Scan Magazine | Cover Feature | Ace Wilder
Photo: Daniel Stigefelt
me stronger, but I was really glad when it was over.”
Busy Doin’ Nothin’ went to number one in the Swedish singles chart and was certified three-times platinum but, as a result of the whole thing coming as somewhat of a surprise, Wilder faced a situation where she had to go on tour but did not have enough material. “I had no songs and I needed at least 40, so I wrote a bunch of tunes but it all felt quite thrown together,” says the singer. A muchneeded hiatus followed, during which she got the chance to, as she puts it, find herself and figure out who she was and what she wanted to be about. “I guess I should have done that before Mello in 2014, but we were always two steps behind then. This time, I’m going to be a step ahead.”
A mature comeback Wilder is referring to Melodifestivalen 2016, which will see her return to the
stage during the semi-final in Gothenburg on 6 February with the song Don’t Worry. And this time she knows what to expect and will not need to be scared. What the audience can expect is more of the up-tempo pop music she first became known for, but this time with an element of what she calls maturity. “I’m reluctant to refer to myself as a ‘mature woman’, but last time everyone kept saying to me that I was so young and everything and, you know, I’m not. I had a meeting with my agent the other day and very much just said that I need to show that I’m an adult and I have sex,” she laughs. “Seriously though, people kept thinking I was 17, but I’m 31 and I want to be 31 and talk about things you do when you’re 31.”
that makes a difference, something to be proud of. “I’d like to work with fashion and design as well, because I love that, but I can’t just work with the superficial all the time,” she explains. “I had a moment just before Christmas when I just felt like, you know what, I don’t want to think about presents, I don’t want any presents – it all just feels wrong. I did some songwriting and dancing workshops before, and you really get something back from that kind of work. It might be selfish, but doing things for others makes you feel really, really good.”
Whatever Melodifestivalen 2016 brings, Wilder’s biggest hope is to get to focus on music wholeheartedly and release music she loves, free from restrictions. But alongside this dream sits an urge to give something back and do something Photo: Jeremias Mielonen.
30 | Issue 84 | January 2016