It was two decades ago that the creative forces behind Danish-born Sannie Carlson – AKA Whigfield – decided to send off her debut self-titled album with one final single, after a shelf life of two years.
Little did they know the song itself – the kitschy dancefloor-filler ‘Sexy Eyes’ – would end up exploding on a global level, including a top ten position and platinum sales here in Australia. Now in her mid-40s and primarily focusing on music under her real name, Carlson still thinks about that time. Regrets? It’s not that she’s got a few about ‘Sexy Eyes’, but she certainly has one in particular.
“I can remember hiding away in my hotel room, just thinking to myself over and over, ‘Why did I do that video?’” she says with a laugh. “It’s genuinely one of the worst music videos ever! Sometimes you make a video that you’re really happy with, but the song itself doesn’t take off. With ‘Sexy Eyes’, I had the exact opposite problem on my hands – the song was everywhere, and the video was put together on this terrible cold day. I can never escape that video.”
Despite the visual cringe, Carlson is at peace with her ghosts. To this day, she still takes time to perform as Whigfield for runs of shows, bringing out all the popular songs from her debut album to great reactions. For Carlson, there’s also a peculiarity insofar as there being a strange presence at her shows – people who weren’t even born when she was a dance-pop sensation.
“You would be surprised how far some of my songs have reached,” she says. “Looking out at a crowd of mine, you’d think it would all just be people my age, maybe a little younger, who were there in the ’90s. The funny thing is that there’s also a lot of young people – who knows how they found it, but it’s all new to them. A song like ‘Sexy Eyes’ or a song like ‘Saturday Night’ – that’s brand new to their ears. They’ve never heard it before. I guess they might have heard it on the radio or something. Whatever it is, it makes me so happy to see people still get something out of my music.”
Carlson will once again take up the Whigfield moniker as a part of a massive Australian tour this November. Headed up by turn-of-the-century Eurodance behemoths Vengaboys, Carlson will also be joined by Tina Cousins, DJ Sammy, Crystal Waters, Sonique and Australia’s own Joanne.
“I’ve done two tours there already, and I really enjoy being there,” enthuses Carlson about her return trip. “It’s so laid-back. Sometimes when you’re visiting places, they can be really stressful. I’ve never felt that with Australia. I’m really looking forward to visiting the beach, too – I live in London, and as you can imagine, there’s not many here to speak of.”
In the meantime, Carlson will continue to work on new music under the Sannie moniker. Although being both Sannie and Whigfield may seem like a gruelling double life, Carlson insists she wouldn’t – and couldn’t – have it any other way.
“I grew up in a family of musicians – I’ve honestly never really known anything else,” she says. “It was a lot to do with luck – I was in the right place at the right time, and it’s afforded me a life of work. Besides, I wouldn’t know how to do anything other than music if I tried – there’s no way that you could put me in an office.”
Whigfield supports Vengaboys at their sold out shows at theBig Top Sydney, Luna Park, Saturday November 5 and Sunday November 6.
