The Way I Am is the international debut album by Swedish singer-songwriter Ana Johnsson and the second studio album overall. It was released on August 9, 2004, by Bonnier Amigo and Sony BMG. The album was the 2005 winner of the European Border Breakers Award for Sweden.
It is composed of the first seven songs of the first album, Cuz I Can, plus four new songs. The album spawned three singles: "We Are", which was the theme song from the Spider-Man 2 movie, and two songs co-written by Johnsson, "Don't Cry for Pain" and "Coz I Can", the latter making it to the top 5 most popular songs in Japan at the time of its release.
In addition to reaching the top 20 in Germany and Switzerland, The Way I Am was a commercial success in Japan, where it debuted at number four and went on to sell over 150,000 copies, receiving a Gold certification. It sold 300,000 copies worldwide.
Track listings
Standard album
Includes the videos: On the road with... Ana Johnsson We Are [music video] (without the Spider-Man 2 scenes)
Japanese version (CD/DVD) CD "We Are" – 3:57 "Don't Cry for Pain" – 3:48 "The Way I Am" – 3:32 "I'm Stupid" – 3:48 "Life" – 3:08 "6 Feet Under" – 3:45 "Coz I Can" – 3:03 "Crest of the Wave" – 4:50 "L.A." – 3:44 "Now It's Gone" – 3:43 "Here I Go Again" – 3:27 "Black Hole" [bonus track] – 3:58
DVD "We Are" [video] On the Road with Ana Johnsson (photo session in Japan) [video]
Japanese special edition 2CD CD 1 As the regular CD.
CD 2
Includes the videos: "Coz I Can" "Don't Cry for Pain"
Note: The CD 2 tracks are from Johnsson's first album Cuz I Can.
Singles
Charts Chart (2004)PeakpositionJapanese Oricon International Album Chart 11 (4)Germany Album Chart15Swiss Album Chart19Austrian Album Chart20Swedish Album Chart27France Album Chart58 1: The International Album Chart excludes Japanese artists. Peak position in parentheses is for the full album chart. The album peaked at No. 24 at the Japanese Oricon International Albums of 2004.
Credits
Production
Vocals, backing vocals: Ana Johnsson Producer, mixer, instruments – Leif Larson Producer, mixer, instruments – Marcus Black Producer, mixer, instruments, arranged, recorder – Ghost Producer, mixer, instruments, additional vocals – Mikael Nord Andersson, Martin Hansen Producer, guitar – Max Martin, Johan Brorson, Christian Nilsson Producer, mixer, arranged, keyboards, programming, backing vocals – Jörgen Elofsson Producer, mixer, arranged, instruments – Kalle Engstrom, Carlk Falk Producer, arranged, guitar, bass guitar, drums, programming – Mathias Venge Mixer, – Stefan Glaumann Mixer, – Bo Reimer programming – Peter Wennerberg Mastered by – Björn Engelmann at Cutting Room Studios
Additional musicians Drums – Nicci Notini Wallin, Sank, Lars Morten, Alar Suurna Drums, bass guitar – Olle Dahkstedt Drums, percussion – Christer Jansson Guitar, bass guitar – Ola Gustavsson Guitar – Staffan Astner Guitar – Mattias Blomdahl Bass guitar – Thomas Lindberg Bass guitar – Stefan Olsson Strings – Stockholm Session Strings Strings arranged and conducted by – Rutger Gunnarsson Background vocals – Jurl, Didrik Thott, Andreas Carlsson
Artwork
Photography by – Ralf Strathmann Artwork by – Christian Bagush, dangerous. Berlin
Release history Country Release date Europe August 9, 2004 Sweden September 24, 2004 Japan October 6, 2004 Japan (special edition) February 9, 2005
References