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The group was originally named ''Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid'' or ''Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Frida''. was a Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad. They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time,Cite web Harrison Andrew Why are Abba so popular? https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20140415-why-are-abba-so-popular| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211020/https://www.bbc.com/culture/article/20140415-why-are-abba-so-popular| archive-date=20 October 2021 18 October 2021 BBC 21 October 2014cbignore and are one of the List of best-selling music artists|best-selling music acts in the history of popular music. In Escyr|1974, ABBA were Esccnty|Sweden's first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song "Waterloo (ABBA song)|Waterloo", which in 2005 was chosen as the best song in the competition's history as part of the Congratulations: 50 Years of the Eurovision Song Contest|50th anniversary celebration of the contest. During the band's main active years, it consisted of two married couples: Fältskog and Ulvaeus, and Lyngstad and Andersson. With the increase of their popularity, their personal lives suffered, which eventually resulted in the collapse of both marriages. The relationship changes were reflected in the group's music, with later songs featuring darker and more introspective lyrics.Cite web https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbf9zlm9tNE Youtube video |via=YouTube 30 September 2016 17 April 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160417155022/https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cbf9zlm9tNE |at=1:10 After ABBA disbanded in December 1982, Andersson and Ulvaeus continued their success writing music for multiple audiences including stage, musicals and movies,cite web https://www.biography.com/people/benny-andersson-17168238 Benny Andersson Biography 2 April 2014 4 July 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20180921114915/https://www.biography.com/people/benny-andersson-17168238 21 September 2018cite web https://www.biography.com/people/bj%C3%B6rn-ulvaeus-17188976 Björn Ulvaeus Biography.com 4 July 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170425101949/http://www.biography.com/people/bj%C3%B6rn-ulvaeus-17188976 25 April 2017 while Fältskog and Lyngstad pursued solo careers.cite web https://www.biography.com/people/agnetha-f%C3%A4ltskog-20631221 Agnetha Fältskog Biography.com 4 July 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20170427223846/http://www.biography.com/people/agnetha-f%C3%A4ltskog-20631221 27 April 2017cite web https://www.biography.com/people/anni-frid-lyngstad-17178734 Anni-Frid Lyngstad Biography.com 4 July 2017 https://web.archive.org/web/20190401150722/https://www.biography.com/people/anni-frid-lyngstad-17178734 1 April 2019 Ten years after the group broke up, a compilation, ''ABBA Gold'', was released, becoming a worldwide best-seller. In 1999, ABBA's music was adapted into ''Mamma Mia! (musical)|Mamma Mia!'', a stage musical that toured worldwide and, as of October 2024, is still in the top-ten longest running productions on both List of the longest-running Broadway shows|Broadway (closed in 2015) and the List of the longest-running West End shows|West End (still running). Mamma Mia! (film)|A film of the same name, released in 2008, became the highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom that year. A sequel, ''Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again'', was released in 2018. ABBA are among the List of best-selling music artists|best-selling music artists in history, with record sales estimated to be between 150 million to 385 million sold worldwidecite news http://www.times-standard.com/tcw/ci_20060193 ABBA music enhances 'Mamma Mia!' at the Van Duzer Trauth Beti 28 February 2012|work=Times-Standard 19 April 2013 https://web.archive.org/web/20140519061605/http://www.times-standard.com/tcw/ci_20060193 19 May 2014cite news https://www.forbes.com/sites/heatherfarmbrough/2018/05/17/new-abba-exhibition-launched-as-abba-sells-more-music-than-ever/ New Abba Exhibition Launched as Abba Sells More Music than Ever Farmbrough Heather 17 May 2018 Forbes 13 December 2019 and the group were ranked 3rd best-selling singles artists in the United Kingdom with a total of 11.3 million singles sold by 3 November 2012.cite web https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/the-official-top-20-biggest-selling-groups-of-all-time-revealed-__2515/ The Official Top 20 biggest selling groups of all time revealed! |work=Official Charts 3 November 2012 9 November 2021 In May 2023, ABBA were awarded the Brits Billion Award|BRIT Billion Award, which celebrates those who have surpassed the milestone of one billion UK streams in their career.Cite web https://www.officialcharts.com/chart-news/lewis-capaldi-mariah-carey-and-more-honoured-with-new-brit-billion-award__39180/ Lewis Capaldi, Mariah Carey and more honoured with new BRIT Billion award Official Charts Company|Official Charts 4 May 2023 ABBA were the first group from a non-English-speaking country to achieve consistent success in the charts of English-speaking countries, including the UK Singles Chart|United Kingdom, ARIA Charts|Australia, Billboard Hot 100|United States, Irish Recorded Music Association|Republic of Ireland, Canadian Hot 100|Canada, Recording Industry Association of New Zealand|New Zealand and Recording Industry of South Africa|South Africa.Cite web https://www.lifetimetv.co.uk/people/abba Celebrities Lifetimtv.co.uk 10 April 2020 10 June 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200610235116/https://www.lifetimetv.co.uk/people/abbalive They are the best-selling Swedish band of all timecite news 19 January 2019 ABBA Tribute Announced for River Moselle|work=The Luxembourg Chronicle http://www.chronicle.lu/category/things-to-see-do/27952-abba-tribute-announced-for-river-moselle 15 July 2020 16 January 2020 https://web.archive.org/web/20200116183758/https://chronicle.lu/category/things-to-see-do/27952-abba-tribute-announced-for-river-mosellelive and the best-selling band originating in continental Europe. ABBA had eight consecutive number-one albums in the UK. The group also enjoyed significant success in Latin America and recorded a Gracias Por La Música (album)|collection of their hit songs in Spanish. ABBA were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002.Cite web ABBA – Music Inductees http://vocalgroup.org/inductees/abba/ 14 January 2022 The Vocal Group Hall of Fame|language=en-US The group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, the first recording artists to receive this honour from outside an Anglophonic country.cite news http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-quick16-2009dec16,0,6237547.story ABBA Makes Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Los Angeles Times 16 December 2009 |newspaper=Los Angeles Times 16 December 2009 23 August 2010 20 December 2009 https://web.archive.org/web/20091220041032/http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/la-et-quick16-2009dec16,0,6237547.story live In 2015, their song "Dancing Queen" was inducted into the Recording Academy's Grammy Hall of Fame.cite web http://www.grammy.com/news/grammy-hall-of-fame-class-of-2015 GRAMMY Hall Of Fame Class Of 2015 16 December 2014 31 August 2016 16 August 2016 https://web.archive.org/web/20160816230205/http://www.grammy.com/news/grammy-hall-of-fame-class-of-2015live In 2024, the United States Library of Congress included the album ''Arrival (ABBA album)|Arrival'' (1976) in the National Recording Registry, which recognises works "worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage".cite web |author= 16 April 2024 National Recording Registry Inducts Sounds of ABBA, Blondie, The Cars, The Chicks, Juan Gabriel, Green Day, The Notorious B.I.G. and Lily Tomlin https://newsroom.loc.gov/news/national-recording-registry-inducts-sounds-of-abba--blondie--the-cars--the-chicks--juan-gabriel/s/29ee4224-3060-4247-a7a4-7deea2c2f816 live https://web.archive.org/web/20240416113310/https://newsroom.loc.gov/news/national-recording-registry-inducts-sounds-of-abba--blondie--the-cars--the-chicks--juan-gabriel/s/29ee4224-3060-4247-a7a4-7deea2c2f816 16 April 2024 Library of Congress |location=Washington, D. C. 9 May 2024cite magazine Grein Paul 16 April 2024 The Notorious B.I.G., The Chicks, Green Day & More Selected for National Recording Registry (Full List) https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/2024-national-recording-registry-full-list-1235655213/ live https://web.archive.org/web/20240416140942/https://www.billboard.com/music/awards/2024-national-recording-registry-full-list-1235655213/ 16 April 2024 |magazine=Billboard (magazine)|Billboard |location=New York 9 May 2024 In 2016, the group reunited and started working on a digital Avatar (computing)|avatar concert tour.cite news https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37776505 Abba to reunite for 'new entertainment experience' 26 October 2016|work=BBC News 20 June 2018 5 May 2018 https://web.archive.org/web/20180505185458/http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-37776505live Newly recorded songs were announced in 2018.cite web ABBA Reunite, Announce New Songs https://pitchfork.com/news/abba-reunite-announce-new-songs/amp/live https://web.archive.org/web/20180427181551/https://pitchfork.com/news/abba-reunite-announce-new-songs/amp/ 27 April 2018 29 April 2018 Pitchfork 27 April 2018 ''Voyage (ABBA album)|Voyage'', their first new album in 40 years, was released on 5 November 2021 to positive critical reviews and strong sales in numerous countries.cite web |last1=Beaumont-Thomas |first1=Ben |last2=Brown |first2=Mark |name-list-style=amp 2 September 2021 Abba reunite for Voyage, first new album in 40 years http://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/sep/02/abba-reunite-for-voyage-first-new-album-in-40-years live https://web.archive.org/web/20210903175208/https://www.theguardian.com/music/2021/sep/02/abba-reunite-for-voyage-first-new-album-in-40-years 3 September 2021 The Guardian |location=London 10 September 2021 ABBA Voyage, a concert residency featuring ABBA as virtual avatars, opened in May 2022 in London.cite web Hodgkinson Will 26 May 2022 Abba Voyage review — Holograms are fine but the real thing is still best https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/abba-voyage-review-holograms-are-fine-but-the-real-thing-is-still-best-skrzc5nsh |url-access=subscription The Times |location=London 9 May 2024