Buzz
On November 30, 1981, the legendary Swedish band ABBA released a studio album titled The Visitors. Fast forward 40 years, after the divorces of both female lead singers Agnetha Fältskog and Anni-Frid Lyngstad from their respective husbands, and also ABBA members, Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson in 1980 and 1981, they surprisingly announced a reunion, declaring a new album named Voyage, set to be officially released on November 5, 2021. The first two singles from Voyage, I Still Have Faith in You and Don’t Shut Me Down, have been released on multiple platforms:Of course, ABBA isn't just famous for the New Year's music that our grandparents play to the point of boredom. They have numerous hits that still exude freshness, energy, and fun to this day: Mamma Mia, Dancing Queen, Chiquitita, Fernando, Knowing Me Knowing You, Take a Chance on Me... The four legendary names in the world of pop music have also announced regular concerts in London starting in May 2022. Digitally rejuvenated versions of the four ABBA members will appear every night at the ABBA Arena, with a capacity of 3000 seats in the Olympic Park in the capital of England. Benny Andersson: “We are truly entering new territory. With the help of youthful imagery, we will venture into the future.”The digital avatars of ABBA's four members are created just like how a Hollywood movie handles CGI effects to bring their 40-year-old version, called ABBAtars, to the audience. Wayne McGregor, an artist from the Royal Ballet of England, directs the choreography, while the animation is done by the renowned 850-member art team of Industrial Light & Magic studio founded by George Lucas himself. The labor's fruit of Industrial Light & Magic is also demonstrated in the music video of I Still Have Faith in You.
In 1983, ABBA disbanded without sending any official message to the fans. Since then, Agnetha Fältskog has released 12 solo albums, the most recent being in 2013. Lyngstad also has 3 solo albums. As for Andersson and Ulvaeus, they have collaborated with many names for composition, for example, the official song of the Eurovision contest in 2013, when they worked with Avicii.For quite some time, ABBA denied the possibility of a reunion concert. In 2014, Lyngstad said: “We only have one answer, and that is no. No amount of money would change our minds. Maybe occasionally we’ll record a song together, that’s all.” In 2016, they returned and recorded The Way Old Friends Do to commemorate 50 years of Andersson and Ulvaeus' collaboration, firing the signal gun marking ABBA's return after 4 decades. They planned to release Voyage since 2019, but several delays followed by the COVID-19 pandemic kept ABBA from officially reuniting until now.According to The Guardian, ABBA reunites for Voyage, their first new album in 40 years.
