I thought a moment. Did I give her my honest answer? Would that bother the label? I decided that lying undermined how much the band meant to me.
“Probably not,” I snickered. “I think we’d agree I was the singer they needed at the moment and it just… worked?”
Leighton grinned. “Personally, I think you’re a great singer.”
“Girl has pipes! Ignore her!” Alicia giggled.
“You’re too kind—everyone is,” I said.
“Thatis how you know she’s Swedish,” Barry snickered. “That’s as much bragging as you can imagine from these people!”
I chuckled. “Yeah, that’s probably true. I’m also half-British, though. Don’t forget.”
“And how does this feel? To be on the verge of helming thehit for the Brits in UniVox? I must ask the elephant-in-the-room question, you know?”
I braced for it, knowing it always came down to this.
“You had a hit in Sweden with “Lordy Be” and Leona. It was an amazing song and ended up being your first platinum album as a writer.”
“Well, Leona and I wrote it together,” I pointed out. “She’s so amazing and just a once-in-a-lifetime performer.”
“It cannot be easy to watch that all go down. So many said you deserved to win UniVox last year. Is that what brought you to the UK? People are calling it a revenge plot?”
Heat rose to my face.
“I… well, it’s not a revenge plot. This song was meant for Playground. I wrote it as a standalone single and it worked for them. We reworked it, sure, but it was just my job. It just happened that the friends I wrote the song for are here in London and wanted me to play with them. That’s all. There is no vast conspiracy.”
“And what are your thoughts on the frontrunner from Sweden? 4låt?”
Can we not, please? I cursed her even if I knew she was just doing her job. Everyone wanted to know if I was just out to get the Swedes back for robbing me last year. I didn’t blame them. It was the genesis of the song. I couldn’t say that without sounding like an Angry Lesbian or looking like a bitch, so I deflected.
“It’s more of a ‘loat’,” I corrected. “It means I’m sorry—'Förlåt!’It’s a clever name and Alia and Jason are brilliant musicians. Alia has an amazing stage presence for such a young performer and Jason is talented at mixing. I would be a bad Swede for not wishing them the best.”
“And there’s no bad blood between you and Max Mixxon?”
I felt the urge to roll my eyes harder than ever before. “I wish them all the best—Sweden and everyone. What’s brilliantabout UniVox is it should bring out good in all of us—unity. If we’re chosen to represent my mother’s home country and my home for the past two decades, we’ll be honored to compete alongside them.”
The band nodded in unison and Clarice patted my back.
“Well, thanks. Good luck to you all. Just a reminder to you at home. Voting closes at 5 PM tomorrow, so get those votes in!”
“And… cut!” The director called.
We stood from our chairs and thanked the crew. I had little doubt we’d win this round and come out on top. Two months before, I was sure Playground had it in the bag, after all. The live version—the only one available still—was a streaming hit. Now, our job was to record an entire EP as fast as we could.
“That was diplomatic as fuck,” Alicia said as we returned to the green room.
I shrugged. “What can I say? The song says it all.”
More than twenty years of pain. Two rageful verses. Did I really need to say more? My honesty always played best when I just wrote things down and ran with them. In my mind, my legacy was best left on a track.
She gave a slight smile. “As you said, the best revenge is living rent-free in Max’s mind.”
“It really is,” I agreed. “Now, back to writing, okay? We have a record to put out.”
Chapter 4
Utryddelsessonaten
