The most sensational pop group of 80s and early 90s ABBA has made a comeback after their final album The Visitors way back in 1981 followed by a split after one year.
Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lynstad who joined together to create history by the name ABBA has now released their latest album titled Voyage much to the delight of their fans worldwide.
It took 40 years for this Swedish pop group to come together to start their second innings. ABBA Gold was their last album released in 1992 that left a greater impact on world pop music which kept resonating even after four decades. Such was the charisma and singing prowess of this group, that they created new records and broke old records with their hit albums and as many as 48 hit singles during their career spanning around 10 years.
The success journey that started in 1974 by winning the first Swedish Eurovision Song Contest with the trending single ‘Waterloo’ and the same track was chosen again as the best song on the occasion of the 50th celebrations of the competition in 2005, a rare feet that cannot be emulated by any other pop group. Subsequently, this song has become a major hit in many European countries and the US.
‘Honey Honey’ was the next single that went on to the peak position at No.27 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and topped the charts in other countries as well. Later singles like ‘Mamma Mia’, ‘I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do’, ‘SOS’, and ‘Fernando’ from the album Greatest Hits that created history.
There was no looking back for this hit pop group and their fourth album Arrival with the singles from this album ‘Money Money Money’, ‘Knowing Me, Knowing You’, ‘That’s Me’, and ‘Dancing Queen’ surged ahead and put all the charts in the world on fire in 1976.
Later, the tracks ‘Chiquitita’, ‘Does Your Mother Know’, ‘Voulez-Vous’, ‘Angeleyes’, ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!’, ‘The Winner Takes It All’, ‘Super Trouper’, ‘Thank You For The Music’, ‘Happy New Year’, ‘When All Is Said And Done’ and ‘The Visitors’ have remained as evergreen hits catapulting them to be the numero uno band in pop circuit.
Now after a hiatus of 40 years, ABBA reunites to bring the new album Voyager whose concert trailer was released recently announcing their series of concerts starting with London in May 2022. The album featuring ‘ABBAtars’ the digital makeover will be unveiled during this concert which got delayed due to various reasons which include technical difficulties apart from Covid-19 pandemic.
Benny Andersson (74) and Bjorn Ulvaeus (76) are actively promoting the album while Agnetha Faltskog (71) and Anni-Frid Lyngstad (75) will remain backstage during these promotions due to their age factor.
The album Voyage brings back many nostalgic moments from 80s and 90s, but the magic was definitely missing from the group as the music could not match up with the present trend of pop. Also, the vocals of Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad sound weary due to the age that took it’s toll on their rich vocals, the fact that cannot be ignored. Interestingly, the spirit remains the same, and energy continues to be on the same peak levels and these are the most refreshing factors that still make ABBA as the household name in many countries.
At the outset, the fans of ABBA are rejoiced to see the demigods of pop coming together again to mesmerize with their come back album Voyage and it is definitely going to create history when they gear up for reappearance with their live performances in another six months which will bring a lot of cheer and brouhaha for all their fans to enjoy across the world.
