2011 Could Have Been The Year of Jenny Berggren!

As the year comes to an end, I am working on my annual list of my Top 20 songs of the year. While you wait for the list, I'd like to feature some songs that didn't make my countdown.

Today's feature is for someone who should have been on my countdown multiple times, but wasn't. Jenny Berggren should have had three songs on my list. Two perfect pop songs that she had should have been promoted this year.

Jenny Berggren, photo taken from ultimateaceofbase.com

Who is Jenny Berggren? Well, she is the former lead singer of Ace Of Base. And if you don't know who they are, shame on you! They had brilliant songs and albums in the 90s.

Ace Of Base in 1998: Linn, Ulf, Jenny and Jonas

In case you didn't know, Ace Of Base's last studio album with Jenny was the wonderful "Da Capo", which was released in 2002. They look a six year break, and got back together without Jenny's sister Linn in 2008 for a tour and re-recorded some of their old hits for a new greatest hits package, which was released in 2009. After that, the band was to make a new studio album. Unfortunately, the band imploded.

Ace Of Base in 2008: Ulf, Jenny and Jonas

Jenny went solo and Ace Of Base got two new singers. It is unfortunate the way things went, but in 2010 both Jenny and Ace Of Base released two great albums. I liked Jenny's first single, "Here I Am." The video was super cute, even if it was on a budget. I am a firm believer that you don't have to have a huge budget to make a great video. "Here I Am" was a nice start for her. But she had better songs to come. Unfortunately, the song was only released in Sweden and Germany, making it hard to track down in the US.

I absolutely loved her second single, "Gotta Go." It was released worldwide on iTunes in the fall of 2010. It was fresh and sounded very current. It could easily be heard on US radio. But unfortunately, little promotion was done for the single. Including no official video was made for it. "Gotta Go" was #18 on my list of favourite songs of 2010. I think it would have been higher if an official video had been made, even if it a simple video. There was a cute fan-made video that took clips from Ace Of Base's video for "C'est La Vie."

Jenny's debut solo album, "My Story", was also released in Sweden in the fall of 2010. It had some really great songs. However, there were two standout tracks that were screaming to be singles. Sadly, the album saw no more singles after "Gotta Go." The two songs I love are called "Dying To Stay Alive" and "Natural Superstar."

"Dying To Stay Alive" is amazing dance pop song. It has a strong keyboard sound that will get your feet tapping. It is so awesome! It was rumoured to be the third single, but nothing ever came of it. Pity. It could have definitely made my Top 10 favourite songs of 2011. You can hear the song on YouTube by clicking the song title. "I'm just gonna be dancing, wa oh oh!" Yes, this makes you want to dance!

"Natural Superstar" is also a wonderful gem on the album that has a catchy little whistle. One listen, and you will be whistling all day long, too! The lyrics are about how society pressures make some girls feel like they must change their looks to look like models. The dance beat is perfect. A fan took a video from another song and put it to this one on YouTube. You can see it by clicking on the title of the song. Again, this song definitely could have been in my Top 10 as I love it so much.

But why aren't these songs in my favourite songs of 2011? Mainly because they weren't released as singles. No official videos were made. No remixes. No promotion of them. It really is too bad, as both are AMAZING songs.

Jenny did have another song out at the beginning of 2011, but only in Denmark. The song was called "Let You Heart Be Mine." Jenny performed this song as part of the Danish Eurovision contest. The song didn't win. I liked the song. It had a nice key change and all, but it wasn't as good as "Dying To Stay Alive" and "Natural Superstar." I do like the song. And currently, I am debating whether to include it in my top 20 list. Will it make it? I don't know yet. You have to wait and see ...

Jenny has an beautiful voice. And she is a talented songwriter. I hope there will be more music for her in 2012. Of course, I would love for Jenny and her sister to return to Ace Of Base, but I don't think that will be happening any time soon ... perhaps one day. We definitely need more music from Jenny!

Jenny Berggren's album "My Story" isn't available in the US on iTunes or Amazon. However, there is a website called mp3va.com that carries the album. You just have to prepay your account first ... you get songs cheaper by buying in bulk.