Swedish Charts—w 13

Carola's new album "Elvis Barbra & jag" enters the Swedish Album Chart this week at no. 2, just behind another new entry; Graveyard. Carola manage to outsell big acts like September, The Playtones, and Britney Spears.

ALBUM CHART
1. (NEW) GRAVEYARD "Hisingen Blues"
2. (NEW) CAROLA "Elvis Barbra & jag"
3. (LW: 2 WKS: 6) SEPTEMBER "Love CPR"
4. (LW: 1 WKS: 3) THE PLAYTONES "Rock'n'Roll is King"
5. (NEW) BRITNEY SPEARS "Femme Fatale"

DVD CHART
1. (NEW) ANTASIA "The Flying Opera—Around the World"
2. (LW: 7 WKS: 12) HANS EDLER "The Remember Concert Vol. 2"
3. (LW: 14 WKS: 15) CAROLA "Sings Elvis & Barbra Streisand"
4. (LW: 1 WKS: 22) METALLICA / SLAYER / MEGADEATH / ANTHRAX "The Big Four—Live from Sofia, Bulgaria"
5. (LW: 5 WKS: 41) U2 "U2 360 At the Rose Bowl"

Link: Buy 'Elvis Barbra & jag'

Three (or more) concerts in Stockholm

Carola has announced three "Elvis Barbra & jag" concerts at Tyrol in Stockholm on September 30 and October 1 (two concerts). Tickets are available through Ticnet and are on sale now.

However, we have reasons to believe more concerts at Tyrol will be announced shortly, even if this is not confirmed.

Link: Buy tickets

iTunes Album Chart—March 23

UPDATE

Even though the new album "Elvis Barbra & jag" dipped to no 6 on the Swedish iTunes Album Chart during the day, it also picked up and got a better peak position than yesterday. The new peak position is no 3. The chart is updated constantly, so this is not the tally for the day...

In Norway, the album reached no 12 today. Congratulations!

Album review: "Elvis Barbra & jag"

After listening to the full new album a number of times these are my thoughts:

There are some fantastic songs on "Elvis Barbra & jag". And some amazing vocal performances by Carola; a couple of them could be Carola's most compelling pop/rock performances on an album ever! The two singles, "Suspicious Minds" and "Enough is Enough (No More Tears)", are both quite great interpretations of the original songs, and good choices for singles. But the two clear favorites on the album for me are "Always On My Mind"—which Carola sings with such an emotionally charged voice, I never heard her better (perhaps live, but not on album), and "Guilty"—which is a great cover version, where the original beats are modified and modernized. Jones, who sings duet with Carola on "Guilty" (and also produced the album), is a great singer and adds a great soulful feel to the song.

"In the Ghetto" is not a favorite song of mine—I can find it somewhat "cheesy", but this version sounds great, with a modern and laid back beat that drives the song along. On the other hand, "The Way We Were" is an amazing song that seems a little too laid back. Remember when Carola performed it on TV in the 80's (watch video)? I loved that! The album version leaves me wishing for more.

The gospel "Lead Me Guide Me" is the one song I wish hadn't been included on the album. Couldn't we've had "Papa Can You Hear Me" or "American Trilogy" instead? This song I will skip every time I listen to the album.

Here's how I rate each song individually:

+++++
Always On My Mind
Guilty

++++
Suspicious Minds
In the Ghetto
Enough is Enough (No More Tears)
You've Lost That Loving Feeling

+++
Woman in Love
The Way We Were

++
Evergreen
Watch Closely Now
Heartbreak Hotel

+
Lead Me Guide Me

Average rating: 3.25

Do you agree? Let me know what you think of the new album!

Three new photos

Three beautiful photos from the booklet of the new CD, taken by Anna-Lena Ahlström. Click to enlarge, then right-click and "Save target as" to save the photos.

iTunes Album Chart—March 22

Carola's new album "Elvis Barbra & jag" has been climbing on the Swedish iTunes Album Chart all day today, the first of its release, peaking at no. 4.

In Norway, the album is currently no 30 on the iTunes Album Chart...

Digital album release: "Elvis Barbra & jag"

Carola's new album "Elvis, Barbra och jag" is now available for purchase at iTunes, CDON and elsewhere. The physical album will be available in stores tomorrow.

Link: Buy "Elvis Barbra & jag" from iTunes

Link: Buy "Elvis Barbra & jag" from CDON

New single: "Enough is Enough (No More Tears)"

Yesterday, March 18, X5 Music Group released Carola's new digital single "Enough is Enough (No More Tears)" (from the upcoming album "Elvis Barbra & jag") to correlate with her performance on TV4's popular dance show "Let's Dance". It's currently number 48 on the Swedish iTunes chart. Head over there and buy it now!

Link: Buy "Enough is Enough (No More Tears)" from iTunes

Video: "Let's Dance", TV4

Carola looked amazing when she performed her new single "Enough is Enough (No More Tears)" on TV4's "Let's Dance" last night. If you missed it, watch the video above.

Video: Carola in "Efter Tio", TV4

If you missed Carola in TV4's "Efter Tio", watch the long interview and her performances of "Always on My Mind" and "In the Ghetto" above.

"Carola sings Elvis and Barbra Streisand" back on DVD chart

The DVD "Carola sings Elvis & Barbra Streisand" has re-entered the Swedish DVD chart. This is its total chart run so far:

DVD CHART
2011
w 10 No 13
w 9 No 6 (RE)
w 7 No 20 (RE)
w 3 No 17
w 2 No 17
w 1 No 8

2010
w 52 No 6
w 51 No 3
w 50 No 4
w 49 No 2
w 48 No 3
w 47 No 1 (NEW)

Link: Buy 'Carola sings Elvis & Barbra Streisand'

Re-runs of "Carola i Dalhalla"

Swedish channel TV4+ will air re-runs of the 2010 concert "Carola i Dalhalla" in the end of March/beginning of April.

31.3 Carola i Dalhalla, TV4+ 8.00pm

2.4 Carola i Dalhalla, TV4+ 5.00pm

This will provide PR for the upcoming album and tour.

Carola in "Let's Dance"

Carola will appear in TV4's celebrity dance competition "Let's Dance". Not as a contender (thankfully, let's hope that never happens), but as a performer...

On Friday March 18, Carola will perform her rendition of Barbra Streisand's "Enough is Enough (No More Tears)" during the popular TV-show, just days before her new album "Elvis Barbra & jag" is released in Sweden.

Link: Read article in Aftonbladet

Link: TV'4's "Let's Dance" website

Exclusive: First impression of "Elvis Barbra & jag"

I have listened to clips from all the songs on the new album "Elvis Barbra & jag". Here's my reactions:

1. Suspicious Minds: The first single of the album, that you all probably heard by now. A very Motown version of one of Elvis' biggest hits. Carola sings wonderful.

2. In the Ghetto: A great, modern beat lays the background to this somewhat cheesy song. In the clip, Carola sings laid back rather than powerful.

3. Enough is Enough (No More Tears): The original of this song is a duet (Barbra Streisand and Donna Summer), so I expected Carola's version to be as well. But at least in the clip you hear no one else singing. 70's disco that makes you wanna dance.

4. Woman in Love: This sounds identical to the version that Carola performed on TV a couple of times in the Summer of 2010. A piano is keeping a constant beat to this Barbra Streisand classic.

5. Always On My Mind: A slow, quiet version of the song. It makes you wonder if towards the end, the song changes character and becomes more bombastic...

6. You've Lost That Loving Feeling: This too sounds very similar to the version Carola performed live last Summer.

7. Evergreen: My least favorite of the clips I heard. Sounds a little "sleepy" to me.

8. Watch Closely Now: Change of gear. This song is pure rock and Carola sings it with her most raspy voice.

9. Heartbreak Hotel: Carola's version sounds almost like blues. A slow version with a great men's choir backing up Carola.

10. Lead Me Guide Me: A gospel. And the only song on the album I never heard before...

11. Guilty: Just like "Enough is Enough", this song is a duet in original (Barbra and Barry Gibb), and Carola has mentioned that she will sing it with the guy who produced the album. But judging from this short clip, he is doing more back up vocals than a regular duet. I think this song is the closest to the original version.

12. The Way We Were: A very fragile version of the song. In the clip there's only Carola's voice and a piano. Sounds like a nice rendition.

I hope I'm wrong! But I don't get very excited about this album judging from these clips. It sounds a little too slow and "safe" for me. Many of the songs are performed in a slower, more low-key version than the original songs. Only a few has energy and a modern sound to them.

Again, I hope I'm wrong and will love the album once I hear it...