27-year-old pop star Robin Packalen continues to develop his international sound with the release of his new single, “Running Through My Head.” The song is a fresh and intimate reinterpretation of t.A.T.u.’s iconic hit “All The Things She Said,” a track that has been with the artist since childhood.

“Running Through My Head” originated a year and a half ago in Sweden, when Packalen was working with producer Herman Gardarfve. Originally, the song was different, but during the production process, the melody of t.A.T.u.’s classic track began to naturally settle over the chorus, and they didn’t want to let it go. In the new version, nostalgic familiarity blends with modern, minimalist pop production.

“The song was written a year and a half ago, when I teamed up with Swedish producer Herman Gardarfve. At first, the song was different, and while we were working on it, I could easily hum t.A.T.u.’s ‘All the Things She Said’ in place of the chorus. It just kind of fit. We couldn’t reorient ourselves to anything else, so we decided to go with it. We changed the lyrics to bring out different emotions than the original punk-style version. I remember that even during the production phase, we realized we definitely wouldn’t get permission to use the original song as a sample. Luckily, though, after a year and a half, we received a message telling us that permission had been granted,” Packalen says, continuing:

“This song is a story about naivety and how it’s worth being cautious, because things aren’t always what they seem on the surface.”

Throughout his 14-year career, 27-year-old Robin Packalen has been one of Finland’s most successful artists. His music has been streamed over 590 million times on streaming services, and five of his seven studio albums have debuted at number one on Finland’s official album chart. Packalen has received numerous accolades throughout his career, including four Emma Awards and one MTV EMA Award. On social media, he is one of the most followed people in the country, with over 1.1 million followers.