Former ABBA singer stages comeback
SWEDEN: Agnetha Faeltskog, former singer of legendary Swedish pop
group Abba, will release her first album in nine years in May, her
record company said Monday.
"I never thought I would sing again, but when I heard the first three
songs I couldn't say no," said the Swedish songstress, sometimes
described in the media as being a recluse.
"When You Really Love Someone", the first single from the upcoming
full-length release "A", was made available on digital music platforms
iTunes and Spotify on Monday, along with a music video on YouTube.
"A" will be released on May 13 and includes the first track
co-written by the star in decades, as well as a duet with British singer
Gary Barlow of Take That.
"I hadn't written music in a very long time but when I sat down at
the piano it came to me very naturally," the 62-year-old singer said in
a statement.
On all the new tracks, Faeltskog collaborated with Swedish songwriter
and producer Joergen Elofsson, who has penned hits for artists including
Britney Spears, Kelly Clarkson and Celine Dion.
"She's a musician, a songwriter and singer who hasn't done that for a
while. We saw her open up, become much happier, with music again in her
life," he said.
Abba, one of the most popular and enduring bands of all time, formed
in 1970 and shot to fame after winning the Eurovision contest in 1974.
The band, which has sold more than 378 million records to date, split
up in 1982 and has never reunited. A museum dedicated to the group will
open in Stockholm this spring.
"This is a Cinderella story worth telling," former member Bjoern
Ulvaeus told reporters last year. Since the group disbanded more than 30
years ago, fans have never ceased speculating over an Abba reunion. But
in the wake of the success of "Mamma Mia!" -- the musical and film based
on their hits -- Ulvaeus vowed the group would never perform together
again.
"We will never appear on stage again," he told Britain's Daily
Telegraph in 2009, adding that he wanted fans to remember the band as
"young, exuberant, full of energy and ambition".
AFP
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