money", which was nominated for a Grammy Award in 1998.
She gained much popularity in the West after her single "How Crazy are You?" was used as the main theme music for the Xbox video game Dead or Alive Xtreme Beach Volleyball.
Meja was born Anna Pernilla Torndahl in Nynäshamn, Stockholm County. She had her stage debut at "Ystads City theatre" at the age of 7. She was brought up in a musical family, her grandfather, Per Lundkvist, was a composer of both classical and contemporary music and her mother, a recording artist as a child before choosing a path as a painter.
In 1986, at the age of 16, she moved to Mallorca, Spain, to study. She was introduced to American jazz trumpet player/singer Stephen Frankevich and started to take vocal lessons with singer Deborah Carter.
Meja went to Stockholm in 1990. She sang in different bands there before getting out on tour as a backup singer for the Swedish group Rob n Raz DLC in 1991. In 1992 Meja moved to Los Angeles to continue her studies at the Musicians Institute in Hollywood. She graduated from the vocal program in late 1992 then returned to Sweden.
n 1993, Meja worked with the dance project Legacy of Sound. She co-wrote with Anders Bagge the first single, "Happy", from the album Holy Groove. The song reached the Top 10 on Billboard's Hot Dance Music/Club play, and it peaked at number 68 on the Top 100 during a 12-week stay on the chart. "Happy" was released in over 20 countries. Meja recorded one more album with Legacy of Sound in 1994, Tour de Force.
Meja teamed in 1995 with Swedish manager Lasse Karlsson, manager of Ace of Base, and writer/producer Douglas Carr to provide the vocals for the demo The Juvenile titled The Goldeneye.
The first solo album Meja, was released in 1996, with songs co-written by Billy Steinberg. In 1997 Meja had her first concert tour in Japan: The Flower Girl Jam Tour.
Meja released the album Seven Sisters in 1998. Later that year Columbia (Sony) launched the album in the U.S with the single "How Crazy Are You?"
Meja went to Miami in 1999 to record "Private Emotion", a duet with Ricky Martin for his debut album Ricky Martin. After shooting a video for the song, Meja stayed in Los Angeles to work on her next album Realitales (2000) with Steinberg. She also co-wrote two tracks for the album in London with Stephen Lipson. The artwork for this album was shot by Swedish director Jonas Åkerlund.
In 2003 Meja started to work with her former Sony Music boss, Richard Ogden. The album Mellow was released in 2004, with songs in Portuguese ("Água de Beber", "Dindi") and Spanish. She covered a Caetano Veloso song "O'Leaonzinho" that she named "Little Lion." The album was produced by Hamish Stuart. One song, "Simple Days-Walking the Distance", was used in the Japanese film Lakeside Murder Case.
In 2006 Meja went back to Los Angeles to collaborate again with Steinberg on a new album, also working with writers Jeff Barry, Billy Gibbons, Jed Leiber and Boz Boorer.
The first single "At the Rainbow's End" was released in June 2009, the second single "Regrets (I Have None)" in August, and the album Urban Gypsy was released on her own label Seven Sisters Network in October on a license deal with Sony Music. A remix of Mando Diao's "Dance with Somebody" was released early 2010.
The first release from the album Stroboscope Sky was the single "Blame it on the Shadows" (2013) produced by Ebbot Lundberg. Meja teamed with producer Nicolas Gunthardt and together with his sister Alessandra they wrote "Yellow Ribbon" which served as the theme song for the album. "Yellow Ribbon" was released as a single in collaboration with Amnesty International/Free the Angola 3 to help raise awareness of the case of Albert Woodfox. A remix EP was released with remixes by Deep Forest, Dj Swami, Gota Yashiki, DF Tram, NORD and more.
Scum Like Me
Meja Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
all I wanted in my life was 2 be seen
it was all or nothing
nothing inbetween
I had to proove myself
stronger than my needs
In time
when all the happiness inside of me was gone
It didn磘 matter what I did cuz all was wrong.
There磗 a part of me
who just can磘 see
why you believe in a scum like me
I care no more
why can磘 u see
I磎 thinking of being loved
I feel
that I磛e been holding on 2 long to history
my mistakes have been the same repetitively
it磗 a feeling of mistake and misery
A voice
always questioning everything I do
It磗 always there 2 make me feel a kinda?blue
makes me feel that I am nothing but a fool
Chorus
Instead
of being proud of all the good
things that I磛e gone
I take a step aside, I hit and run
cuz I feel that I have fooled you all along
cuz when you look under the surface
you will see
that what you think is big and strong
is only me
In "Scum Like Me," Meja sings about her struggles with self-esteem and the constant feeling of not being good enough. She describes a life where all she wanted was to be seen, and to prove herself to be stronger than her own needs. However, she eventually reached a point of exhaustion, where all her happiness was gone, and everything she did seemed wrong. She feels burdened by her mistakes, and wonders why anyone would believe in someone like her, viewing herself as nothing but a fool. Meja recognizes that despite her best efforts, she feels as though she has fooled everyone around her, and under the surface, what they see is only her.
The lyrics of this song tap into a common human experience: the feeling of inadequacy and not being enough. Meja does an excellent job of articulating the pain and frustration of trying to measure up and prove oneself constantly. She expresses her desire to be loved and seen despite her perceived shortcomings.
Line by Line Meaning
all I wanted in my life was 2 be seen
All I ever wanted was to be recognized and appreciated.
it was all or nothing
There was no in-between, only extreme success or failure.
nothing inbetween
There was no room for mediocrity or average performance.
I had to proove myself
I needed to demonstrate my abilities and worth.
stronger than my needs
I was driven by the desire to succeed, even if it meant sacrificing other needs or wants.
when I was giving up the fight 2 carry on
At the point where I felt like giving up and couldn't continue anymore.
when all the happiness inside of me was gone
When I had lost all joy and positivity in my life.
It didn磘 matter what I did cuz all was wrong.
No matter what I did, it felt like I was doing everything wrong and failing at everything.
There磗 a part of me
I have an aspect of myself that I struggle to understand or accept.
who just can磘 see
That part of me is unable or unwilling to recognize certain things.
why you believe in a scum like me
I don't understand why you have faith in someone like me, who I perceive as a lowlife or worthless person.
I care no more
I am apathetic towards the situation or outcome.
why can磘 u see
I don't understand why you can't perceive things the way I do.
I磎 thinking of being loved
What I really want is to be loved and accepted, despite my flaws and mistakes.
that I磛e been holding on 2 long to history
I have been clinging onto past events and mistakes for too long.
my mistakes have been the same repetitively
I keep making the same mistakes over and over again.
it磗 a feeling of mistake and misery
I am overwhelmed by negative emotions like regret and sorrow.
always questioning everything I do
I have a voice inside me that doubts and critiques everything I do.
It磗 always there 2 make me feel a kinda?blue
This voice leaves me feeling sad and dejected.
makes me feel that I am nothing but a fool
The voice inside me convinces me that I am foolish and incapable.
Instead of being proud of all the good
Rather than taking pride in my accomplishments and positive qualities.
things that I磛e gone
My achievements and successes.
I take a step aside, I hit and run
I avoid or run away from acknowledging my achievements and accepting recognition.
cuz I feel that I have fooled you all along
In my mind, I believe that any success or praise I have received is just a result of me deceiving or tricking others.
when you look under the surface
If you really examine or investigate deeper.
you will see
You will realize or understand.
that what you think is big and strong
The idea you have of me being powerful and successful.
is only me
In reality, there is nothing more to me than myself - a flawed and incomplete human being.
Contributed by Gabriel I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.