Thursday 17 January 2013

Eurocovers: Carmen Rasmusen sings Crazy in Love

Fred Bronson is a curious man. He's an eminent American music journalist, having published a number of books and contributed regular columns to Billboard magazine. He has an encyclopaedic knowledge of popular music, and a wide range of tastes. Which can be the only explanation for the fact that he is the only person in the known universe to profess a liking for 'Loca', the 2006 Moldovan Eurovision entry sung by one of O-Zone and a girl in a bikini hiding behind a sail.

He's also evidently a keen follower of Melodifestivalen, even being involved in the international jury that loved 'Alla' so much in 2009. So much so that, as a mentor on American Idol in 2003, he wanted one of the contestants to perform one of that year's MF finalists.
"I had a song that I thought would be perfect for Carmen Rasmusen -- a Swedish hit by Jill Johnson called 'Crazy in Love' (not the Beyoncé song). I knew she shouldn't sing an unknown song on the show, but I also knew I couldn't suggest a song while she was in competition."
And so he kept the idea to himself, but not for long. Once Rasmusen left the competition in sixth place, Bronson was back on the case, with 'Crazy In Love' in his pocket:
"A few months after season two was over, Carmen told me she was recording some demos. That's when I told her about 'Crazy in Love'. She heard the song, loved it and her manager called the publisher in Sweden to make a deal. Carmen recorded the song on an EP that was released on an independent label […] and did a fantastic job."
She did indeed. Rasmusen's performing style was derided by many when she was on American Idol, and indeed the young singer did have trouble taming her sometimes goaty-sounding vibrato and had an unfortunate habit of slapping her own backside while singing, but she did have an interesting tone. That quality comes out in her studio recordings, and 'Crazy In Love' is a surprisingly good fit for her voice, coming across higher and lighter than Jill Johnson’s more mature sound.

Being by a mostly unknown artist on an unknown label, the song didn't achieve any success in the US, but it's great to see how well it could transfer to an American artist.

2 comments:

  1. I can't say I like the song, but she has a beautiful voice. It would be wonderful to listen to her other songs if she had other songs.

    The song reminds me of a Eurovision song participated in recent years, but can't figure out which one.

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  2. She has quite a few songs on YouTube and her album (which doesn't have this song on) is on Spotify.

    This was her only real attempt at a single: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GND0XwCSjUo

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