ABBA

Formed in 1972 in Stockholm, Sweden, ABBA was one of the world's biggest pop acts through the early 1980s, during which period the group earned more than a dozen Top 40 singles across Europe and North America. ABBA's lineup paired singers Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad with multi-instrumentalists Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson, resulting in a blend of vocal harmony and genre-crossing songwriting that spawned hits like "Dancing Queen," "Waterloo," and "Mama Mia." The group released a debut album, Ring Ring, in 1973, then rose to international prominence by winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest with "Waterloo." With Björn and Benny serving as the group's songwriters, ABBA cemented its popularity in Europe with 1974's Waterloo and 1975's self-titled ABBA, then enjoyed an equally ecstatic reception overseas with 1975's multi-platinum compilation Greatest Hits, 1976's Arrival, 1977's ABBA: The Album, 1979's Voulez-Vous, and 1980's Super Trouper, all of which topped the charts in both Sweden and the UK. Tensions within the band were aggravated by the collapsing marriages of Fältskog and Ulvaeus (who were married from 1971 until 1980) and Lyngstad and Andersson (who were married from 1978 until 1981), with 1981's platinum-selling The Visitors marking the end of the group's commercial reign. ABBA made its final public appearance in 1982 and then embarked upon a multi-decade hiatus. Benny and Bjorn continued working together and memorably composed the score to the musical Chess with Tim Rice. Meanwhile, the ABBA legend was cemented by the popular Mamma Mia musical and subsequent movie, both of which introduced the band's music to new audiences. Years later, the band reconvened in 2018 to record new material for a TV special, then continued collaborating during the years that followed. In 2021, ABBA released its ninth studio album, Voyage, which debuted at Number 2 on the Billboard 200 and topped the charts in 20 additional countries.

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