"Life Is a Flower" is a 1998 song by Swedish group Ace of Base, released as their first single from their album, Flowers. The song was released in the US with different lyrics, titled "Whenever You're Near Me", and in a different key. It peaked at number-one in Hungary and was a top-ten hit in Denmark, Finland, Scotland, Spain, Sweden and the UK. "Life Is a Flower" was certified silver in the UK by the BPI. On the Eurochart Hot 100, the song reached number 19 in August 1998. It is written by band member Jonas Berggren, who also told in an 2015 interview that it is his greatest Ace of Base song.
Critical reception
editor Bryan Buss called the song "acoustic" in his review. Expressen described it as a "safe card". Göteborgsposten wrote that it is "almost religiously positive". Music & Media commented that "although the sound and style on the latest single remains unmistakably that of Ace Of Base, the Swedish outfit have still been able to reinvent themselves enough to stay relevant and keep pace with dance scene developments." Bernhard Hiller, head of music at AC/CHR outlet 104.6 RTL/Berlin said, "It is a great comeback for them. The good thing is that they have managed to change their sound while still sounding like Ace Of Base." He added, "Of course, this record is an absolute blessing for radio; we added it as soon as it got in, and currently we are playing it 15-20 times a week. At first audience response was less than overwhelming-but than again it is still early days; and besides, how can an audience like records when you don't allow the listeners to get to know the tracks?"
Music video
Two music videos of "Life Is a Flower" were shot. The first one was not finished and has never been released. It was rejected by the record label, although they had invested a lot of money in it. Scenography didn't fit to the happy message of the song and it was found too dark and heavy. The second music video was officially released and is much more colourful and funny. Part of the storyboard was created by Jenny Berggren herself. Ace of Base also brought some elements of scenography on their own, like a washing machine.
