It’s been quite the week for Molly Sandén so far – what with new listeners discovering her voice in their millions (maybe even hundreds of millions?), via the Netflix film Eurovision Song Contest: The Story of Fire Saga. In it, Molly provides the singing vocals for Rachel McAdams’ character, credited under a pseudonym, My Marianne. And those songs have been taking off on streaming platforms – in particular, ‘Húsavík‘ – with listeners either falling in love with Molly’s singing voice for the very first time, or, if you follow the pop coming out of Sweden, being reminded of one of the best vocalists that the country has produced in recent years.
Whichever category you fall into, you might be totally into this. Whether you see it as an introduction to the artist behind My Marianne, or an excuse to reminisce on Molly Sandén’s musical output since she started out as a young ‘un, we’ve compiled an easy dive into her back catalogue. A ranked retrospective – highlighting the absolute best songs she’s released across four albums and an EP. A countdown of our Top 20 Molly Sandén songs – featuring both hit singles and album tracks.
There’s a playlist. Molly Sandén – Back To Back, or Rygg Mot Rygg, to use one of her song titles. It’s not in the order we’ve placed the songs in below, but rather a chronological playlist, as we find that listening to Molly’s songs works better that way – what with her eras being so clearly defined in their sound and style. And we’ve also placed some extras into the playlist, that just missed out on the Top 20. You can check out the playlist right here.
Right then. The Top 20 songs of Molly Sandén’s career thus far – let’s take a long, hard look and listen;
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20. Why Am I Crying (2012)
Her 2012 Melodifestivalen finalist which is perhaps now more well known accompanied by the mental image of a deranged Ja’Mie King. But at the time, it was her public break-up anthem following her split from Eric Saade, and which led us all to frown upon his apparent habit of leaving dirty towels on the floor. The absolute dog.
19. Kärlek (2009)
A bright and sunny Motown-flavoured romp that brings a smile to the face whether you understand a word of Swedish or not.
18. Mirage (2012)
An impossibly dramatic ballad that makes ‘Why Am I Crying’ sound like an upbeat joy-giver of the highest order. And we live for every second of it.
17. Det Bästa Kanske Inte Hänt Än (2019)
‘The Best Possibly Hasn’t Happened Yet’, if you were wondering. An irresistibly rousing track that you can chant-along to, if you can memorise a song title that long.
16. Like No One’s Watching (2015)
This song would probably be even higher had we never heard Ellie Goulding’s ‘Love Me Like You Do’, and if it wasn’t so glaringly obvious what Molly had asked her team to recreate when she went into the studio that day. But still – a tune’s a tune!
15. Sand (2018)
A song so good that it started taking off (in a big way) even before it got released as a single from the ‘Större’ album. It’s the record’s large ballad, and remains one of the biggest streaming hits she’s ever had.
14. Säg Att Det Är Regn (2009)
A classic ballad that takes influences from as broad a range of sources as gospel, country and folk, and which sounds so timeless that it could well be re-recorded for her next album and no one would bat an eyelid. Go on Molly, do it.
13. Ingen Som Jag (2018)
A standout album track from ‘Större’ which unfortunately never saw the light as a single. So if you’ve never had the thrill of getting lost in that dreamy chorus – indulge yourself immediately.
12. Det Är Inte Jag (2009)
A cut from her ‘Samma Himmel’ album – though in all honesty, a hasty translation into English and it would not have sounded out of place on The Saturdays’ ‘Chasing Lights’ or ‘Wordshaker’ albums.
11. Rygg Mot Rygg (2017)
Molly’s comeback single after she had been away for 18 months, and a return to her singing in her native Swedish for what was the first time in eight years. We knew when hearing it that it was all about to change for her. Spoiler alert: it did.
10. Phoenix (2015)
Well look, we were all huge fans of Sia back in 2015. Molly has the pipes to pull off a tribute better than most, though. And that “so watch me burn…” middle eight still shakes us to our very core.
09. Spread A Little Light (2011)
At the time, this was her first release in two years, since her debut album ‘Samma Himmel’. It was also her first release in English, and set the tone for the ‘Unchained’ album that would follow the next year. Written with the same woman credited to Sanna Nielsen’s seminal ‘Empty Room’, Aleena Gibson, it ushered Molly Sandén into a more mature era in her career.
08. Större (2018)
The song that soundtracked Molly’s proper ascension into what’s thus far been the imperial phase of her career, seeing her become större than ever!
07. Alla Våra Smeknamn (2019)
Released late last year as a bonus track to the special edition of her latest album, it serves as the most recent example we have of what direction she most wants to go in – and we are so happy that this is what she is wanting to sound like.
06. Så Vill Stjärnorna (2009)
Probably the song from Molly’s back catalogue that is most similar to ‘Húsavík’, in that it’s an enormous schlager ballad tailored towards the Eurovision Song Contest. So much so, that it actually competed in Melodifestivalen. Though it was in the Year of Competitive Death – aka 2009 – and so ended up finishing in a positively criminal 11th place in the final.
05. Utan Dig (feat. Newkid) (2017)
A wonderfully unassuming slow jam that is nonetheless relentless in capturing and keeping the listener. Originally released without Newkid, but his guest verse elevates the song into something even more special.
04. Youniverse (2016)
After huge radio airplay and streaming success the year before, Molly entered Melodifestivalen in 2016 as the overwhelming favourite to win, with ‘Youniverse’ – co-penned with her then partner Danny Saucedo. Molly has since said that it was this enormous expectation on her, paired with her only managing to finish in 6th place in the final, that caused her to fall into a pretty bad space for a while, feeling like – in her own words – a failure, and taking some time away from music. We hope that by now she has let go of any bad feelings towards the song though – it remains a huge favourite with fans of both her and Melodifestivalen.
03. Freak (2014)
A haunting number on which Molly wrote about her struggles with self confidence for the first time. It also marked her first release independently, after leaving Warner, and her first time writing with Smith & Thell – her having the good ear to work with them a few years before they became the huge songwriters they are now (and they still continue to work with her today, too). Truly a milestone song in her career.
02. A Little Forgiveness (feat. Christopher) (2012)
A ballad that’s utterly fraught with drama, but which is performed to such perfection that it is only ever gripping, without straying into OTT territory. Features a young Mattman & Robin on songwriting duties, cutting their teeth before they would go on to write hits for the likes of Selena Gomez, Britney Spears, Taylor Swift and Dua Lipa. If you ask us, this song competes with the best of all of ’em!
01. Va Det Då (2019)
Molly’s most anthemic offering to date. We spent most of last year being utterly floored by this chorus. The perfect Molly Sandén song in that it finds a wonderful balance between the artist she is now and the pure pop sensibilities of what made her a star in the first place.
