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When Susannah Cries

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"When Susannah Cries"
Single by Espen Lind
from the album Red
Released1997
Genre
Length3:39
LabelUniversal Records
Songwriter(s)Espen Lind
Producer(s)Espen Lind
Espen Lind singles chronology
"Baby You're So Cool"
(1997) 		"When Susannah Cries"
(1997) 		"Lucky For You"
(1997)
Music video
"When Susannah Cries" on YouTube

"When Susannah Cries" is a 1997 song by Norwegian singer Espen Lind. It was released as the second single from his second album, Red (1997), first under the moniker, 'Sway', but later it was re-released under his own name. A slow, piano-driven ballad, it features strings from the Oslo Philharmonic and was a major hit in several European and Latin-American countries, including Norway, where it was number-one for six weeks. It peaked within the top 10 in at least eleven countries, like Austria, Belgium, Germany, the Netherlands and Switzerland. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the single reached number 18 in April 1998. Same year, Lind received the Norwegian Grammy Award, Spellemannprisen for the Song of the Year with "When Susannah Cries".[1]

Lind has told in interviews that he almost gave the song away, but his record company, Universal convinced him to keep it. He had sent several songs to them, and the last one was "When Susannah Cries". Lind felt that it was a bit sticky and lame, but Universal said that it was the only song they liked.[2] It went on to become Linds commercial breakthrough and the most played song on Norwegian radio in 1997.

"When Susannah Cries" was performed by Pete Seppälä in the Semi Finals of the Finnish reality-television singing competition Idols in 2005 and by participant Tim David Weller in the tenth season of the German reality talent show Deutschland sucht den Superstar in 2013.

Critical reception

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Geir Rakvaag from Arbeiderbladet deemed it one of the "most tender ballads" of the album Red.[3] Håkon Moslet from Dagbladet described it as "pompous handkerchiefpop of the best brand".[4] Robert St. Dyrnes from Finnmark Dagblad called it a "sugarsweet ballad".[5] A reviewer from Göteborgs-Tidningen declared it as a "tasty piano ballad".[6] Listen to Norway wrote that "When Susannah Cries" "comprises catchy refrains, suggestive bridges, a guitar solo, a dramatic crescendo (with heavenly strings from the Oslo Philharmonic and a closing finale on the piano".[7] Gerald Martinez from New Sunday Times said it is a "romantic weepy tune that should go down well with fans of sentimental pop ballads." He also noted that Lind "has a voice remarkably similar to Rick Price — powerful, plaintive and with the occasional surges into falsetto."[8] Rune Slyngstad from Nordlandsposten called it a "kind pop-ballad with a huge exclamation mark behind the name George Michael."[9] Geir Seljeseth from Nordlys described it as "powerful".[10]

Music video

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A music video was produced to promote the single, directed by Yann Gamblin.[11] It features American actress and model Angelica Bridges, known from the American action drama series Baywatch and was added on high rotation on MTV, TMF, VIVA and ZTV.[12] The video is mostly in black and white, but a few scenes also appears in color. It begins with Lind singing, while a woman, played by Bridges, is holding him. Some scenes show them walking together through a forest while holding hands. Others show a naked Bridges sitting on rocks in the shoreline while Lind sings around her. He looks at her as she sits and covers her breasts with her hands. Sometimes she holds around him, other times he holds around her. As the video ends, the woman holds tightly around Lind as he sings the final sentences.

Track listing

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  • CD single, Europe (1997)
  1. "When Susannah Cries" (Single Version) – 3:39
  2. "When Susannah Cries" (Acoustic Version) – 3:39
  • CD maxi, Europe (1997)
  1. "When Susannah Cries" (Single Version) – 3:39
  2. "When Susannah Cries" (Instrumental Version) – 3:39
  3. "When Susannah Cries" (Acoustic Version) – 3:39
  4. Excerpts from: "Lucky for You", "Messing with Me", "Missing Her Then"
  • CD maxi, UK (1997)
  1. "When Susannah Cries" (Single Version) – 3:38
  2. "When Susannah Cries" (Instrumental Version) – 3:39
  3. "When Susannah Cries" (Acoustic Version) – 3:39
  4. "Messing with Me" – 4:17

Charts

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References

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  1. ^ "Rockipedia: Espen Lind" (in Norwegian). rockipedia.no. Archived from the original on 14 May 2018. Retrieved 14 May 2018.
  2. ^ "- Han sa: Gir du bort den låta, er du en større idiot enn jeg trodde" (in Norwegian). nettavisen.no. Retrieved 14 May 2018. {{cite magazine}}: Cite magazine requires |magazine= (help)
  3. ^ Rakvaag, Geir (14 May 1997). "Sway svinger seg opp". Arbeiderbladet (in Norwegian). No. 108. p. 21. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  4. ^ Moslet, Håkon (17 November 1997). "Red". Dagbladet (in Norwegian). Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  5. ^ St. Dyrnes, Robert (21 March 1997). "Kortnytt fra platebransjen". Finnmark Dagblad (in Norwegian). No. 68. p. 14. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  6. ^ Göteborgs-Tidningen. 22 January 1998.
  7. ^ "Listen to Norway". Listen to Norway. 1997. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  8. ^ Martinez, Gerald (29 May 1998). "ESPEN LIND - Red". New Sunday Times. Retrieved 17 March 2020.
  9. ^ Slyngstad, Rune (12 March 1997). "BALLADE-SWAY". Nordlandsposten (in Norwegian). No. 60. p. 58. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  10. ^ Seljeseth, Geir (6 May 1997). "Gråt seg til gull". Nordlys (in Norwegian). No. 103. p. 31. Retrieved 31 March 2020.
  11. ^ "Espen Lind - When Susannah Cries". YouTube. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 15 June 2022.
  12. ^ "When Susannah Cries" (PDF). Music & Media. 31 January 1998. Retrieved 19 June 2018.
  13. ^ "Espen Lind – When Susannah Cries" (in German). Ö3 Austria Top 40. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  14. ^ "Espen Lind – When Susannah Cries" (in Dutch). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  15. ^ "Espen Lind – When Susannah Cries" (in French). Ultratop 50. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  16. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100" (PDF). Music & Media. 4 April 1998. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  17. ^ "Espen Lind – When Susannah Cries" (in French). Les classement single. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  18. ^ "Espen Lind – When Susannah Cries" (in German). GfK Entertainment charts. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  19. ^ "Nederlandse Top 40 – Espen Lind" (in Dutch). Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  20. ^ "Espen Lind – When Susannah Cries" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  21. ^ "Ti i skuddet - 5. mai 1997". musikalske.net. 5 May 1997. Retrieved 2 May 2021.
  22. ^ "Espen Lind – When Susannah Cries". VG-lista. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  23. ^ "Top National Sellers" (PDF). Music & Media. 28 March 1998. p. 15. Retrieved 15 May 2018.
  24. ^ "Espen Lind – When Susannah Cries". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  25. ^ "Espen Lind – When Susannah Cries". Swiss Singles Chart. Retrieved 11 May 2018.
  26. ^ "Jaaroverzichten 1998". Ultratop. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  27. ^ "Eurochart Hot 100 Singles 1998" (PDF). Music & Media. 19 December 1998. Retrieved 20 June 2018.
  28. ^ "Top 100 Single-Jahrescharts" (in German). offiziellecharts.de. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  29. ^ "Top 100-Jaaroverzicht van 1998". Dutch Top 40. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  30. ^ "Jaaroverzichten – Single 1998". Single Top 100. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
  31. ^ "Schweizer Jahreshitparade 1998 – hitparade.ch". Hung Medien. Retrieved 8 March 2020.
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