En gång i tiden (transl.Once Upon a Time) is the second studio album by Swedish singer Benjamin Ingrosso, released on 15 January 2021 by TEN Music Group. Ingrosso's first album in Swedish, he is credited as a co-producer on every song.[1][2] Dealing with themes of love, friendship, and childhood, Ingrosso described the album as an homage to 1990s pop,[3] with influences from Orup, Mauro Scocco, and Lisa Nilsson.[4][5] In mid-2020, Ingrosso was a contestant on the Swedish music reality series Så mycket bättre; two of his covers from the series are included on the track listing, including "Långsamt farväl", originally by Nilsson.[3] The lyrics of "Längst inne i mitt huvud" were taken from a poem by Swedish writer Barbro Lindgren.[2] "Flickan på min gata", written when Ingrosso was 12–13 years old,[4][6] was released as a single on 11 January 2021.[7]

En gång i tiden
Studio album by
Released15 January 2021 (2021-01-15)
GenrePop[1][2]
Length23:36
LanguageSwedish
LabelTEN Music
Producer
Benjamin Ingrosso chronology
Identification
(2018)
En gång i tiden
(2021)
En gång i tiden (del 2)
(2021)
Singles from En gång i tiden
  1. "Flickan på min gata"
    Released: 11 January 2021

The album debuted at number one on the Swedish national albums chart published by the Swedish Recording Industry Association.[8][9] A follow-up album, En gång i tiden (del 2), was released on 16 April 2021;[10][11] En gång i tiden was subsequently listed as En gång i tiden (del 1) on some streaming services.[12]

Critical reception

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Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Aftonbladet     [1]
Borås Tidning     [13]
Dagens Nyheter     [2]
Gaffa      [14]
Göteborgs-Posten     [15]
Nöjesguiden      [5]

En gång i tiden received mixed reviews from domestic music critics. In a review for Dagens Nyheter, the album's modern pop sound was praised, but criticism was aimed at the vocals' use of Auto-Tune and the lyrics' lack of emotion.[2] A reviewer for Nöjesguiden noted the memorable lyrics and nostalgic sound but found the album lacked a common theme.[5] Aftonbladet and Gaffa both highlighted Ingrosso's maturity in recording Swedish-language songs compared to his English-language debut in 2018, noting the more personal subject matter of their lyrics.[1][14] A two-star review from Borås Tidning praised Ingrosso's songwriting but felt that the album's tracks were "safe", unexciting, and not memorable.[13]

Track listing

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Credits adapted from Tidal.[16]

En gång i tiden track listing[17]
No.TitleWriter(s)ProducersLength
1."Känns som att livet börjar hända"
  • Aron WyMe
  • Ingrosso
3:11
2."Barnasinnet"Ingrosso
  • Ingrosso
  • Sebastian Atas
3:26
3."Tänd alla ljus"
  • Charlie Bernardo Kågell
  • Isak Bornebusch Alverus
  • Leslie Kocuvie-Tay
  • Silvana Imam
  • Ingrosso
  • Robert Habolin
3:02
4."Vad skulle hända om vi försvann..?"
  • Ingrosso
  • Sebastian Atas
  • Victor Sjöström
  • Viktor Broberg
  • Ingrosso
  • Atas
  • Sjöström
  • Broberg
2:24
5."Se men inte röra"
  • Ingrosso
  • Robert Habolin
  • Ingrosso
  • Habolin
2:52
6."Längst inne i mitt huvud"
  • Ingrosso
  • Lindvall
2:41
7."Långsamt farväl"Mauro Scocco
  • Ingrosso
  • Habolin
  • Stefan Olsson
3:05
8."Flickan på min gata"
2:55
Total length:23:36

Charts

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Certifications

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Region Certification Certified units/sales
Sweden (GLF)[20] Gold 15,000

Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d Azarmi, Natasha (15 January 2021). "Benjamin Ingrosso låter unik på svenska" [Benjamin Ingrosso sounds unique in Swedish]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  2. ^ a b c d e Ferrada-Noli, Nicholas Ringskog (15 January 2021). "Benjamin Ingrossos låtar inte lika känslofyllda som han själv" [Benjamin Ingrosso's songs are not as emotional as he himself]. Dagens Nyheter (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  3. ^ a b Folcker, Sebastian (15 January 2021). "Benjamin Ingrosso om nya albumet: En hommage till 90-talet" [Benjamin Ingrosso on the new album: An homage to the 90s] (in Swedish). Sveriges Television. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  4. ^ a b Larsson, Ronny (21 December 2020). "Briljanta Benjamin" [Brilliant Benjamin]. QX (in Swedish). No. 304 (published January 2021). pp. 42–43. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  5. ^ a b c Andersson, Sofie (15 January 2021). "Benjamin Ingrosso - En gång i tiden". Nöjesguiden (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  6. ^ Shimoda, Anna; Shimoda, Hans (19 January 2021). "Benjamin Ingrosso om kärleksryktet: 'Det är skönt att vara singel'" [Benjamin Ingrosso on love rumours: 'It is nice to be single']. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  7. ^ "Flickan på min gata - Single av Benjamin Ingrosso på Apple Music" [Flickan på min gata - Single by Benjamin Ingrosso on Apple Music] (in Swedish). Apple Music. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  8. ^ "Topplistorna: Benjamin Ingrosso in som etta" [The top lists: Benjamin Ingrosso in at number one]. Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). TT News Agency. 22 January 2021. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  9. ^ a b "Veckolista Album, vecka 3" [Weekly Album List, Week 3] (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. 2020. Retrieved 23 January 2020.
  10. ^ "Benjamin Ingrosso Reveals New Swedish Album En gång i tiden - Vagn 2". Culture Fix. April 8, 2021. Retrieved April 12, 2021.
  11. ^ "En gång i tiden (Del 2)".
  12. ^ "En gång i tiden (Del 1)".
  13. ^ a b Engström, Anna (20 January 2021). "Tryggt och inte så värst spännande på "En gång i tiden"" [Safe and not so exciting on "En gång i tiden"]. Borås Tidning (in Swedish). Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  14. ^ a b Norrlin, Tilda (15 January 2021). "Början på en ny musikalisk resa" [The start of a new musical journey]. Gaffa (in Swedish). Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  15. ^ Lindqvist, Johan (13 January 2021). "Recension: Benjamin Ingrosso - "En gång i tiden"" [Review: Benjamin Ingrosso – "En gång i tiden"]. Göteborgs-Posten (in Swedish). Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  16. ^ "Credits / En gång i tiden / Benjamin Ingrosso – TIDAL". Tidal. Retrieved 23 January 2021.
  17. ^ "En gång i tiden av Benjamin Ingrosso på Apple Music" [En gång i tiden by Benjamin Ingrosso on Apple Music] (in Swedish). Apple Music. Retrieved 16 January 2021.
  18. ^ "Årslista Album, 2021". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 14 January 2022.
  19. ^ "Årslista Album, 2023". Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 18 January 2024.
  20. ^ "Veckolista Album, vecka 23, 2021 | Sverigetopplistan" (in Swedish). Sverigetopplistan. Retrieved 19 June 2021.