The Sign (Ace of Base album)

Professional ratings
Review scores
Source	Rating
Allmusic	link
Robert Christgau	^[3]
The Rolling Stone Album Guide	^[4]

The Sign is a 1993 album by Swedish pop group Ace of Base, released as the band's debut album in North America, Japan, and some Latin American countries by Arista Records. The Sign contains songs from Ace of Base's debut album, Happy Nation (1992) and the new songs "Don't Turn Around", "The Sign", and "Living in Danger" as well as revised versions of "Voulez-Vous Danser" and "Waiting for Magic". To coincide with the release of The Sign, Happy Nation was re-released in Europe, Mexico, and Australia as Happy Nation (U.S. Version) on September 25, 1993. These releases featured the new tracks and revised versions included on The Sign, as well the new track "Hear Me Calling" and a remix of "Happy Nation".

The Sign is listed among the Top 100 Best-selling Albums of All Time by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA),^[5] with sales in excess of 23 million copies.^[6] The album itself earned Arista Records 42 million USD,^[6] and was nominated for Best Pop Album at the 1995 Grammy Awards.

Track listing

*The Sign* – Standard version
No.	Title	Lyrics	Music	Producer(s)	Length
1.	"All That She Wants"	Joker Buddha^[a]	Joker Buddha	Joker Buddha Denniz Pop	3:30
2.	"Don't Turn Around"	Albert Hammond Diane Warren	Hammond Warren	Per Adebratt Tommy Ekman	3:48
3.	"Young and Proud"	Joker Buddha^[a]	Joker Buddha	Joker Buddha	3:54
4.	"The Sign"	Joker	Joker	Denniz Pop Douglas Carr Joker Buddha^[b]	3:08
5.	"Living in Danger"	Joker Buddha^[a]	Joker Buddha	Ekman Adebratt T.O.E.C.^[b]	3:44
6.	"Dancer in a Daydream"	Joker Buddha^[a]	Joker Buddha	Joker Buddha	3:39
7.	"Wheel of Fortune"	Joker Buddha^[a]	Joker Buddha	Joker Buddha T.O.E.C.	3:54
8.	"Waiting for Magic" (Total remix 7")	Joker Buddha^[a]	Joker Buddha	Buddha Stonestream	3:49
9.	"Happy Nation"	Joker Buddha^[a]	Joker Buddha	Joker Buddha	4:13
10.	"Voulez-Vous Danser"	Joker Buddha^[a]	Joker Buddha	T.O.E.C. Joker Buddha	3:21
11.	"My Mind" (Mindless mix)	Joker Buddha^[a]	Joker Buddha	Joker Buddha	4:10
12.	"All That She Wants" (Banghra version)	Joker Buddha^[a]	Joker Buddha	Joker Buddha Denniz Pop	4:14

*The Sign* – Remastered version (bonus track)^[7]
No.	Title	Length
13.	"Mr Ace" (demo 1991)	3:21

Notes

^{^[a]} signifies rap lyrics
^{^[b]} signifies pre-production

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1993)	Peak position
Argentinian Albums Chart	1
Canadian Albums Chart	1
Japanese Albums Chart	1
US Billboard 200^[8]	1

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999)	Position
US Billboard 200^[9]	34

Certifications


Region	Certification	Certified units/sales
Argentina (CAPIF)^{[citation needed]}	4× Platinum	240,000^{^}
Brazil (Pro-Música Brasil)^[10]	Gold	100,000^*
Canada (Music Canada)^[11]	Diamond	1,000,000^{^}
Chile (IFPI)^{[citation needed]}	2× Platinum	60,000
Japan (RIAJ)^{[citation needed]}	4× Platinum	0^{^}
Mexico (AMPROFON)^[12]	3× Platinum	750,000^{^}
United States (RIAA)^[13]	9× Platinum	9,000,000^{^}
^* Sales figures based on certification alone. ^{^} Shipments figures based on certification alone.

Video Album

Some songs from the album were also released as an Ace of Base video collection released in the summer of 1994 on VHS video in North America. Laserdisc editions appeared in Japan as well.

References

^ Larkin, Colin (2010). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Volume 1. Guinness Publishing. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-5615-9176-3. When Ace of Base scored a massive worldwide number 1 in 1993 with 'All That She Wants', the comparisons to fellow Swedish group, Abba, seemed obvious: Two female vocalists, one blonde, one brunette, and two male musicians, playing catchy dance pop.
^ Daw, Robbie (20 November 2014). "The 50 Best Pop Singles of 1994". Idolator. Retrieved 21 September 2016. Released stateside by Arista in 1993, 'All That She Wants' was a reggae-pop oddity (compared to everything else on the radio at the time) about a woman on the prowl [...] for 'another baby'.
^ Christgau, Robert. "The Sign". Robert Christgau.
^ Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 4. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.
^ RIAA - Gold & Platinum - November 03, 2010
^ ^a ^b Seabrook, John (2015). The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-3932-4192-0.
^ https://itunes.apple.com/se/album/the-sign/id947405452
^ "Ace Of Base Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.
^ Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010. {{cite book}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)
^ "Brazilian album certifications – Ace of Base – The Sign" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil.
^ "Canadian album certifications – Ace of Base – The Sign". Music Canada.
^ "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Type Ace of Base in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and The Sign in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.
^ "American album certifications – Ace of Base – The Sign". Recording Industry Association of America.

[1] Larkin, Colin (2010). The Guinness Encyclopedia of Popular Music, Volume 1. Guinness Publishing. p. 51. ISBN 978-1-5615-9176-3. When Ace of Base scored a massive worldwide number 1 in 1993 with 'All That She Wants', the comparisons to fellow Swedish group, Abba, seemed obvious: Two female vocalists, one blonde, one brunette, and two male musicians, playing catchy dance pop.

[Idolatorgenre-2] Daw, Robbie (20 November 2014). "The 50 Best Pop Singles of 1994". Idolator. Retrieved 21 September 2016. Released stateside by Arista in 1993, 'All That She Wants' was a reggae-pop oddity (compared to everything else on the radio at the time) about a woman on the prowl [...] for 'another baby'.

[Christgau-3] Christgau, Robert. "The Sign". Robert Christgau.

[4] Brackett, Nathan; Christian Hoard (2004). The Rolling Stone Album Guide. New York City, New York: Simon and Schuster. p. 4. ISBN 0-7432-0169-8.

[5] RIAA - Gold & Platinum - November 03, 2010

[seabrook-6] Seabrook, John (2015). The Song Machine: Inside the Hit Factory. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 0-3932-4192-0.

[7] ttps://itunes.apple.com/se/album/the-sign/id947405452

[ac_Billboard200_Ace_Of_Base-8] "Ace Of Base Chart History (Billboard 200)". Billboard.

[1990sbb-9] Geoff Mayfield (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010. {{cite book}}: Italic or bold markup not allowed in: |publisher= (help)

[BrazilAce_of_BaseThe_SignalbumCertRef-10] "Brazilian album certifications – Ace of Base – The Sign" (in Portuguese). Pro-Música Brasil.

[CanadaAce_of_BaseThe_SignalbumCertRef-11] "Canadian album certifications – Ace of Base – The Sign". Music Canada.

[MexicoAce_of_BaseThe_SignalbumCertRef-12] "Certificaciones" (in Spanish). Asociación Mexicana de Productores de Fonogramas y Videogramas. Type Ace of Base in the box under the ARTISTA column heading and The Sign in the box under the TÍTULO column heading.

[United_StatesAce_of_BaseThe_SignalbumCertRef-13] "American album certifications – Ace of Base – The Sign". Recording Industry Association of America.

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v t e 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

v t e Billboard Year-End number one albums
1956–1975	1956: Calypso – Harry Belafonte 1957: Music from My Fair Lady – Original Cast 1958: Music from My Fair Lady – Original Cast 1959: The Music from Peter Gunn – Henry Mancini 1960: Music from The Sound of Music – Original Cast 1961: Camelot – Original Cast 1962: West Side Story – Soundtrack 1963: West Side Story – Soundtrack 1964: Music from Hello, Dolly! – Original Cast 1965: Mary Poppins: Original Cast Soundtrack – Soundtrack 1966: Whipped Cream & Other Delights – Herb Alpert & the Tijuana Brass 1967: More of the Monkees – The Monkees 1968: Are You Experienced – The Jimi Hendrix Experience 1969: In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida – Iron Butterfly 1970: Bridge over Troubled Water – Simon & Garfunkel 1971: Jesus Christ Superstar – Soundtrack 1972: Harvest – Neil Young 1973: The World Is a Ghetto – War 1974: Goodbye Yellow Brick Road – Elton John 1975: Greatest Hits – Elton John
1976–2000	1976: Frampton Comes Alive! – Peter Frampton 1977: Rumours – Fleetwood Mac 1978: Saturday Night Fever – Soundtrack 1979: 52nd Street – Billy Joel 1980: The Wall – Pink Floyd 1981: Hi Infidelity – REO Speedwagon 1982: Asia – Asia 1983: Thriller – Michael Jackson 1984: Thriller – Michael Jackson 1985: Born in the U.S.A. – Bruce Springsteen 1986: Whitney Houston – Whitney Houston 1987: Slippery When Wet – Bon Jovi 1988: Faith – George Michael 1989: Don't Be Cruel – Bobby Brown 1990: Janet Jackson's Rhythm Nation 1814 – Janet Jackson 1991: Mariah Carey – Mariah Carey 1992: Ropin' the Wind – Garth Brooks 1993: The Bodyguard – Soundtrack 1994: The Sign – Ace of Base 1995: Cracked Rear View – Hootie & the Blowfish 1996: Jagged Little Pill – Alanis Morissette 1997: Spice – Spice Girls 1998: Titanic: Music from the Motion Picture – James Horner 1999: Millennium – Backstreet Boys 2000: No Strings Attached – NSYNC
2001–present	2001: 1 – The Beatles 2002: The Eminem Show – Eminem 2003: Get Rich or Die Tryin' – 50 Cent 2004: Confessions – Usher 2005: The Massacre – 50 Cent 2006: Some Hearts – Carrie Underwood 2007: Daughtry – Daughtry 2008: As I Am – Alicia Keys 2009: Fearless – Taylor Swift 2010: I Dreamed a Dream – Susan Boyle 2011: 21 – Adele 2012: 21 – Adele 2013: The 20/20 Experience – Justin Timberlake 2014: Frozen – Soundtrack 2015: 1989 – Taylor Swift 2016: 25 – Adele 2017: Damn – Kendrick Lamar 2018: Reputation – Taylor Swift 2019: When We All Fall Asleep, Where Do We Go? – Billie Eilish 2020: Hollywood's Bleeding – Post Malone 2021: Dangerous: The Double Album – Morgan Wallen 2022: Un Verano Sin Ti – Bad Bunny 2023: One Thing at a Time – Morgan Wallen