ABBA is a Swedish pop group that was one of the most popular groups in the 1970s. ABBA consists of four members with Agnetha Fӓltskog, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad as the group’s vocalists, and Bjӧrn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson as the group’s guitarist and pianist, respectively. 

The band is popular for its upbeat music. Some of their most popular songs such as “Dancing Queen” and “Mamma Mia” are from the musical Mamma Mia!. Other popular songs include “Money, Money, Money” and “Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!”. 

However in 1982, the pop group broke up because they felt like their creative juices had run out, and they weren’t having much fun. The members of the group also went through two divorces within a year. Agnetha Fӓltskog and Bjӧrn Ulvaeus were a married couple and so were Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson, which made it harder for the group to keep going. 

The group didn’t come together for almost 40 years, as they all focused on their solo careers. 

However, recently ABBA announced during a YouTube livestream on Sept. 2 that they were reuniting for their new album Voyage. Two of the songs, lead singles from the album “I Still Have Faith in You” and “Don’t Shut Me Down” were released on the same day as the live. Voyage is the group’s ninth album and is scheduled to release on Nov. 5. The album will contain 10 songs total. The songs include “When You Danced With Me”, “Little Things”, “Just a Notion”, “I Can Be That Woman”, “Keep an Eye on Dan”, “Bumblebee”, “No Doubt About It”, “Ode to Freedom”, plus the two singles.

The album broke the record for the most pre-ordered album ever for Universal Music Group UK. 

The pop group will also be doing a digital avatar concert, during which virtual avatars will be performing instead of the real members, with a 10-piece live band starting May 27, 2022. The digital avatars, ABBAtars, are basically pseudo-holograms. The ABBAtars will be the younger version of the group’s four members. 

The concert will take place at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. The venue, ABBA Arena, can hold up to 3,000 people. The official website about the same was launched on Aug. 26, the website can be found at abbavoyage.com. The tickets for the concert range from $76.65 to $194.57 per person. 

Fans are excited about the group getting together, the new album, and virtual tour. 

“It’s really cool to see an old band come back together, and I am excited to hear their new album,” said freshman Jocelyn Soo.

Photo courtesy of ACTIONVANCE on UNSPLASH.COM