Ace of Base was a Swedish pop group, originally consisting of Ulf "Buddha" Ekberg and three siblings: Jonas "Joker" Berggren, Malin "Linn" Berggren and Jenny Berggren. The group released four studio albums between 1992 and 2002, which sold more than 30 million copies worldwide, making it the third-most successful Swedish band of all time, after ABBA and Roxette. Happy Nation (reissued as The Sign) is one of the best-selling debut albums of all time, and was certified nine times platinum in the United States.

Even though the band members were exhausted from two long years of international promotion, they could hardly believe how successful they had become. In April 1994, an obsessed German fan broke into the Berggren family home, brandishing a knife. After managing to restrain her, the band decided they needed bodyguards. However, they were unable to take time to reflect before starting work on a second album because their record companies all over the world were demanding a swift follow-up. To speed up the process, instead of Jonas and Ulf writing the bulk of the album, each member was encouraged to submit their own tracks for consideration.  In the end, 17 tracks made the cut of the second album, titled The Bridge. It marked a considerable change of direction in sound; out were the reggae and club sounds that made the group so popular in favor of a more experimental sound and several ballads. The lead single, "Lucky Love", however, was a mainstream pop record, and upon its release in October 1995, it became the band's first No. 1 single in Sweden. This came as a pleasant surprise to the members, as they had found that their fellow Swedes had been their harshest critics. It charted at a more modest No. 13 in Germany, No. 20 in the United Kingdom and No. 30 in Australia.  Arista Records instead opted for the pulsating dance beat of "Beautiful Life" for the first single in the US, where it peaked at No. 15. "Beautiful Life" was released as the second single from the album in most countries, reaching No. 15 in the UK and No. 11 in Australia, while "Lucky Love" was remixed in a new acoustic form along with a new video for the second US single from the album, peaking at No. 30. The Bridge was certified platinum in 14 countries, but the phenomenal success of the band's first album proved difficult to follow. "Never Gonna Say I'm Sorry" was released as the third single from the album and achieved moderate success in Europe, but it failed to chart on the Hot 100 in the US. In February 1996, the band performed at the Vina del Mar Festival de la Cancion in Chile, topping the bill alongside 2 Unlimited.

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