"Boten Anna" ("Anna the Bot") is a song by Swedish musician Basshunter, from his first studio album, LOL. Following the single's release in 2006, Basshunter gained popularity in his native Sweden, as well as Finland, Denmark, Iceland, Norway, Poland and the Netherlands. The song topped hit charts and, on 3 May 2006, was named Norway's official Russ-song[1] of the year. It was also the most popular song at The Gathering LAN party 2006. An English version titled "Now You're Gone", sung by Sebastian Westwood, using unrelated lyrics, was released in December 2007.
In 2023 Basshunter collaborated with Victor Leksell on "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)". It peaked on Swedish singles chart at number four.
Lyrics and composition
The Swedish lyrics of "Boten Anna" tell the story of a female Internet Relay Chat user who the vocalist believes is a bot but later finds out to be a beautiful woman, although she will always remain a bot in his eyes.[citation needed] The song is based on an actual experience of Basshunter. At the beginning of 2006[2] he created #basshunter.se channel in QuakeNet with the help of a fan.[3] The fan created a bot with administrative capabilities; when this happened, Basshunter saw a new user with administrative capabilities named "Anna" enter the channel, and thought this was the bot.[3] One day in March Basshunter returned home after playing at the club La Cocaracha in Halmstad. He and his friends played the computer game Counter-Strike while they were connected to the chat program mIRC.[2] Basshunter typed a command into the command line to the bot to kick himself out of the channel.[3] His drunk friend had taken control of the bot and kicked everyone out of the channel except for the two of them.[2] Channel users started laughing. It turned out that Anna was the fan's girlfriend.[3]
The artist stated that the song is easy to understand and sing, even when the person does not speak Swedish language.[3] The Swedish word "bot" ("bot") was frequently mistaken for "boat" ("båt").[4] The double meaning of the word "kanal" – which can refer to an IRC channel, as well as a water canal, added to the confusion.[citation needed]
Basshunter recorded "Boten Anna" in March 2006 in one night over the course of six hours.[3] He made it available on his website for free download. The song has been downloaded 37,000 times in within twenty-four hours.[6] With this success, Basshunter received several proposals from managers and music labels.[7] Swedish DJ and party organizer Joakim Jarny contacted Basshunter via Internet Relay Chat and Jarny was soon overwhelmed by hundreds of requests from club owners in Sweden, Norway and Denmark who wanted Basshunter to perform at their clubs. Jarny contacted his friend Henrik Uhlmann at Extensive Music[8] and in April 2006, Basshunter signed with Extensive Music[9] and Warner Music Sweden.[10] On 9 May 2006, "Boten Anna" was officially released as a single.[11] By 8 June 2006, the song had been downloaded over one million times.[6] In that year, Basshunter moved to Malmö, where the headquarters of Extensive Music are located.[12] "Boten Anna" was included on Basshunter's second studio album LOL. Basshunter said that it is impossible to record a whole album in style of "Boten Anna", or it would take him a very long time, and he wanted to show that he is able to mix different styles. Basshunter said that he wanted to continue recording Swedish songs until he had six or seven songs in Swedish which satisfied him and then he wanted to translate them into English language.[3]
Music video
Three days were allotted for the production of the music video for "Boten Anna".[13] The music video to the song deliberately plays on double meanings.[citation needed] It shows Basshunter riding a pedal boat in Malmö.[14] Music video features text-based chat system for instant messaging mIRC.[15]
An editor from Sundsvalls Tidning compared "Boten Anna" to songs "Hej hej Monika by Nic & the Family and "Axel F" by Crazy Frog.[17] Christopher Lembke from Ystads Allehanda said that "Crazy" by Gnarls Barkley is the only good song which can compete with "Boten Anna" for radio listeners' favor this summer.[18] Brynjar Mår from FM957 recommended the song and said that "Boten Anna" is a hilarious dance song and has an addictive melody.[19] Uffe Jørgensen from B.T. that "Boten Anna" consists of equal parts Swedish sense of pop and hard-hitting beats reminiscent of 90s hits such as "Mr. Vain" by Culture Beat.[20] In 2010 Danish musician Henrik Marstal described "Boten Anna" as a model summer hit and explained that in the past, the summer hit was something that people bet on a lot and it was a matter of having a song that could hit the mark and live for a single summer.[21] Tom Jerry Boman in his ranking of summer hits for Mitt i described "Boten Anna" as the most unlikely summer torment of all time but he noted it is both festive and gives nerds a certain amount of fresh feeling.[22] In 2018 Finnish singer Nelli Matula admitted in the publication that she did not know that the song is not about a boat but about a bot which caused discussion of the lyrics and Anna Abreu, Laura Friman and Kimmo Sainio also admitted not understanding the lyrics.[23]
In 2007, Birgitte Söndergaard and Johan Andersson danced to the song on Swedish television series Let's Dance.[24] This year also saw the release of the computer game Singstar Pop Hits, the Scandinavian version of which includes the song "Boten Anna".[25] "Boten Anna" was played in 2015 during The Gathering LAN party.[26] In 2019 "Boten Anna" was ranked seventh in Gaffa poll for song that is the biggest summer torment.[27] 2022 song "Vandraren" by Daniela Rathana was inspired by "Boten Anna".[28] In 2023 "Boten Anna" was fourth the most streamed Swedish language song in Spotify with 99 million streams.[29]
Chart performance
"Boten Anna" entered Swedish singles chart at number three on 8 June 2006 and peaked in its ninth week at number one.[30] It was certified Platinum[31] and became the fourth single of the year.[32] The song sold 60,000 copies in Sweden.[33] In Denmark "Boten Anna" debuted at number two on 23 June then peaked at number one on the next week and spent a total of 14 consecutive weeks at number one[34] becoming the second single of the year.[35] It was sold in 27,000 copies and 23,000 ringtones in 2006.[36] "Boten Anna" was certified triple Platinum in the beginning of 2007.[37] "Boten Anna" entered Dutch singles chart on 29 July and it peaked at second place on 19 August, where it spent six consecutive weeks at number two.[38] On 16 and 23 September Basshunter's "Boten Anna" was at second place while Gebroeders Ko version was third.[39][40] "Boten Anna" peaked at number one the on Swedish[41] and Norwegian ringtones chart.[42] In December "Boten Anna" entered Austrian singles chart and peaked at number two in 2007. Song spent 39 weeks on chart[43] and was certified Gold.[44] "Boten Anna" charted at number 30 on European Hot 100 Singles.[45]
Dutch duo Gebroeders Ko recorded bootleg version of "Boten Anna",[67] which was released on 7 July 2006.[68] This version tells about a boat named Anna. Basshunter treated the song as a tribute.[3] On 17 November "Sinterklaas boot (Boten Anna)" version was released.[69]
Gebroeders Ko, Adrie van den Berk, Ronald van Grootel
Gebroeders Ko, Adrie van den Berk, Ronald van Grootel
3:17
2.
"Boten Anna (Lange Boot Versie)"
Gebroeders Ko, Adrie van den Berk, Ronald van Grootel
Gebroeders Ko, Adrie van den Berk, Ronald van Grootel
4:45
3.
"Severnavl"
Gerard Koopmans, Ton Koopmans
Gebroeders Ko
2:49
Chart performance
In the Netherlands, a spoof of the song entered the chart on 22 July 2006 at number 48 and peaked at number 3 on 16 and 23 September.[68] The song became the 14th single of the year.[55] In Belgian Flanders the song entered on 21 November and peaked at number eight on 16 December.[70] In November another spoof of the song by Gebroeders Ko, charted in the Dutch chart. "Sinterklaas Boot (Boten Anna)" entered Dutch chart on 4 November and peaked at number two on 2 December.[69] This version of "Boten Anna" is about the boat of Sinterklaas.[citation needed]
An English version of "Boten Anna" titled "Now You're Gone", sung by Sebastian Westwood[74] using unrelated lyrics by DJ Mental Theo's Bazzheadz which was originally released in 2006, became the music to a video by Basshunter with the same title in November 2007. The video and the track were met with world chart success and became the most requested record in summer holiday resorts around Europe in early 2008. As people returning from their holidays wanted to hear it again, TV channels in the UK were inundated with requests for the video.[citation needed] On 13 January 2008, "Now You're Gone" entered number one in the UK Singles Chart and spent five weeks at the top of the chart, ending Leon Jackson's three-week run with "When You Believe".[75] In the sixth week after the song's release it was knocked off the top by Welsh singer Duffy, with her song "Mercy".[citation needed]
Previous Basshunter single "End the Lies" released on 2 September 2022 was a collaboration with Italian duo Alien Cut [it].[76] In 2023 Basshunter collaborated with Victor Leksell on "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)".[77] Previous Leksell single "Fånga mig när jag faller" was released on 28 April,[78] and reached number three on Swedish singles chart.[79] "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)" was written by Basshunter and Victor Leksell, and produced by Basshunter, Pontus Persson and Robert Uhlmann.[80] Leksell was in talks with Basshunter about working together and originally Basshunter was supposed to remix his 2020 song "Svag", but instead of it they recorded "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)".[77] "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)" was recorded during one weekend in Dubai's studio. Basshunter praised Viktor Leksell and described him as very talented person.[81] Viktor Leksell said that the song rhymes with other songs on his set list, and he will play it live,[77] however Liselott Lindberg from LiveNews.se noticed that Leksell did not play the song during Lollapalooza in Stockholm.[82] Basshunter said that he doesn't have any concert scheduled in Sweden during summer, but he stated that it is possible for him to perform during Leksell's summer festival tour.[81] The next Leksell single "Stor man" is a collaboration with Danish singer Tobias Rahim and was released on 7 July.[83] On 28 July Victor Leksell sang the song at the Amaze Festival in Smögen.[84]
Reception and chart performance
Tali da Silva from Sveriges Television stated that Victor Leksell made a joke about the original lyrics by singing about the boat at the beginning.[85] Karin Pihl from Göteborgs-Posten described "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)" as slickly produced version with "silly, buttery vocals and without the brain-dead gaming charm".[86] On 30 June 2023 "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)" entered the Swedish singles chart at number 10. Lars Nylin from Musikindustrin described it as the strongest news of the week.[87] On next week it peaked at number fourth.[88] In the third week on chat of "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)" Victor Leksell's next single "Stor man" debuted on 15th position on Swedish chart.[89] "Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)" is the first Basshunter single which entered Swedish chart since "Fest i hela huset" from 2011.[90] Song spent 13 weeks on chart.[91]
In 2006 company JME Data used "Boten Anna" with different lyrics for their advertisement.[93] An Israeli band called Hovevey Zion (חובבי ציון) spoofed "Boten Anna" with their popular single, "Rotze banot" (רוצה בנות, meaning "I Want Girls").[94] "Dicke Anna" by Kid Bob [de] was released on 20 April 2007. It charted on singles chart in Austria and Germany.[95][96] In 2010 Swedish band Torgny Melins released Dansbandsnatt studio album which cointaned cover of "Boten Anna".[97]Dansbandsnatt peaked at number two on Swedish albums chart.[98] In 2021 "Boten Anna" was covered by Finnish Millennium Project.[99]
^"Boten Anna". Musicnotes. 16 March 2018. Retrieved 21 January 2019.
^ ab"Skämtet som blev sommarens första hit" [The joke that became this summer's first hit]. Svenska Dagbladet (in Swedish). 8 June 2006. Archived from the original on 15 August 2014. Retrieved 9 July 2023. Access to the full article is possible by paid subscription.
^Christopher Friman[in Swedish] (10 October 2009). "Ett bedårande barn av sin tid" [An adorable child of his time]. Filter [sv] (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 27 March 2019. Retrieved 19 February 2022. Click on "Klicka för att läsa vidare". In the unarchived version, access to the article is possible after purchase or by paid subscription.
^"Bio". Basshunter. Archived from the original on 28 May 2010. Retrieved 27 March 2019.
^Jonas Grönlund (20 January 2008). "Basshunter fann en bot mot mobbarna" [Basshunter found a cure for the bullies]. Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 7 July 2012. Retrieved 12 August 2014. In the unarchived version, access to the article is possible by paid subscription.
^"Är Malmös popkids mogna för Basshunter?" [Are Malmö's pop kids ripe for Basshunter?]. Sydsvenskan (in Swedish). 14 January 2008. Archived from the original on 5 June 2022. Retrieved 10 July 2023. Access to the full article is possible by paid subscription.
^Daniel Johansson (20 November 2023). "4 snabba: Anneli Tisell från Hatten Förlag" [4 fast: Anneli Tisell from Hatten Förlag]. Musikindustrin (in Swedish). Retrieved 5 December 2023.
^ ab"Download". Pladebranchen.nu(PDF) (in Danish). IFPI Danmark. p. 25. Archived from the original(PDF) on 8 October 2007. Retrieved 18 June 2022 – via Pladebranchen.nu.
^""Boten Anna" hetast i mobilen" ["Boten Anna" hottest on mobile]. Dagens industri (in Swedish). 27 June 2006. Archived from the original on 4 June 2022. Retrieved 9 July 2023. Access to the full article is possible by paid subscription.
^"ČNS IFPI" (in Czech). Hitparáda – Radio Top 100 Oficiální. IFPI Czech Republic. Note: Select 27. týden 2007 in the date selector. Retrieved 18 January 2022.
^Stian Fjelldal (16 May 2006). "Årets landeplage" [Country Plague of the Year] (in Norwegian). NRK. Archived from the original on 8 November 2006. Retrieved 21 April 2019.
^Mattias Bergqvist (24 July 2006). ""Boten Anna" stulen" ["Boten Anna" stolen]. Aftonbladet (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 22 March 2022. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
^ ab"Ingen kan slå (Boten Anna)". Spotify. Retrieved 30 June 2023. User has to click on the three dots on the right of the track to access its credits.
^Liselott Lindberg (2 July 2023). "Victor Leksell på Lollapalooza" [Victor Leksell at Lollapalooza]. LiveNews.se (in Swedish). Archived from the original on 13 July 2023. Retrieved 13 July 2023.
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