Obsession is a song recorded by Swedish band

Army of Lovers Army of Lovers is a Swedish dance- pop group which formed in 1987 and had a number of hits in Europe throughout the 1990s. Some of their biggest successes include the song "Crucified", which was a big hit in Europe, charting 31 weeks in the Eu ...

. It is one of their most well-known songs and scored chart success across Europe. Released in September 1991 as the second single from their second album, ''

Massive Luxury Overdose ''Massive Luxury Overdose'' is the second studio album by the Swedish pop group Army of Lovers. The album was released in 1991, and the second version (called U.S. Edition) was released in 1992. The album contains the band's biggest hits, includin ...

'' (1991), it soared to the number-one position on both the radio and the dance charts in Sweden. It also peaked at number two on the

Swedish singles chart 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 ...

, number four in Belgium, number seven in Austria and Germany, and number nine in Spain. The lyrics are written by

Alexander Bard Alexander Bengt Magnus Bard (born 17 March 1961) is a Swedish musician, author, lecturer, artist, songwriter, music producer, TV personality, religious and political activist, and one of the founders of the Syntheist religious movement alongside ...

and

Anders Wollbeck Anders Wilhelm Axel Wollbeck (born 10 February 1958 in Stockholm) is a Swedish songwriter and producer. He plays the guitar and Keyboard instrument, keyboard. He is part of the songwriting and production duo Vacuum (band), Vacuum together with Mat ...

, and the song is in part inspired by

Laurie Anderson Laurel Philips Anderson (born June 5, 1947), known as Laurie Anderson, is an American avant-garde artist, composer, musician, and film director whose work spans performance art, pop music, and multimedia projects. Initially trained in violin and ...

's 1981 song, "

O Superman "O Superman", also known as "O Superman (For Massenet)", is a 1981 song by performance artist and musician Laurie Anderson. The song became a surprise hit in the United Kingdom after it was championed by DJ John Peel, rising to #2 on the UK Single ...

". Primarily, the "ah ah" looped backing track. In 1992, they re-released the single exclusively for the US and includes remixes only found in this version. It got released in September, exactly a year apart from the original release, and went to number eleven on the ''

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 ...

Dance Club Songs Dance Club Songs is a chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine in the United States. It is a national look over of club disc jockeys to determine the most popular songs being played in nightclubs across the country. It was launched as t ...

chart.

Chart performance

"Obsession" was successful on the charts in Europe. It reached number two in the band's native Sweden, being held off reaching the top spot by

Bryan Adams Bryan Guy Adams (born 5 November 1959) is a Canadian musician, singer, songwriter, composer, and photographer. He has been cited as one of the best-selling music artists of all time, and is estimated to have sold between 75 million and mor ...

' "

(Everything I Do) I Do It For You "(Everything I Do) I Do It for You" is a song by Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams. Written by Adams, Michael Kamen, and Robert John "Mutt" Lange, the power ballad was the lead single for both the soundtrack album from the 1991 film '' Robi ...

". The song stayed within the top 10 for six weeks. Additionally, it hit number-one on both the Swedish radio chart and the Swedish dance chart. It entered the top 10 also in Austria (7), Belgium (4), Finland (9), Germany (7), Greece (9), the Netherlands (8), Spain (9), Sweden (2) and Switzerland (7). In the United Kingdom, "Obsession" peaked at number 67 in its first week at the

UK Singles Chart The UK Singles Chart (currently titled Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of the British record industry, listing the top-s ...

, on December 22, 1991. On the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

, it hit number 29 in February 1992. That year, it charted also in the United States, peaking at number eleven on the ''

chart.

Critical reception

Andy Kastanas from ''

The Charlotte Observer ''The Charlotte Observer'' is an American English-language newspaper serving Charlotte, North Carolina, and its metro area. The Observer was founded in 1886. As of 2020, it has the second-largest circulation of any newspaper in the Carolinas. I ...

'' complimented "Obsession" as "another good song that deserves a listen". He added, "This is much more downbeat than their earlier stuff, with easier vocals and a sound reminiscent of old

Imagination Imagination is the production or simulation of novel objects, sensations, and ideas in the mind without any immediate input of the senses. Stefan Szczelkun characterises it as the forming of experiences in one's mind, which can be re-creations ...

Enigma Enigma may refer to: *Riddle, someone or something that is mysterious or puzzling Biology *ENIGMA, a class of gene in the LIM domain Computing and technology * Enigma (company), a New York-based data-technology startup * Enigma machine, a family ...

." Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' called it "slow

disco Disco is a genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the 1970s from the United States' urban nightlife scene. Its sound is typified by four-on-the-floor beats, syncopated basslines, string sections, brass and horns, electric pia ...

". Ian Gittins from ''

Melody Maker ''Melody Maker'' was a British weekly music magazine, one of the world's earliest music weeklies; according to its publisher, IPC Media, the earliest. It was founded in 1926, largely as a magazine for dance band musicians, by Leicester-born ...

'' commented, "I was sufficiently moved by the

Abba ABBA ( , , formerly named Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid or Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida) are a Swedish supergroup formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. The group's ...

-harmonies and high camp of Army of Lovers' "

Crucified Crucifixion is a method of capital punishment in which the victim is tied or nailed to a large wooden cross or beam and left to hang until eventual death from exhaustion and asphyxiation. It was used as a punishment by the Persians, Carthagin ...

" to make it Single Of The Week, but this time the Swedish cartoon trio are far less instant." A reviewer from ''

Newcastle Evening Chronicle The ''Evening Chronicle'', now referred to as ''The Comical'', is a daily newspaper produced in Newcastle upon Tyne covering North regional news, but primarily focused on Newcastle upon Tyne and surrounding area. The ''Comical'' is published by ...

'' declared it as "mesmerising".

Music video

The band released two versions of the

music video A music video is a video of variable duration, that integrates a music song or a music album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a m ...

. It features the band performing in what appears to be a mental institution. The first version, from 1991, features La Camilla. But after she left the group, she was replaced by De La Cour who appear in the second version from 1992. Both videos were directed by Swedish director Fredrik Boklund. He also directed the other videos for Army of Lovers. The first version of "Obsession" was later published on

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

in 2016 and by May 2023, the video had generated more than 6.9 million views.

Single track listing

* 7" single #"Obsession" (Radio Edit) – 3:40 #"Obsession" (Dub Version) – 3:43 * 12" maxi #"Obsession" (Schizoperetta Mix) – 6:40 #"Obsession" (Radio Edit) – 3:40 #"Obsession" (Armageddon Mix) – 4:09 #"Obsession" (Hermaphrodisiac Mix) – 4:49 * CD single, Australia (1991) #"Obsession" (Radio Edit) – 3:40 #"Obsession" (Schizoperetta Mix) – 6:40 #"Obsession" (Dub Version) – 3:43 * 12" maxi, US (1992) #"Obsession" (Compulsion Mix) – 8:37 #"Obsession" (Schizoperetta Mix) – 6:41 #"Obsession" (A Cappella Mix) – 2:44 #"Obsession" (Shadowzone Dub) – 8:30 #"Obsession" (Techno-Schizo Mix) – 6:55 * CD maxi, US (1992) #"Obsession" (Radio Edit) – 3:40 #"Obsession" (Compulsive Radio Edit) – 3:59 #"Obsession" (Compulsion Mix) – 8:37 #"Obsession" (Schizoperetta Mix) – 6:41 #"Obsession" (Shadowzone Dub) – 8:30 #"Obsession" (Techno-Schizo Mix) – 6:55

Charts

References

{{Army of Lovers 1991 singles Army of Lovers songs English-language Swedish songs Songs written by Alexander Bard 1991 songs Songs written by Anders Wollbeck Music videos directed by Fredrik Boklund