Agnetha Fältskog was born on this day in 1950. In the 73 years since then, she has graced us with many incredible vocal performances during her time with ABBA.
Most of the time she shared vocals with Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad, most notably on their band’s breakthrough hit ‘Waterloo’. However, Agnetha is responsible for many fan-favourite songs, here are some of her best.
Chiquitita
‘Chiquitita’, which translates to ‘little girl’ in Spanish, was the first single from ABBA’s sixth album ‘Voulez-Vous’.
The song reached number one here in New Zealand, as well as in Belgium, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, Mexico, South Africa and Rhodesia, making it the album’s most successful song, and a staple in ABBA’s greatest hits catalogue.
SOS
‘SOS’ was “Agentha’s s first 'heartbreak classic, wherein the tear-filled vocal delivery, her trademark, would blend a pop melody, with a dash of melancholy,” according to biographer Carl Magnus Palm. It came out in 1975 and again reached number one in New Zealand and many other countries.
Fun fact: it’s the only track ever on the US Hot 100 where both the song title and artist’s names are palindromes!
The Winner Takes It All
The band’s last ever top 10 hit in the US, ‘The Winner Takes it All’ has Agnetha beautifully singing about the end of a relationship. It was written in 1980 by Agnetha’s ex-husband Björn Ulvaeus, leading many to believe the song was about the two’s divorce.
Ulvaeus somewhat denied the claims, saying the song is about “the experience of a divorce, but it's fiction. 'Cause one thing I can say is that there wasn't a winner or a loser in our case. A lot of people think it's straight out of reality, but it's not".
If any of the songs listed here are your favourite ABBA tracks, or you think there are others that deserve a shout-out, you should vote in our best of ABBA countdown! We're doing it to mark the birthdays of both Agentha and Bjorn this month.
