"Vinegar" is a song by Finnish singer

Anna Abreu Anna Eira Margarida Heiskari (née Mourão de Melo e Abreu; born 7 February 1990), known professionally as simply ABREU since 2017, is a Finnish singer and songwriter. Abreu first rose to fame in Finland after placing as the runner-up in the thi ...

from her second studio album, ''

Now Now most commonly refers to the present time. Now, NOW, or The Now may also refer to: Organizations * Natal Organisation of Women, a South African women's organization * National Organization for Women, an American feminist organization * Now ...

'' (2008). Rauli Eskolin (known professionally as Rake) co-wrote the song with Patric Sarin. Eskolin, who has previously worked on Abreu's debut album ''

'', also produced the song. "Vinegar" is a Pop song but also marked a clear change in musical direction for Abreu, with heavy Dance elements. The song was released on 6 August 2008 in Finland, as the album's lead single. It was also released in the

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in November 2009 as Abreu's first release outside Finland.

Lyrical content

Lyrically, "Vinegar" examines a negative and possibly destructive relationship. Abreu uses a range of metaphors to describe how her partner has had a bad effect upon her, describing herself as things that have positive connotations while describing him as things that have negative connotations: smile/tears, connect/block, cream/lemon (sour), symphony/dischord, and finally 'vinegar in my dreams'. However, the theme of empowerment is clear in the song's lyrics, with Abreu singing that the boy is 'history' and that there'll be 'no more tears and no more hearts to break'.

Chart performance

"Vinegar" debuted at number five on the Finnish Top 20 Singles Chart, before rising to the number one spot two weeks later, becoming Abreu's first number one on the official singles chart. It remained at the top for three non-consecutive weeks and spent a total of nineteen weeks, becoming the eighty-eighth best-selling single of all time in Finland and Abreu's most successful single to date. The song also reached number one on the Finnish Download Chart, as well as number one on the Radio Airplay Chart. In the UK, the song hit number seven on the Official Dance Chart. To date, Abreu continues to have the highest placing on the chart for a Finnish female artist.

Music video

The music video for "Vinegar" was directed by Jaakko Manninen, who had previously directed the videos for Abreu's singles " End of Love" and "

Ivory Tower An ivory tower is a metaphorical place—or an atmosphere—where people are happily cut off from the rest of the world in favor of their own pursuits, usually mental and esoteric ones. From the 19th century, it has been used to designate an e ...

". The video begins with Abreu and male backing dancers in a dark room; close ups show Abreu singing the first verse of the song. When the chorus begins, Abreu is seen dancing in a white room with mirrored walls. Metallic blue and silver balloons then begin falling from the ceiling. The video then cuts between the two locations; topless male dancers join Abreu in the mirrored room. One of the male dancers from the music video (Ragnar Orav) would go on to appear in the 2009 series of Big Brother.

Live performances

Abreu performed the song at the 2009 Emma Awards, during which she was nominated for five awards, including Song of the Year for "Vinegar". It has since become Abreu's signature song and her most popular song to be performed live. To date, it is her most-performed song when she is on tour, having been performed at almost every show during all of her tours since the Now Tour (2008–2009).

Track listing

#"Vinegar" – 3:41

Credits and personnel

Songwriting A songwriter is a musician who professionally composes musical compositions or writes lyrics for songs, or both. The writer of the music for a song can be called a composer, although this term tends to be used mainly in the classical music gen ...

– Patric Sarin, Rauli Eskolin *Production - Rauli Eskolin *

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- Rauli Eskolin (at Inkfish Studios: Helsinki, Finland) *Instruments - Rauli Eskolin *Lead vocals - Anna Abreu *Backing vocals - Anna Abreu * Mixing - Rauli Eskolin

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2008 singles 2008 songs Anna Abreu songs Songs written by Patric Sarin Songs written by Rauli Eskolin RCA Records singles