"Främling" (Swedish pronunciation: [ˈfrɛ̂mːlɪŋ]; "Stranger"), written by Lasse Holm and Monica Forsberg and arranged by Lennart Sjöholm, was the song performed by the 16-year-old Swedish singer Carola Häggkvist which won the Swedish Melodifestivalen 1983. At the Eurovision Song Contest 1983 in Munich, in the former West Germany, the song finished third. It was performed fourth on the night, after the United Kingdom's song "I'm Never Giving Up" by Sweet Dreams, and before Italy's entry "Per Lucia" by Riccardo Fogli. "Främling" became a huge hit in Scandinavia, charting in Finland, Norway and Sweden, peaking at number six, one and five.
| "Främling" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by Carola Häggkvist | ||||
| from the album Främling | ||||
| Language | Swedish | |||
| B-side | "Liv" | |||
| Released | 1983 | |||
| Genre | Schlager | |||
| Length | 2:57 (album version) | |||
| Label | Mariann | |||
| Songwriter(s) | ||||
| Producer(s) | Lasse Holm | |||
| Carola Häggkvist singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Eurovision Song Contest 1983 entry | ||||
| Country | ||||
| Artist(s) | ||||
| Language | ||||
| Composer(s) | ||||
| Lyricist(s) | ||||
| Conductor | Anders Ekdahl | |||
| Finals performance | ||||
| Final result | 3rd | |||
| Final points | 126 | |||
| Entry chronology | ||||
| ◄ "Dag efter dag" (1982) | ||||
| "Diggi-Loo Diggi-Ley" (1984) ► | ||||
Trivia edit
- Kikki Danielsson was first asked to sing "Främling", but instead she chose "Varför är kärleken röd?", which finished second in the Swedish Melodifestivalen that year.[citation needed]
- "Främling" was also written with text versions in German, Dutch and English as, respectively, "Fremder", "Je ogen hebben geen geheimen" and "Love Isn't Love".
Cover versions edit
- The Swedish heavy metal group Black Ingvars covered "Främling" on their 1998 album Schlager Metal.
- Finnish singer Meiju Suvas covered the song in Finnish, as "Muukalainen" (also translating as "stranger").
- The Norwegian free-jazz band Farmers Market has covered "Främling" on several concerts, and on their 2008 album Surfin' USSR. Farmers Market often use unusual time signatures, and their version of Främling switch between 11/16, 15/16, 7/16 and 13/16. The live version usually also has four bars of 2/4.
Charts edit
| Chart (1983) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Denmark (IFPI)[1] | 1 |
| Finland (Suomen virallinen lista)[2] | 6 |
| Norway (VG-lista)[3] | 1 |
| Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[4] | 5 |
References edit
- ^ Danish Singles Chart 24 June 1983
- ^ Pennanen, Timo (2021). "Sisältää hitin: Levyt ja esittäjät Suomen musiikkilistoilla 1.1.1960–30.6.2021" (PDF) (in Finnish). Musiikkiarkisto. p. 43. Archived (PDF) from the original on 30 April 2023. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- ^ "Carola Häggkvist – Främling". VG-lista. Retrieved 6 May 2023.
- ^ "Carola Häggkvist – Främling". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 6 May 2023.