ABBA Showbiz and Celebrity Breaking News

ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus has shared a message of support for the English women’s football team (aka the Lionesses) after they celebrated a 4-0 win over Sweden earlier this week.The Lionesses dominated Sweden, where ABBA hail from, in the semi-final match of the 2022 UEFA Women’s Euro Championship. The game took place at Milton Keyes’ Stadium MK on Wednesday (July 27) and is to be followed by the final match this Sunday (August 31).There, the Lionesses – who are currently eighth in the FIFA Women’s World Rankings – will face off against Germany at London’s Wembley Stadium.As reported by the Evening Standard, the Lionesses celebrated their semi-final victory with a singalong to ABBA, who feature prominently in the team’s dressing room playlist.When asked what she and her team listened to after scoring the final goal, forward Alessia Russo told journalists: “It was a little bit of ABBA – there’s always ABBA – but also Proud, West Virginia, a couple of old songs.”Leaning into the irony that the Lionesses marked their win over Sweden by singing along to Swedish music, Björn took to Instagram with a message of congratulations the team, which he delivered wearing the jersey of Sweden’s own football team.In the message, he said: “I understand that you celebrated your well-earned victory the other day with ABBA music, and I have to say, that makes the defeat a little easier to bear.

Hugh Jackman well after the actor tested positive for COVID-19, with a montage of their friendship soundtracked by ABBA.On Monday (June 13), Jackman announced on Twitter he had tested positive for a second time. The news came a day after his performance at the Tony Awards.

ABBA Voyage digital concerts have spoken to NME about the experience of recreating the magic of the pop legends, and how long they expect to be playing for. Watch our video interview with some of the band above.Premiering earlier this week at the purpose-built ABBA Arena in Stratford, East London, to a delighted response from fans, the ambitious production sees a “digital” version of ABBA (or ‘ABBAtars’) performing alongside a 10-piece live band (put together with the help of Klaxons’ James Righton).Speaking to NME on the red carpet ahead of the performance, guitarist Dom John said that they were “buzzing, locked in and ready.”John recalled the first time he met ABBA in rehearsals – when he looked up to find Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson watching him play. “We played one of their songs, and I was playing both guitar parts and then looked up and realised that Benny and Bjorn were standing right in front of me!” he said.

ABBA Voyage live experience have spoken to NME about how it was made, as well as what could be next for both the show and the band. Watch our video interview above.Premiering earlier this week at the purpose-built ABBA Arena in Stratford, East London, to a delighted response from fans, the ambitious production sees a “digital” version of ABBA (or ‘ABBAtars’) performing alongside a 10-piece live band (put together with the help of Klaxons’ James Righton).Working on the show with ABBA were Svana Gisla (who produced Jay-Z and Beyoncé‘s On the Run Tour), choreographer Wayne McGregor, Johan Renck (who directed David Bowie‘s videos for ‘Blackstar’ and ‘Lazarus’), Baillie Walsh (who has directed for Massive Attack and Bruce Springsteen) and producer Ludvig Andersson (son of ABBA’s Benny Andersson and producer of And Then We Danced, Yung Lean‘s ‘In My Head’ and Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again).“We did an awful lot of research and development on this, as you can imagine,” Gisla told NME from the red carpet.

Zara Larsson has covered ABBA‘s ‘Lay All Your Love On Me’, as well as telling NME what the band mean to her and revealing that work is progressing well on a “dark” and “vulnerable” new album. Watch our interview with Larsson above.Today sees Larsson release her cover of the Swedish pop giants’ 1981 track for the Spotify Singles series, just after the premiere of the band’s ambitious new ABBA Voyage show in London.Speaking to NME on the red carpet of the event, Larsson admitted being a little starstruck to have pop royalty nearby.“They were like, ‘Oh, can you believe the Swedish Royal Family is here?’ and I was like, ‘I know, ABBA are right there’,” she said.

ABBA premiered their highly-anticipated digital concert tour, ‘Voyage’ today (May 26). View official photos from the event below.The concert, which took place today (May 26) at ABBA Arena in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, marked the first time in 36 years Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Björn Ulvaeus were seen as a group together in public.Speaking to NME on the red carpet during the opening night of their ‘Voyage’ residency, Lyngstad told NME “It feels fantastic” to be at the premiere. “Really looking forward to seeing the show again.

NME on the red carpet during the opening night of their ‘Voyage’ concert residency, ABBA told us what fans can expect after their digital tour. Watch our full video interview with the Swedish pop band above.The event, which took place today (May 26) at ABBA Arena in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, marked the first time in 36 years Benny Andersson, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Björn Ulvaeus were seen as a group together in public.“It feels fantastic,” Lyngstad told NME when asked what it was like to be at the premiere.

ABBA‘s upcoming ‘Voyage’ digital tour have been shared.Fashion house designers, including Dolce & Gabbana, have worked on making outfits for the shows that will see avatar versions of ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus, Agnetha Fältskog, Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson perform to fans as part of the “revolutionary” concerts.The tour opens at London’s brand new ABBA Arena on May 27, with the world premiere taking place the previous day (May 26).‘Voyage’ costume designer B. Åkerlund, who is best known for her work with the likes of Madonna, Lady Gaga and Beyoncé, collaborated with leading designers and studios from the worlds of fashion and entertainment including Manish Arora, Erevos Aether and Michael Schmidt to create looks for the band.Concert producers Svana Gisla and Ludvig Andersson said in a statement: “Rather than recreating a ‘nostalgic’ 1970s look for ABBA Voyage, our vision, along with director Baillie Walsh, was to dress the band as the contemporary pop stars they are.

ABBA have previewed their upcoming ‘Voyage’ shows by sharing a series of official images – check them out below.The Swedish pop icons returned with their first album in 40 years, ‘Voyage’, last November and are due to host a string of “revolutionary” concerts at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from May 27.After sharing a dazzling first trailer for the production late last year, ABBA have now revealed four new photos – one for each “digital” member of the band: Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad.You can see the impressively lifelike avatars here:Last September, the ‘Voyage’ show producers spoke to NME about what to expect from what they described as a “magical space circus”.“It’s a concert on steroids, basically,” explained Ludwig Andersson. “However technically advanced these avatars are, this can never only be about technology.

ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus has said that he thinks the legendary group’s comeback is an “immense risk”.The Swedish pop icons returned with their first album in 40 years, ‘Voyage’, last November and are due to present a string of “revolutionary” concerts at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park from May 27.‘Voyage’ went Platinum within just the first month of its release, while ABBA also received their first-ever Grammy nomination; their single ‘I Still Have Faith In You’ was up for this year’s ‘Record Of The Year’ prize.Additionally, the long-awaited album reached Number One in the UK and became the fastest-selling vinyl of the century.Despite this success, Ulvaeus explained in a new interview with The Sunday Times that he does have some concerns about the group making a comeback after such a long absence from music.“It’s an immense risk and most people I talk to don’t appreciate that,” he said “They say, ‘Oh, it’ll be fine.’ Sometimes I wake up at four in the morning and think, ‘What the hell have we done?'”The upcoming ‘Voyage’ concerts will see a “digital” version of ABBA performing alongside a 10-piece live band (put together with the help of Klaxons’ James Righton and featuring Little Boots) at the new purpose-built 3,000-capacity venue called ABBA Arena.Last September, the event’s producers spoke to NME about what to expect from the “magical space circus” before the release of a dazzling official trailer.Ulvaeus told The Sunday Times that he expected other musicians to be watching closely. “Lots of artists are going to be studying us, definitely, he said.

Klaxons member James Righton has shared a new collaboration with ABBA‘s Benny Andersson – listen to ‘Empty Rooms’ below.The track is the latest preview of Righton’s new solo album, ‘Jim, I’m Still Here’, which was announced this month and will land on July 8 via Soulwax‘s label DEEWEE and made in collaboration with David and Stephen Dewaele.Righton met Andersson when putting together the live band for ABBA’s forthcoming Voyage live residency in London, which begins next month.“He’s never done anything like this before,” Righton said of Andersson’s contribution to the track. “I nervously sent him the track and a couple of days later he sent back this keyboard line which was perfect“’Empty Rooms’ is about silent conflicts,” he added.

ABBA have announced details of a new career-spanning box set which will celebrate their nine studio albums.The Swedish pop group returned in November with their ninth studio album ‘Voyage’, marking their first LP since 1981’s ‘The Visitors’.ABBA have now shared details of ‘The ABBA Album Box Set’, which will celebrate their nine studio albums to date and be completed by ‘ABBA Tracks’ – a special record featuring non-album singles such as ‘Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)’ and ‘Fernando’.The collection, which is set for release on May 27 via POLAR/Universal Music, will be available in both 10xLP or 10xCD formats. Pre-order is available from here.A post shared by ABBA (@abba)The albums in the 10xLP box set will be pressed on 180g heavyweight vinyl, while the 10xCD collection will be accompanied by a 40-page booklet featuring album information and classic photographs from throughout the group’s career.They’re are also set to release ‘ABBA’s Studio Album Picture Discs’, a strictly limited pair of LP bundles.The 8xLP collection features the the group’s original run of albums (from 1973-1981), while the 9xLP bundle includes 2021’s ‘Voyage’ in the collection.Pre-order is available here ahead of release on June 10.

Swedish House Mafia have sold their master recordings and publishing rights to Pophouse Entertainment.The Swedish trio have struck a deal with the Stockholm-based entertainment company, which was co-founded in 2014 by ABBA‘s Björn Ulvaeus, over the rights to their back catalogue for an undisclosed fee.The deal also includes a full acquisition of the masters and publishing of Axwell & Ingrosso, the duo formed by SHM’s Axwell and Sebastian Ingrosso.SHM and Pophouse will now form “a joint venture… to develop and amplify the Swedish House Mafia brand worldwide”.”Swedish House Mafia is a ground-breaking trio that brought club music to stadiums around the world, and they continue to pave the way in contemporary electronic and dance music,” Pophouse said in a statement. “We are so excited to be partnering with them to tell that story for generations to come.“While our landmark agreement with them involves the acquisition of the recordings and publishing of their back catalogue, it is our first-of-its-kind joint venture with the band’s members that exemplifies the types of partnerships we are pursuing in our targeted expansion.”SHM added in a statement: “It feels great for us to partner up with a company like Pophouse that will do much more than simply acquire our creative work.

ABBA have settled their lawsuit against the UK tribute act ABBA MANIA, who they’d initially targeted last month for trademark infringement.In a suit filed on December 3, the Swedish icons described the cover band’s behaviour as “parasitic and bad-faith”, claiming that ABBA MANIA were intentionally misleading fans into believing they’re endorsed by the real group. It was said in the lawsuit that ABBA gave ABBA MANIA an opportunity to change their name, but ABBA MANIA refused.As reported by Billboard, the two groups have now reached a formal settlement.

ABBA’s new album, ‘Voyage’, has already gone Platinum.The album, which debuted at number one on album charts in 18 countries – including the UK – broke multiple chart records and sold over one million copies during its first week.

ABBA have sued the UK tribute act ABBA MANIA for trademark infringement.In a suit filed on Friday (December 3), the Swedish icons described the cover band’s behaviour as “parasitic and bad-faith”.

ABBA have released the video for their first-ever Christmas song, ‘Little Things’ – watch it below.Taken from the group’s new album, ‘Voyage’, the festive single is described as “a gentle reflection on the joy of Christmas morning and family time around this special time of year.”Speaking about the new track, all the proceeds of which are going to Unicef’s Global Child Protection Fund, ABBA said: “We think it is impossible to eradicate poverty without the empowerment of women.

ABBA have previewed the official video for their recent Christmas single, ‘Little Things’ – check out the post below.The festive track, which appears on the Swedish icons’ new album ‘Voyage’, will be available on a special CD from tomorrow (December 3). You can buy your copy from here.Taking to social media this morning (December 2), the group teased that “something special is coming” to mark the physical release.

Ian McKellen and ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus have collaborated for a bizarre Christmas video.Shared on the McKellen’s Instagram page on Sunday (November 21), the video shows the pair knitting ABBA-branded Christmas jumpers surrounded by sewing material.As the camera pans out, the duo are shown to be sat under a massive ABBA banner, before the closing text reads: “Merry Christmas from ABBA and Ian McKellen.”McKellen captioned the clip: “The most exciting (mostly) silent clip you’ll see this season.”A

ABBA have announced that their first Christmas single, ‘Little Things’, will arrive as a special CD release next month.The festive track, which appears on the Swedish icons’ new album ‘Voyage’, will be available physically from December 3.

ABBA have landed the Number One album in the UK with ‘Voyage’, and earned the fastest-selling vinyl of the century in the process.Shifting over 204,000 chart sales in the seven days since it’s release, the band’s first album in 40 years is the fastest-selling of 2021 and their tenth charting LP.‘Voyage’ has also broken the record for biggest opening week, a title previously held by Ed Sheeran’s ‘Divide’ which was released in March 2017.Speaking to the Official Charts, ABBA said: “We are so happy

ABBA‘s Anni-Frid Lyngstad has spoken on the possibility of more new music from the group.The Swedish icons returned last week with ‘Voyage’, their first studio album in 40 years. They’ll showcase the record with a string of “revolutionary” concerts at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 2022.Last month, the band’s Benny Andersson explained that ABBA would retire after releasing the record and completing its accompanying live events.

ABBA are currently outselling the rest of the UK Top 40 combined in the midweek charts, with their new album ‘Voyage‘ set to clinch this week’s top spot.‘Voyage’ saw 118,000 chart sales over the weekend and is already scooping the fastest-selling physical release and biggest first-week pure sales (physical and digital) of 2021 so far.

the Swedish pop group’s first original tracks since they split up nearly 40 years ago, and was immediately awed: The music sounds just like their classic hits. How can this possibly be? Did they make a deal with the Norse goddess of the underworld?Instantly “Voyage” transported me to a St-Tropez discotheque in 1979. It was unbelievable and discombobulating.

ABBA have shared an official trailer for their forthcoming ‘Voyage’ concerts – you can watch it below.The Swedish pop icons will tomorrow (November 5) release their first album in 40 years, which they’re set to showcase at a series of “revolutionary” shows at London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in 2022.Now, the group have shared a preview of their digital ABBA-tars in action.

ABBA tribute show in Sweden.As the BBC reports, 1,000 fans were in attendance at the Uppsala Konsert & Kongress hall, which is located approximately 45 miles north of Stockholm.Thirty minutes prior to the show, a man fell and landed on two people in the open foyer on the ground floor. He died and one of the concertgoers he hit was fatally injured.

ABBA have said they will retire after releasing their new album ‘VOYAGE’ and completing its accompanying live shows next year.The Swedish pop icons will release their first studio album in 40 years next week (November 5), ahead of a series of “revolutionary” concerts in London in 2022.Instead of the band members themselves performing, the gigs will see a “digital” version of the group take to the stage at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in May.Speaking to the Guardian, the band’s Benny

Slipknot’s Corey Taylor has spoken about his favourite ABBA song and recalled growing up with the band’s music in a new interview.The Swedish pop group are set to return with their first studio album in 40 years next week (November 5) with ‘Voyage’.Speaking to the New York Times, the Slipknot frontman shared his first experiences of hearing ABBA as a kid. “Growing up in the ‘70s, there was such a weird amalgam of music all over the place,” he said.

told The Guardian, simultaneously hyping the group’s much-anticipated 40-year reunion, how wonderful making music together again was — and how they plan to never do it again. “It’s got to be, you know.”This second breakup is different than the one the group had in 1982: This one is amicable (the first one came amid group-wide divorce) but final.

ABBA have discussed how they were treated as the “enemies” of progressive music in their home country of Sweden during their 1970s heyday.The band, who announced their reunion this summer for a “revolutionary” residence of live shows in London and a new album called ‘Voyage’ (out November 5), gained worldwide success across the globe, but left many at home feeling less than satisfied.“You know, in Sweden, there was this progressive movement in music, and we were the enemies,” Björn Ulvaeus

ABBA have shared their third new single since announcing their reunion last month, an exuberant cut titled ‘Just A Notion’ that will feature on forthcoming album ‘Voyage’ when it arrives on November 5.The song – which follows on from comeback singles ‘I Still Have Faith in You’ and ‘Don’t Shut Me Down’ – was initially recorded in September 1978 but didn’t make the final cut of the Swedish hitmakers’ sixth studio album ‘Voulez-Vous’ the following year.The new version features updated

ABBA have previewed a snippet of a new track called ‘Just A Notion’ – you can check it out below.In September, the iconic four-piece made their monumental comeback, announcing the release of their new album also called ‘Voyage’, due out November 5 – and dropping the singles ‘I Still Have The Faith In You’ and ‘Don’t Shut Me Down’.They also revealed their forthcoming tour will see a “digital” version of ABBA (not holograms) perform alongside a 10-piece live band.

Griff has shared a cover of ABBA‘s classic track ‘Take A Chance On Me’ – you can watch the video below.The BRITs Rising Star winner took on the 1978 single as part of Swedish station Sveriges Radio‘s ‘P3 Session’. She also performed a stripped-back version of her track ‘One Night’, which came out back in August.For her ABBA cover, Griff began singing a capella before plucking on an acoustic guitar.

ABBA’s Björn Ulvaeus has said that the music industry today places “very little” value on songwriters.Speaking in the context of the ongoing streaming rates for musicians and writers, Ulvaeus said the industry placed little value on songwriters thanks to the low returns streaming brings.Speaking to Music Week, he added: “If there are 15 of them [songwriters] and one stream pays $000.something, they have to drive a taxi,” he said, joking that songwriting “teams” that are prevalent in the industry

Dave Grohl has said that he is open to playing live with ABBA, while also revealing that he “wept like a baby” when he heard the group’s recent comeback single.The Swedish band released two tracks earlier this month to preview their long-awaited new album ‘Voyage’, which is set for release on November 5, and their upcoming “digital” residency in London, which begins in May 2022.Speaking to BBC News this week, Grohl – who has previously cited ABBA as an influence – was asked for his reaction to

Little Boots returns with her new single ‘Silver Balloons’, the singer-songwriter has spoken to NME about how joining ABBA‘s new live band helped shape her upcoming material.The Swedish pop legends returned earlier this month, announcing details of a “revolutionary” and immersive new live show called ‘Voyage’ along with a new 10-track album of the same name and the first two singles from it.The ‘Voyage’ live show will see a “digital” version of ABBA performing alongside a 10-piece live band (put