Flowers (Ace of Base album)

Flowers
Flowers
Studio album by Ace of Base
Released	15 June 1998
Recorded	September 1997 – Early 1998
Genre	Pop
Length	56:20 (UK)
Label	Mega
Producers	Per Adebratt; John Amatiello; Jonas "Joker" Berggren; Douglas Carr; Cutfather & Joe; Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg; Tommy Ekman; Ole Evenrude; Charles Fisher; Stephen Hague; Johnny Jam & Delgado; StoneStream;
Ace of Base chronology
Singles from Flowers
	"Life Is a Flower"; Released: 6 April 1998; "Cruel Summer"; Released: 6 July 1998; "Travel to Romantis"; Released: 16 November 1998; "Always Have Always Will"; Released: 7 December 1998; "Everytime It Rains"; Released: 5 April 1999; "Cecilia"; Released: June 1999;

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
AllMusic	^[1]
Q	^[2]
The Encyclopedia of Popular Music	^[3]

Flowers is the third studio album by Swedish pop group Ace of Base. It was released in Europe on 15 June 1998 through Mega Records. An alternative album titled Cruel Summer was released in the US and Canada, containing remixes, re-recordings, and new songs deemed appropriate for an American audience. Japan and Australia received hybrid versions of the two albums.

The album was re-issued in the UK on 26 April 1999 with revised artwork and track listing, following the single release of "Everytime It Rains".

Background

Flowers spawned the singles "Life Is a Flower", "Cruel Summer" and "Always Have, Always Will".

In his 2015 book The Song Machine, writer Joh Seabrook called the album "Motown inspired".^[4]

Track listing

*Flowers* – Standard version
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"Life Is a Flower"	Jonas "Joker" Berggren	Joker	Tommy Ekman Per Adebratt Joker	3:47
2.	"Always Have, Always Will"	Mike Chapman	Joker	Ole Evenrude	3:46
3.	"Cruel Summer"	Sara Dallin Siobhan Fahey Keren Woodward Steve Jolley Tony Swain	Dallin Fahey Woodward Jolley Swain	Cutfather & Joe	3:35
4.	"Travel to Romantis"	Joker	Joker	Joker Johnny Jam & Delgado	4:10
5.	"Adventures in Paradise"	Joker Joe Belmaati Mich Hansen	Joker Belmaati Hansen	Cutfather & Joe	3:32
6.	"Dr. Sun"	Joker	Joker	Douglas Carr John Amatiello Joker	3:35
7.	"Cecilia"	Joker	Joker	Ekman Adebratt Joker	3:55
8.	"He Decides"	Jenny Berggren	J. Berggren	Carr Peo Hägström	3:09
9.	"I Pray"	Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg John Ballard	Buddha Ballard	Charles Fisher Buddha StoneStream^[a]	3:16
10.	"Tokyo Girl"	Billy Steinberg Ralph McCarthy Joker	Joker	Johnny Jam & Delgado Carr^[b] Amatiello^[b] Joker^[b]	3:36
11.	"Don't Go Away"	Buddha Ballard	Buddha Ballard	Fisher Buddha StoneStream^[a]	3:41
12.	"Captain Nemo"	Joker	Joker	Carr Amatiello Joker	4:02
13.	"Donnie"	Joker	Joker	Carr Amatiello Joker	4:39
14.	"Cruel Summer" (big bonus mix)	Dallin Fahey Woodward Jolley Swain	Dallin Fahey Woodward Jolley Swain	Stephen Hague Joker Buddha Johnny Jam & Delgado^[a]	4:07

*Flowers* – French version (bonus track)
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Producer(s)	Length
15.	"Cruel Summer" (featuring Alliage) (radio version)	Dallin Fahey Woodward Jolley Swain	Dallin Fahey Woodward Jolley Swain	Steve Mac	3:28

*Flowers* – UK re-issue version (bonus track)
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Producer(s)	Length
14.	"Everytime It Rains"	Steinberg Rick Nowels Maria Vidal	Steinberg Nowels Vidal	Cutfather & Joe	4:51

*Flowers* – Remastered version (bonus track)^[5]
No.	Title	Length
15.	"L'amour"	3:37

*Flowers* – Australian version
No.	Title	Length
1.	"Cruel Summer"
2.	"Donnie" (Ole Evenrude Version)
3.	"Whenever You're Near Me"
4.	"Everytime It Rains"
5.	"Adventures In Paradise"
6.	"Don't Go Away"
7.	"Cecilia"
8.	"He Decides" (Charles Fisher Mix)
9.	"Always Have Always Will"
10.	"Tokyo Girl"
11.	"Travel to Romantis" (Larossi Mix)
12.	"Cruel Summer" (Big Bonus Mix)
13.	"Life Is a Flower"

*Flowers* – *All That She Wants: The Classic Collection*
No.	Title	Length
14.	"Everytime It Rains"

Notes

^{^[a]} signifies an additional producer
^{^[a]} signifies pre-production

Release history

Region	Date	Label
Europe	15 June 1998	Mega / PolyGram
United Kingdom	10 August 1998	London Records 90
Australia	16 November 1998	Polydor
United Kingdom (re-issue)	26 April 1999	London Records 90

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1998)	Peak position
Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)^[6]	15
Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)^[7]	35
Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)^[8]	50
Finnish Albums (Suomen virallinen lista)^[9]	2
French Albums (SNEP)^[10]	16
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[11]	3
Hungarian Albums (MAHASZ)^[12]	7
Italian Albums (Musica e dischi)^[13]	25
Norwegian Albums (VG-lista)^[14]	12
Scottish Albums (Official Charts)^[15]	31
Swedish Albums (Sverigetopplistan)^[16]	5
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[17]	1
UK Albums (Official Charts)^[18]	15

Year-end charts

Chart (1998)	Position
German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)^[19]	72
Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)^[20]	46

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Switzerland (IFPI Switzerland)^[21]	Gold	25,000^{^}
United Kingdom (BPI)^[22]	Silver	60,000^{^}
^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

References

↑ Flowers at AllMusic
↑ Maconie, Stuart (September 1998). "Ace of Base – Flowers". Q (144): 94.
↑ Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.
↑ Seabrook, John (5 October 2015). "The Sign"". The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory. New York City: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-393-24192-1. Retrieved 6 December 2025.
↑ "Flowers (Remastered) av Ace of Base". iTunes. 15 June 1998.
↑ "Austriancharts.at – Ace of Base – Flowers" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
↑ "Ultratop.be – Ace of Base – Flowers" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
↑ "Dutchcharts.nl – Ace of Base – Flowers" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
↑ "Ace of Base: Flowers" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
↑ "Lescharts.com – Ace of Base – Flowers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
↑ "Offiziellecharts.de – Ace of Base – Flowers" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
↑ "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1998. 28. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
↑ Racca, Guido (2019). M&D Borsa Album 1964–2019 (in Italian). ISBN 9781094705002.
↑ "Norwegiancharts.com – Ace of Base – Flowers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
↑ "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 16/8/1998 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
↑ "Swedishcharts.com – Ace of Base – Flowers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
↑ "Swisscharts.com – Ace of Base – Flowers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
↑ "Official Albums Chart on 16/8/1998 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
↑ "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 8 September 2016.
↑ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1998". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 15 November 2021.
↑ "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Flowers')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2019.
↑ "British album certifications – Ace of base – Flowers". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 April 2019. Select albums in the Formats field. Type Flowers Ace of base in the "Search:" field.

[1] Flowers at AllMusic

[2] Maconie, Stuart (September 1998). "Ace of Base – Flowers". Q (144): 94.

[3] Larkin, Colin (2007). The Encyclopedia of Popular Music (5th Concise ed.). United Kingdom: Omnibus Press. p. 34. ISBN 978-1-84609-856-7.

[Seabrook_2015-4] Seabrook, John (5 October 2015). "The Sign"". The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory. New York City: W. W. Norton & Company. p. 46. ISBN 978-0-393-24192-1. Retrieved 6 December 2025.

[5] "Flowers (Remastered) av Ace of Base". iTunes. 15 June 1998.

[ac_Austria_Ace_of_Base-6] "Austriancharts.at – Ace of Base – Flowers" (in German). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

[ac_Flanders_Ace_of_Base-7] "Ultratop.be – Ace of Base – Flowers" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

[ac_Netherlands_Ace_of_Base-8] "Dutchcharts.nl – Ace of Base – Flowers" (in Dutch). Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

[ac_Finland_Ace_of_Base-9] "Ace of Base: Flowers" (in Finnish). Musiikkituottajat – IFPI Finland. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

[ac_France_Ace_of_Base-10] "Lescharts.com – Ace of Base – Flowers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

[ac_Germany_Ace_of_Base-11] "Offiziellecharts.de – Ace of Base – Flowers" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

[ac_Hungary_-12] "Album Top 40 slágerlista – 1998. 28. hét" (in Hungarian). MAHASZ. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

[13] Racca, Guido (2019). M&D Borsa Album 1964–2019 (in Italian). ISBN 9781094705002.

[ac_Norway_Ace_of_Base-14] "Norwegiancharts.com – Ace of Base – Flowers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

[ac_Scotland_-15] "Official Scottish Albums Chart on 16/8/1998 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

[ac_Sweden_Ace_of_Base-16] "Swedishcharts.com – Ace of Base – Flowers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

[ac_Switzerland_Ace_of_Base-17] "Swisscharts.com – Ace of Base – Flowers". Hung Medien. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

[ac_UK2_-18] "Official Albums Chart on 16/8/1998 – Top 100". Official Charts Company. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

[19] "Top 100 Album-Jahrescharts" (in German). GfK Entertainment. Retrieved 8 September 2016.

[20] "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1998". hitparade.ch. Retrieved 15 November 2021.

[SwitzerlandAce_of_BaseFlowersalbumCertRef-21] "The Official Swiss Charts and Music Community: Awards ('Flowers')". IFPI Switzerland. Hung Medien. Retrieved 24 April 2019.

[United_KingdomAce_of_baseFlowersalbumCertRef-22] "British album certifications – Ace of base – Flowers". British Phonographic Industry. Retrieved 24 April 2019. Select albums in the Formats field. Type Flowers Ace of base in the "Search:" field.

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Ace of Base
Jenny Berggren Jonas Berggren Linn Berggren Ulf Ekberg Clara Hagman Julia Williamson
Studio albums	Happy Nation The Sign The Bridge Flowers Cruel Summer Da Capo The Golden Ratio
Compilations	Singles of the 90s Greatest Hits (2000) The Collection/All That She Wants Platinum & Gold Collection Platinum & Gold Hidden Gems Hidden Gems, Vol. 2
Box sets	The Ultimate Collection Greatest Hits (2008) Gold All That She Wants: The Classic Collection Beautiful Life: The Singles
Singles	"Wheel of Fortune" "All That She Wants" "Happy Nation" "Waiting for Magic" "The Sign" "Don't Turn Around" "Living in Danger" "Lucky Love" "Beautiful Life" "Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry" "Life Is a Flower" "Cruel Summer" "Whenever You're Near Me" "Travel to Romantis" "Always Have, Always Will" "Everytime It Rains" "Cecilia" "C'est la Vie (Always 21)" "Hallo Hallo" "Beautiful Morning" "The Juvenile" "Unspeakable" "Wheel of Fortune 2009" "All for You" "Would You Believe"
Related articles	Discography List of songs recorded by Ace of Base Yaki-Da My Story All That She Wants