ABBA Teases Comeback Music And Tour After 40 Year Hiatus
Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad make up the iconic Swedish-pop group ABBA. The group was made famous in 1974 after winning the Eurovision Song Contest with their entry of Waterloo.
The music of Abba has been passed down from generation to generation as many young individuals today still love all the iconic hits the group released during their short time as pop stars.
The group broke up back in December 1982, and while fans were constantly hoping they would make some sort of a comeback, it never came. Back in 2000 the group was offered $1 billion to do a reunion show, and they declined. They also told Billboard magazine in 2014: “You will never see us on stage again. We don’t need the money, for one thing.”
Under Attack was the last single the group ever recorded together, starting what would become a nearly 4 decade hiatus away from music. Well, fans who have been patiently waiting are having their prayers answered as the group recently took to social media to announce they would be releasing new music once again.
While it hasn’t been officially announced yet, some believe the group will be releasing a new song as early as September 3rd. Word broke after a verified Twitter account, @ABBAVoyage, was activated with the bio: “Join Us.”
The initial tweet from the account showed a photo of four gold rings alongside the date September 2nd, 2021. The official website is just as cryptic as the social media posts, with very little information other than encouraging fans to sign up for their newsletter.
Back in 2018 ABBA did tease the release of new music with a statement claiming they were reuniting in the studio to record new music, initially set for a 2019 release.
Speaking at the premiere of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, Ulvaeus spoke about two new songs set for release: I Still Have Faith in You and Don’t Shut Me Down:
“One of them is a pop tune, very danceable. The other is more timeless, more reflective, that is all I will say. It is Nordic sad, but happy at the same time.”
While speaking to the Swedish publication Expressen, Andersson discussed plans for the groups next tour as well:
“We see each other every now and then, we’ve done a few different things, and now we’ve got a project ahead of us.”
Originally a virtual reality tour was being developed to also debut in 2019 alongside the five new songs. The members of the group would appear during these shows as “Abba-tars”.
The host of the podcast Reasons To Be Cheerful, Geoff Lloyd, discussed how the pandemic and technical difficulties delayed all of these plans, but the group is still planning a comeback.
“I got to spend an hour with Björn Ulvaeus from Abba via Zoom. He’s quarantining – he’s got an island in the Stockholm archipelago. They’ve recorded five new songs. They should have been out at the end of last year. Because of technical difficulties and the pandemic, it’s delayed things. However, the new Abba music will be out in 2021.”
Eric Mastrota is a Contributing Editor at The National Digest based in New York. A graduate of SUNY New Paltz, he reports on world news, culture, and lifestyle. You can reach him at eric.mastrota@thenationaldigest.com.