Mamma Mia! Abba is back with new releases
The Swedish pop legends joined the social media network on Monday in hope of their highly-anticipated announcement of long-awaited new releases.
Their official account has reached almost a million followers in less than five days. Up till now the band has posted just nine videos, viewed almost 30 million times.
Pop stars like Mabel and Zara Larsson have posted covers on the platform since Abba officially joined.
“It’s clear from the vast numbers of creations and video views that our community around the world has so much love for the band and their sound,” says Paul Hourican, TikTok’s UK head of music operations.
There are only a few artists who can create music that remains as fresh and brilliant and beautiful 40 or 50 years on as it was on the day it was first released.
Abba is one of those artists and is very close to the top of that list.
Abba Gold was the UK’s 20th best-selling album in the first six months of 2021 and recently became the first LP to spend 1,000 weeks in the UK top 100 album chart.
Many young fans might not have seen them play at least not live. So, for them, the closest thing would have been watching tribute bands, including at festivals like Glastonbury and Isle of Wight.
One of those who was reared on Abba Gold was Maisie Peters, a hotly-tipped singer-songwriter who was recently signed by Ed Sheeran.
“They remind me so much of my childhood and the joy and innocence of being a kid and hearing Abba and Abba Gold in the car and being like, ‘This is the best thing I’ve ever heard’,” the 21-year-old said.
“I remember having Abba Gold in the car and listening to it with my sister. But I still listen to it all the time and it’s super-inspiring to me.
“It was so brave. It was so rule-defying and genre-defying. The songwriting and the musicianship and the voice – everything about it is just so above all else. I think it’s so creative just really beautifully done.”
Artists from across the musical world welcomed the band back – – from experimental songsmith Jane Weaver to Sister Bliss of dance act Faithless.
On Spotify, the group has more than 17 million monthly listeners. Tracks like Dancing Queen, Gimme Gimme Gimme (A Man After Midnight) and Mamma Mia is the most popular ones.
And young listeners are the biggest fans, according to the streaming site.
“It was a wonderful surprise to find out that 18–24-year-olds are the heaviest streamers of Abba,” Spotify UK’s head of music Sulinna Ong said.
“Importantly, the fact that their listening has increased by 50% since 2014 shows that more young people than ever are listening to Abba. It’s a testament to the enduring appeal of Abba’s elite level songwriting that transcends generations.”
