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When I was little, my favourite thing was performing.
I thought I was Michael Jackson.
But I lost that as I got older.
I had lost a huge part of that little boy.
At the Grammis yesterday, Benjamin Ingrosso was named Artist of the Year.
The winner of Song of the Year...
Benjamin Ingrosso!
Thank you, Sweden!
WHILE TOURING ACROSS SWEDEN, BENJAMIN INGROSSO IS SIMULTANEOUSLY
RECORDING SONGS FOR HIS FIRST INTERNATIONAL ALBUM.
- Hi. - Hey, good morning.
- Good morning, I'm Victoria. - Benjamin, nice to meet you, welcome.
- You've done so much as an artist. - Yeah.
- It's hard to keep track of the awards. - That's very kind of you to say.
Do you ever feel like, "I can't top this."?
Um... no.
No, but these last few years I've really had to pinch myself many times.
At the same time... I think to a lot of people,
I haven't been an artist for very long.
But I've been doing this since I was eight or nine years old.
I have so much left to do.
And I still have dreams.
We've finished phase one and after that...
Yeah.
...we'll start chasing the dream you've had since you were five years old.
Yes.
It'll start for real.
We'll go to L.A. to start working on the end of the album,
which will start phase two.
My biggest dream is to take my artistry abroad.
I have a goal, a sold out Madison Square Garden.
I'm worried Sweden will think it's hubris.
Especially when you say out loud that you want something.
I will put all my energy, time and power into making this dream come true.
LOS ANGELES
I can dive but the thing is, I have to cover my ears.
We are now in L.A.
because Benjamin has a week of sessions
to finish a bunch of songs for the next album.
He's working with David Stewart and Jessica Agombar.
They're two songwriters who have been in Billboard.
They're still kind of up-and-comers but with a pretty good track record.
I've known Benjamin since I was eight, he was six.
We used to hang out at his place, he pretended to be Vanheden.
Then we'd go to my place, my mum cooked a carbonara he didn't like at all.
And he'd often dance in front of the mirror in our hallway.
I think the world needs a real performer on a global level,
which I don't feel really exists like it used to.
My goal is for Benjamin to become one of the world's biggest artists.
Anything less would be failure.
It is so hot, hot, hot.
- I'm good. You? - Jetlagged?
No, not at all. I slept for ten hours.
Benjamin! Benjamin! Benjamin!
What are they saying?
Benjamin, but in Swedish. Yeah! Crazy, right?
- Benjamin! - It's like a different accent. Benjamin.
And I kind of know more right now where I want to go with my sound,
cause when we had our session,
that was my first session for the entire new chapter
so I kind of didn't know where I wanted to go.
This is the world we're in.
It has ABBA-ish and Queen vibes.
So if I come home with our song,
that could be more of a good song to show the producers in Stockholm,
like this is where we wanna go.
I kinda want, like...
What would a crowd sing like...
- You know, that kind of, like... - Yeah.
How did it go today?
- Shit. - What, in what way?
We didn't make a song.
I'm spraying ideas, but he always wants to change it into something else
and then he catches himself, like, no...
I have never...
One time I've left a studio without writing a song.
Tim travels around the world for me.
He travels around Europe and the US, taking meetings.
Do you feel stressed you can't live up to Tim's expectations of you as an artist?
Yeah, kind of.
Or you know, that's what's great about Tim, he's got that drive.
You're new in your role as an international artist.
Tim is new in his role as manager.
- I'm new in my role as creative director. - Yeah.
So, we all do what we can.
Everyone's a little, not shaky,
but a little, you know, "Okay, how will we build this?"
It isn't enough here to sing well and play the piano. Here you have to be the best.
Everyone is good here.
Everyone plays the piano. Everyone can sing.
And I'm not a good singer, you know?
There are thousands of people like me.
STOCKHOLM
Being here is my least favourite thing. I can't think of anything worse.
I don't get why you hate it so much.
You can feel how warm and cramped and gross it is.
I just want to get out of here.
I fall over when I walk in because there's so much stuff.
And it's so hot. I can't open the windows, I'd have to take everything down.
I've got my chaos organised.
Where did I put my passport? Or my ID? Or my wallet?
I lost it again.
Hey.
OPENING OF THE SWEDISH SUMMER TOUR
A 20 inch bass drum there, a 22 inch here.
One goes, "Plopp, plopp, plopp."
One goes "Boom, boom boom."
Will the audience here understand what we're doing?
Intro.
The idea ism we'll listen, come up with notes if we think need to...
We're listening with the audience's ears.
There are two things I feel right away.
That, "Da da da da da da" we've got as trackset.
- Does that need to go? - So, you don't want, like...
No, that's what I want to get rid of, they clash.
- But I should "cling" the same chord? - "Cling".
I asked Zimney to remove the...
You know, like... So it really becomes...
Can you make it even more, like...
It's 60 minutes, shut up, bang.
Bass, sex.
Guitar... like crazy.
You... like crazy.
- I love you. - Love you.
Good talk.
Benjamin, Benjamin, Benjamin, Benjamin!
I'm back.
You don't get it, when I did that spin with the mic stand, I just like, bam!
And I see a tooth flying. I'm just like, "No, no, no!"
And I turn to the band, like this...
And they're like...
They thought I was telling them to smile.
And they're like...
"We are smiling!"
Is Benjamin a little bit cute? Are you cute, sweetie?
Bianca, sweetie, are you there with your little brother?
My mum worked in the theatre four nights a week.
Usually you might have a babysitter but I made her take me with her.
The smell of those dark red corridors of Göta Lejon.
All the stage technicians setting up the set.
A conductor sitting with the orchestra, tuning the instruments.
You hear the audience.
You hear people sitting down.
The curtain lights drop and the overture begins.
And I get to live in a fairytale every night.
We're filming his little dance.
Benjamin has never doubted what he'll become.
He's always wanted to be on stage.
There's never been any other option.
If you were out walking and saw anything raised,
you knew he'd be up there and give a show.
It was as if he breathed music, theatre, dance.
When you've worked with as many actors as I have,
you can determine what's quality and what isn't.
And Benjamin has something very special in his DNA.
I thought he'd be one of the world's greatest musical theatre artists,
which he absolutely could have been.
But I understood early on that he was more focused on becoming an artist,
writing songs, having that career.
- We're going in a loop plane. - Like, upside down?
Should I really expose myself to this before a gig?
Yes, it's the coolest thing you'll experience in your life.
And this is safe?
- What? - It's safe?
- It'll be great. - Okay.
That's so fucking cool!
Damn!
So cool!
- Thank you so much. - You did good.
I'm so dizzy.
I'm gonna go throw up.
See you.
- Get better soon! - Yeah, you too.
Back when I was listening to them. I was such a fucking fan.
And now I'm making an album with them. That's pretty cool.
Maybe if we wanted to try the chorus more like,
"I feel alive! Can you feel it?"
Make it even more obvious that it's like, choir.
Exactly, should we start from the top?
We'll try.
Yes.
It's like, syncopation.
You'd almost want like a... Kind of.
Mhm it's like...
This is what happens when Benjamin comes in. He comes in like...
Then he starts and he gets going and there's a lot of starting like this...
Then up through the floor...
This is how I imagine the music video...
He's good at painting a clear picture, visually.
Now it's like this...
It could be like that, but in some kind of water, you know.
We often get 451 voice memos.
And also often voice memos when it seems he's playing at his mum's place.
- Yeah. - Why doesn't he have his own piano?
He should be able to have...
Then there are voice memos where he's really winded,
singing a melody at the same time that he's showing a drum beat
and a bass line and a fill.
And then where the fireworks should come in in the last chorus.
Exactly.
SKANSEN STOCKHOLM
When I was 10 or 11 years old, I was on this stage with my mum.
And I ran along the whole catwalk, like, "Come on, Skansen!"
It was full.
Then, about seven or eight years later,
I was on this stage, yelled, "Come on, Skansen!"
There weren't as many fans.
Then, eight years after that, tonight, I can yell.
Come on, Skansen!
I can't hear you in the back!
Skansen, I think we can be louder!
Come on, Skansen, I want it boiling!
Louder, Skansen!
I love you!
- I love you! - I love you.
Let's go in.
- It looked like you had a lot of fun. - I did but I was also distracted.
Damnit. In my head,
it's like I had a devil on my shoulder
telling me I was bad and couldn't move and that people, you know...
There was so much tension about wanting a redo from when I was here last.
- And you got that. - Yes, I know, it was largely about...
you know, I made a small mistake in the first song.
And it stays with me, so I make another in the second.
It's not a mistake anyone notices, it's just that I'm not 100% present.
I've got someone watching me from the outside, just like, you know...
Yes and Jossan has been packing my clothes and everything.
Yes.
It's so strange.
A real apartment that I own.
- Alright then. - Welcome.
- Can I keep my shoes on? - Yeah, go for it.
What?!
What do I do when I'm by myself?
Do I watch a movie? No.
Do I cook? No.
I'd rather be surrounded by people.
I can be pleasant and social.
I can't reach.
When I'm by myself I don't really know who I am.
I'm fucking here now!
I fall in love on the ceiling.
Call you mine is all I want to do. I can fly...
You know.
I can fly.
- Does it feel good, playing this one? - Yeah.
Yeah.
- Great. - We tried some of this...
- For the chorus. - That's great.
If it sounds like shit, just say.
I will.
I'd really like to get out...
Even more?
- And what are you playing there? - I'm playing that too.
Maybe it's that plonging that's a little too bright?
Okay.
What happens if you're in some kind of brass?
You're so damn good.
I've never released anything that sounds this international. Or this good.
It won't do well here, at home.
People don't want to hear me in English here.
It won't. I'll barely even be looking at the top 50s on Saturday.
SWEDISH RADIO
Good morning everyone.
It's Friday, January 26 and it's still pretty dark outside but it's a sunny day
because I'm releasing my first single in two years. Kite.
Kite.
Thirty seconds.
Twenty.
Ten, nine, eight, seven,
six, five, four...
BENJAMIN INGROSSO NEW RELEASE IN ENGLISH
This is his first real new song in two years.
He's been talking for years about wanting to make it abroad.
If you have the song with capital S, you have a chance.
And I would say this is the song with capital S.
You're getting amazing reviews.
It's number one right now, which is pretty unreal to me.
- Congratulations. - Our first song.
What's happening now? It's fun, we can see if it's updated.
- In Denmark, it's top six. - Wow, that's amazing.
- Third in Norway. - No?
In Poland, you're top 10. What other countries?
In the Netherlands we're 18th.
Finally the day arrived.
It's here. We've now unveiled the next era.
Officially.
We've listened through every song,
I'm thinking we can do a quick run through and just choose where they fit.
Let's start from the top.
- What's the name of the song? - Starlight.
What? Starlight?
- Yes. - I've written a song called Starlight?
Cardboard Box, no.
If this doesn't become a hit, fuck me.
Backwards I think is a no. It's a good song though.
Starlight, goodbye for this album. It is a hit, but the production is chaos.
There might be too much to work on with that one. The last chorus is really good.
That's crazy, we've thrown out songs today. Isn't that progress in itself?
Yeah, we've ditched 30 songs by ditching the B-list.
BENJAMIN AND HIS MANAGER TIM SET OUT TO INTRODUCE THEIR NEW MUSIC
TO INDUSTRY LEADERS ACROSS EUROPE
We're in Berlin at the Universal Headquarters office.
We're gonna have some kind of meeting with some big shots and play them some songs.
FRANK BRIEGMANN CEO Universal Central Europe
That's great. That makes you move real quick.
- Yeah! - I mean, the instant you hear it...
I've been writing 120 songs and we scratch maybe 100 of them.
The new music is like made for me as a performer.
As you know it is a pop market.
He feels like some Bond villain, with so much power.
The only thing missing was his little cat.
I'll make you big.
Sweden, we have a long, proud history of exporting
groups, bands, female pop artists, songwriters, producers.
But there's one thing we've never ever done before, exporting a male pop artist.
And that's why we're here today.
When we started working together, we wanted to find
what's Benjamin outside of Sweden.
We're on a mission to do something that has never been done before.
Merry Christmas. Happy midsummer.
We're in Paris.
We were in London earlier today.
Next week we're going to Italy and the week after that we'll be in Amsterdam.
I've always seen myself as an entertainer more than just an artist or songwriter.
I see myself doing the dance songs,
but also, I can sit at the grand piano and do the last song together with the arena.
Like a "Hey Jude" kind of thing.
Look here.
Hold your arms like you're taking it.
Thanks.
You could spread your legs even more.
Meeting in London. Meeting in Paris. Back here to party until 11.
I'm taking a long view on my artistry.
To me it's like a new chapter.
I'm very excited about everything that's coming.
- How are you doing? - Yeah, I'm doing well.
I'm a big lie.
If people had seen this side of me...
My face looks pale, red and ugly.
This is what I look... This is the real me.
Why... Like...
Fuck!
I hate this fucking...
I can't deal with people thinking, "Oh, did he put on weight?"
or "Wow, he's so ugly in real life."
The winner of MGP Junior 2006 is Benjamin Wahlgren Ingrosso with Hej Sofia!
I had no friends in school.
So when I won MGP Junior, that was huge to me.
I seriously thought I'd come to school and people would be like, "Congratulations!"
But when I came to school, it was dead silent and people are laughing at me.
Someone started a Facebook group which had 15,000 followers.
"We who hate Benjamin Wahlgren Ingrosso".
It really got to me, what people wrote.
"That peppy little kid, he's so gross. I hate it".
"I hate that entire family,
but that little guy with the hat, he's the finishing touch."
"He's fat and pale and gross."
Just you wait...
My entire life has been about changing people's perception.
Those are the comments I see in my head when I'm on stage.
That's exactly how I felt.
But for one hour I felt, "I'm gonna fucking show them."
And that's not fun either.
Then you just have that fake smile.
I had fun but also a lot of self doubt.
You probably think I'm just some big douche in a pink t-shirt.
What's with the attitude? You're in the front row.
- It's just in your head. - It's not just in my fucking head! Please!
It's crazy to see someone at the top,
and how it still doesn't give you security and love.
It just goes to show that everyone is fucking human,
it doesn't matter how much fame you have, how many people are clapping for you.
So many people are always talking about this happiness around Benjamin.
Happy Benjamin. And he is.
But there's this extreme self critical self-hatred.
All these characters he's been since he was like four.
Either it's a way to find himself, or it's just a long escape.
Shit, I don't know.
Yes, of course I'm happy.
I don't want to look back on this when I'm older, thinking,
"I barely remember that because I was so caught up in something else."
But yesterday I was up there crying, because I was so proud of myself.
So I guess I had that little moment.
LOS ANGELES
Good day!
- Hello, sir. - How are you guys?
Look who it is, Mr Baby. It's a pop star.
I have a bit of a structure already in my head when it comes to the song.
I hear this song being the intro, like,
starting two minutes before the song even starts like...
Yes.
The only thing is like a kind of a...
Yeah.
Fuck yeah.
I know you know, it kind of shows,
I'm the angel, I'm the devil, I'm the joke.
Roll out of bed, I just got dressed, I'm still the same me, forget the rest.
Sure.
This is so much of where I come from.
The theatre, musicals, ABBA, you know, Freddy Mercury.
There is so much uncool in it, which I die for.
- This... - Which is cool.
Yes, but I'm not trying to be someone here. This is Benjamin.
Maybe just like, "Look who's laughing now."
Yeah, that'd be cool, yeah.
STOCKHOLM FINAL SHOW OF THE SWEDISH TOUR
Look.
That looks so good.
I love that it's just implied too.
It's like Matrix meets Elvis Presley.
Everyone's going to ask, "Where the hell did you get that?"
- How does it feel? - I'm so excited.
It's going to be so much fun. The ultimate redo.
Oh, is this a redo?
Yes, I played here in 2019 with Felix Sandman.
- Worst gig of my life. - Was it?
Yeah.
So...
No, but I thought everyone was here for him.
People had "Felix" written on their foreheads. People didn't sing along.
I had really bad self-confidence back then.
Thank you for tonight!
I chase these kicks to get affirmation.
I've been doing it since I was seven.
I'm pretty tired of constantly chasing.
If I'm having success in Sweden, that I've been chasing since I was little,
and said, "No, I'll have my break abroad, then the Swedes will see I'm talented."
But if they already get that, why should I aim to be a world famous artist?
It feels like I'll just burn out.
2024, we'll start breaking into Europe.
2025, we'll have conquered Europe and starting to break into the US.
2026...
That's when we'll take this fucking city.
TO BE CONTINUED
Subtitles: Lily Ray plint.com