Did ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen’ Win a Grammy?
The 1970s will forever mark a special time in history, especially for the music industry. No other band defined the generation more than the Swedish pop group ABBA. With chart-topping hits and worldwide acclaim, they became one of the best-selling musical acts of all time. The ABBA “Dancing Queen” sensational single was a staple at nightclubs everywhere. The hit quickly rose to No. 1 on the Billboard charts and became one of the biggest singles of 1976 in the United Kingdom. But it never won a Grammy.
ABBA’s ‘Dancing Queen’ didn’t win a Grammy
ABBA is one of the few groups from Sweden that have gained international attention. Their biggest top-ten hits include “Waterloo,” “Take a Chance on Me,” and “The Winner Takes It All.”
“Dancing Queen” is by far the group’s most famous single. Grammy award-winning producer Dave Audé told Waves that it “could be the best pop song ever written.” The DJ attributes the “song, production, recording, musicianship, vocals, and mixing” as coming together to create a “perfect combination of pop.”
Lead ABBA singer Agnetha Fältskog told The Guardian that when she first heard the music, she burst into tears “out of pure happiness.” She claims it is “absolutely the best song ABBA has ever done.”
“Dancing Queen” never landed a coveted Grammy nomination. But the number-one hit has sold more than three million copies worldwide.
ABBA breaks other records
In 1974, ABBA became the winner of the Eurovision Song Contest, singing their classic single “Waterloo.” In celebration of its 50th anniversary, the popular competition named the chart-topping hit the best song in its long history.
The group’s music became immortalized in the 1999 Broadway musical Mamma Mia!, which later became a movie starring Meryl Streep. According to Official Charts, ABBA holds the title of the third biggest-selling group of all time with 11.3 million in combined sales total, bested only by Queen and the Beatles.
In 2010, The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inducted ABBA. Despite never winning a Grammy, the classic song “Dancing Queen” holds its place in the Recording Academy’s Grammy Hall of Fame.
ABBA’s first Grammy nomination
ABBA recieved many opportunities to get back together but always resisted. In 2008, they were offered a billion dollars for a reunion tour but refused. In 2021, they finally agreed to reunite, and the results are astonishing.
Now well into their seventies, the band members earned their first Grammy nomination. The single, “I Still Have Faith In You,” from their album, Voyage, was nominated for Record of the Year at the 2022 Grammy Awards. Though they didn’t win the award, it was still a mark of their deserved recognition long ago.
The group’s comeback includes a residency concert experience, ABBA Voyage, at a custom-built arena in Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. Promoting their new album, the group will utilize “ABBAtars” created from the movie magic masters of George Lucas’ Industrial Light and Magic. Accompanied by a live 10-piece band, ABBA will delight fans with what they refer to as “a concert 40 years in the making.”
