Happy Nation

For the song, see Happy Nation (song).
See also: The Sign (Ace of Base album)
Happy Nation
Studio album by
Ace of Base
Released2 November 1992
RecordedJanuary–May 1992
Genre
Length49:21
Label
Producer
Ace of Base chronology
Happy Nation
(1992) 		The Sign
(1993)
Alternative cover
U.S. version (re-release)
Singles from Happy Nation
  1. "Wheel of Fortune"
    Released: 29 May 1992
  2. "All That She Wants"
    Released: 31 August 1992
  3. "Happy Nation"
    Released: 7 December 1992
  4. "Waiting for Magic"
    Released: 12 April 1993
  5. "The Sign"
    Released: 1 November 1993
  6. "Don't Turn Around"
    Released: 14 March 1994
  7. "Living in Danger"
    Released: 4 October 1994
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music[2]
The Guardian(favorable)[3]
Music Week[4]

Happy Nation is the debut studio album by Swedish pop group Ace of Base. It was initially released in Denmark on 2 November 1992 by Mega Records. During development of the record, the group was heavily influenced by a Jamaican reggae band residing in a nearby studio.[5] For a release in North America, Japan and some Latin American countries, the album was retitled The Sign with a heavily revised track listing and three new tracks. To coincide with this, Happy Nation was reissued with the new tracks in other territories as Happy Nation (U.S. Version). In 1995, Guinness Book of World Records named the LP the best-selling debut studio effort in music history, at more than 19 million copies sold worldwide.[6] By 1998, Happy Nation/The Sign had sold approximately 21 million units including 9 million in the US alone.[7] Happy Nation/The Sign is one of the best-selling albums of all time.

  1. ^ Larkin, Colin (2010). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Volume 1. Guinness Publishing. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-5615-9176-3. When Ace of Base scored a massive worldwide number 1 in 1993 with 'All That She Wants', the comparisons to fellow Swedish group, Abba, seemed obvious: Two female vocalists, one blonde, one brunette, and two male musicians, playing catchy dance pop.
  2. ^ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
  3. ^ Sullivan, Caroline (1993-06-11). "Music: Rock/pop". The Guardian.
  4. ^ Jones, Alan (1993-06-19). "Market Preview: Mainstream - Albums" (PDF). Music Week. p. 23. Retrieved 2023-01-29.
  5. ^ "Ulf Ekberg (Ace of Base): The Interview". EuroMenTravel. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 11 July 2016.
  6. ^ Tortorici, Frank (2000-05-18). "Ace of Base's Jenny Berggren". MTV. Archived from the original on September 11, 2016. Retrieved 2016-08-31.
  7. ^ Ferro, Charles (30 May 1998). "Ace Of Base Sprouts 'Flowers'". Billboard. p. 70. Retrieved 1 November 2019.