"Changed My Mind" is a song by Swedish singer

Tove Styrke Tove Anna Linnéa Östman Styrke (; born 19 November 1992) is a Swedish singer and songwriter. She gained popularity as a contestant on '' Swedish Idol 2009'', finishing in third place. After the show, she started a solo career in electropop. Sh ...

from her third studio album ''

Sway Sway may refer to: Places * Sway, Hampshire, a village and civil parish in the New Forest in England ** Sway railway station, serving the village People * Sway (British musician) (born 1983), British hip hop/grime singer * Sway Calloway (born 1 ...

'' (2018). The song was written by the singer, Elof Loelv, Michael Trewartha, Kyle Trewartha, Kathryn Ostenberg, and Linnea Södahl, with production by Loelv. It was released as the third single from the album on 2 February 2018, through Sony Music. The

synth-pop Synth-pop (short for synthesizer pop; also called techno-pop; ) is a subgenre of new wave music that first became prominent in the late 1970s and features the synthesizer as the dominant musical instrument. It was prefigured in the 1960s ...

and

tropical house Tropical house, also known as trop house, is a subgenre of house music, and a derivation of tropical music, with elements of dancehall and Balearic house. Artists of the genre are often featured at various summer festivals such as Tomorrowland. T ...

song includes

dancehall Dancehall is a genre of Jamaican popular music that originated in the late 1970s. Initially, dancehall was a more sparse version of reggae than the roots style, which had dominated much of the 1970s.Barrow, Steve & Dalton, Peter (2004) "The Rou ...

influences and vocoder effects. Its lyrics detail an on-again, off-again relationship where the singer changes her mind about her partner. "Changed My Mind" received general praise from music critics, some of whom noted its commercial appeal. Upon its release, the song peaked at number 90 on the

Sverigetopplistan Sverigetopplistan (, lit. "the Sweden top list") is the Swedish national record chart, formerly known as Topplistan (1975–1997) and Hitlistan (1998–2007) and known by its current name since October 2007, based on sales data from the Swedish R ...

singles chart in Sweden. For promotion, Sony Music released an accompanying lyric video. In addition to the clip, Styrke promoted the song with a live performance on

Like a Version ''Like a Version'' is a weekly segment on Australian youth radio station Triple J. It involves Australian and international artists playing two songs live in the Triple J studio, one of their own songs (an "original") and then a cover version, h ...

in April 2018. Grant, who served as the opening act for Styrke's Sway Tour in the Nordics in late 2018, released a cover version of the song on the tour's beginning date.

Background and release

wrote "Changed My Mind" with Elof Loelv, Michael and Kyle Trewartha of duo Grey, Kathryn Ostenberg, and Linnea Södahl, for her third studio album ''

'' (2018). Styrke mainly collaborated with Loelv on ''Sway'' and said that the two spent "a lot of time" working on the songs. She stated, "Both of us have really high standards and need to get it exactly right, but when you do it's worth it." Loelv managed both production and programming, in addition to playing all the instruments on the song. Henrik Edenhed mixed the track and

Randy Merrill Randy Merrill is an American mastering engineer who has worked with international artists including DAY6, Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, Maroon 5, Harry Styles, One Direction, Adele, Imagine Dragons, Beck, Liam Gallagher, Jonas Brothers, Muse, Cage the ...

handled mastering. "Changed My Mind" was digitally released on 2 February 2018, through Sony Music. It was the third single issued from ''Sway'' ahead of the album's release in May 2018. The single's artwork, designed by Sepidar Hosseini, features an illustrated pair of dice. In an interview for '' NME'', Styrke was asked why dice were used and not a crystal ball, to which she answered, "We went for dice for that one as it's an immediate thing. The crystal ball is about your long-term future, and that's not really what this song is about. It's more 'Am I going to spend tonight with this person?' And... I'm kind of hoping for double sixes." The single release coincided with the announcement of ''Sway'' forthcoming release date.

Composition and lyrics

"Changed My Mind" is a three-minutes and five-second

and

song. Music commentators identified

elements; Margaret Farrell of '' Pitchfork'' described it as a " Tilt-a-Whirling dancehall" track. Mike Wass, writing for ''

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

'', observed that the song's genre fits "between alt and mainstream-pop". Instrumentation is provided by a bass guitar,

drums A drum kit (also called a drum set, trap set, or simply drums) is a collection of drums, cymbals, and other Percussion instrument, auxiliary percussion instruments set up to be played by one person. The player (drummer) typically holds a pair o ...

, handclaps, a guitar,

keyboards Keyboard may refer to: Text input * Keyboard, part of a typewriter * Computer keyboard ** Keyboard layout, the software control of computer keyboards and their mapping ** Keyboard technology, computer keyboard hardware and firmware Music * Musi ...

, percussion, and a

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

. '' Time'' Raisa Bruner characterized the production as a "light, minimalist pop backdrop". Styrke's vocals are distorted on the bridge with vocoder, while her vocals on the pre-chorus change in

octave In music, an octave ( la, octavus: eighth) or perfect octave (sometimes called the diapason) is the interval between one musical pitch and another with double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been refer ...

s. The lyrics of "Changed My Mind" describe an on-again, off-again relationship while in its "on" phase. Maura Johnston from '' Rolling Stone'' noted that its lyrics express ambivalence, and Bruner viewed the song as a "nod at the complexities of modern love". The

chorus Chorus may refer to: Music * Chorus (song) or refrain, line or lines that are repeated in music or in verse * Chorus effect, the perception of similar sounds from multiple sources as a single, richer sound * Chorus form, song in which all verse ...

includes the lines "Ooh pull me closer and I changed my mind, ooh it ain't over and I changed my mind", and "I wasn't really sure about us, but now I'm pretty sure about us." '' The Line of Best Fit'' writer Matthew Kent defined its lyricism as tongue-in-cheek. Styrke stated that "Changed My Mind" conveys an "almost anti-romantic" and "unromantic" side of love. In an interview for '' Ones to Watch'', she elaborated: "My idea for it was that I wanted it to be like, when you follow a person, sort of the stalking process. You have a history with this person but then you realize that this person is not good for you." In a separate article in '' V'', Styrke explained that early on in the song, her vocals are "super crisp and clear" when she sings the line "I changed my mind" and as it progresses, the vocoder "comes in and goes nuts" on the lyric. The singer said that "at that point I guess you're drunk and think it's the best decision ever". She told ''

Billboard A billboard (also called a hoarding in the UK and many other parts of the world) is a large outdoor advertising structure (a billing board), typically found in high-traffic areas such as alongside busy roads. Billboards present large advertise ...

'' that the song has "that tipsiness vibe".

Reception

"Changed My Mind" was met with generally positive reviews from music critics. Upon its release, Bruner from ''Time'' included the song on a list of "5 Songs You Need to Listen to This Week", writing that Styrke "is cleverly marking out her own pop territory". Kish Lal of '' The Sydney Morning Herald'' praised the single, commenting that "it is on songs like 'Changed My Mind' where tyrkesings with bravado that she is most impressive". Simon Österhof of '' Västerbottens-Kuriren'' called it "fantastic", and '' The Guardian'' Graeme Virtue regarded the song a "deceptively casual banger" and stated, "Playful keyboard chops, a light dusting of sci-fi dancehall blarps and an octave-sliding pre-chorus are folded into a chart-ready fondant." Similarly, Wass from ''Idolator'' labeled it a "brilliant banger", concluding: "With any luck this could be the song that lifts her profile to the next level." Kent, writing for ''The Line of Best Fit'', commended the track's melodies and tongue-in-cheek lyrics. In a more critical review, Markus Larsson of ''

Aftonbladet ''Aftonbladet'' (, lit. "The evening paper") is a Swedish daily newspaper published in Stockholm, Sweden. It is one of the largest daily newspapers in the Nordic countries. History and profile The newspaper was founded by Lars Johan H ...

'' deemed the song the only filler track on ''Sway'', writing that the mix of tropical house and pop is "on autopilot". ''Rolling Stone'' selected "Changed My Mind" as the 27th-best-song of 2018, writing: "The Swedish singer and candidate for Catchiest Artist Alive makes falling back into the arms of someone you swore off sound wickedly fun. It’s an expertly made synth-pop souffle — both light-as-air and satisfying." Commercially, the single did not match the performances of ''Sway'' previous singles " Say My Name" and " Mistakes". "Changed My Mind" debuted at number 90 on the Swedish

singles chart on 9 February 2018 and lasted on the chart for a week.

Promotion and cover version

To promote the single, an accompanying lyric video for "Changed My Mind" was uploaded to Styrke's official YouTube channel on 2 February 2018. The video was created by Regnet Co. Styrke performed the song on

for Australian radio station Triple J on 13 April 2018, and also included the song on the set list while touring for ''Sway'' in 2018. Swedish singer Grant released a cover version of "Changed My Mind" on 23 November 2018, through Sony Music. The cover was released on the same date as the beginning of the Nordic shows of the Sway Tour, for which Grant served as the opening act. Grant chose to cover the song because of its "great melody and great lyrics with a mixed message". She said that she "stripped the song to its melody and started building it from scratch", which included using

strings String or strings may refer to: *String (structure), a long flexible structure made from threads twisted together, which is used to tie, bind, or hang other objects Arts, entertainment, and media Films * ''Strings'' (1991 film), a Canadian anim ...

in the production. Styrke approved of the cover, calling it "really beautiful".

Credits and personnel

Credits are adapted from Tidal. *

songwriting *Elof Loelvsongwriting, production, bass, clapping, drums, guitar, percussion, programming, synthesizer * Michael Trewarthasongwriting * Kyle Trewarthasongwriting *Kathryn Ostenbergsongwriting * Linnea Södahlsongwriting *Henrik Edenhedmixing *

mastering

Charts

Release history

References

{{Tove Styrke 2018 songs 2018 singles Tove Styrke songs Tropical house songs Songs written by Tove Styrke Songs written by Elof Loelv Songs written by Linnea Södahl Song recordings produced by Elof Loelv Sony Music singles