Abba are back after four decades of retirement (and two decades of raking in the proceeds from the various versions of the Mamma Mia musical). The band is set to release its ninth studio album Voyage, which features the band's first new songs since 1982.
The Swedish four-piece had truly global success in its heyday, with songs like "Waterloo," "Fernando" and "Dancing Queen" reaching number one in countries across the globe. Some estimate they made have sold as many as 385 million records around the world, and their greatest hits compilation Gold is one of the 30 biggest-selling albums of all time.
Though their success in America did not match what they achieved in countries like the U.K. or their native Sweden, Agnetha, Bjorn, Benny and Anna-Frid did manage to hit the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S. 20 times during their peak.
Though some of their more iconic songs like "I Have a Dream" and "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)" missed out on the American charts, some of their biggest hits made a splash in the States.
What are the biggest-selling songs by Abba?
20. "On and On and On"
The Super Trouper song was only released as a single in four countries—one of which was the U.S., where it reached number 90 in the charts in 1981.
18=. "Voulez-Vous"
Abba at their most gloriously disco, the song had the bad fortune of being released after the "Disco Sucks" backlash of summer 1979, perhaps explaining why the song only made it to number 80.
18=. "Angeleyes"
Despite being released as a double-A side with "Voulez-Vous," in the U.S., "Angeleyes" managed to get to number 64 thanks to getting more radio play—probably because it is far less disco.
17. "The Visitors"
The U.S. was the only country where "The Visitors" was released as a single, reaching 63 on the Billboard 100. At time of writing, the 1982 single is the last time the band charted in America.
16. "Money, Money, Money"
Though it reached number one in eight countries in November 1976, "Money, Money, Money" only made it to 56 in the U.S.—though it would soundtrack a million news pieces about finance ever since.
15. "Super Trouper"
Probably the only hit single to be named after a brand of stadium spotlight, "Super Trouper" has a U.S. connection—the lights are made in Omaha, Nebraska. The song reached number 45.
14. "Mamma Mia"
On paper, the idea of a Swedish band singing a song about an Italian phrase in English seems bizarre, but the song has since become one of the songs people most associate with Abba thanks to the musical of the same name. In 1975, however, all that was to come, and the song only made number 35.
13. "Chiquitita"
The Latin flavor of this song (its title is a Spanish term of endearment for a young woman) helped this song break the top 30 in the U.S., where it peaked at 29.
12. "Honey, Honey"
Abba's second single to chart in the U.S., the 1974 song was also the first time one of their songs hit the Adult Contemporary charts, where many of their singles would find a home.
11. "When All Is Said and Done"
The band's penultimate hit in the U.S. is a sister song to "The Winner Takes It All," both of which are pretty revealing glimpses into the divorces of the band's two married couples. It hit number 27.
10. "Does Your Mother Know"
One of the few Abba singles to have predominantly male vocals (those of Bjorn), Billboard Magazine compared "Does Your Mother Know" to the songs of musical Grease —something that probably helped the 1979 single reach number 19 in 1979.
9. "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do"
This 1975 song marked the only time that an Abba single did better in the U.S. than in the U.K., with the song making it to number 38 in the latter and 15 in the former.
8. "SOS"
As any true Abba fan knows, the band are at their best when their songs are at their saddest, and "SOS" in 1975 is the first song to prove this—to the extent that Bjorn has said that it was this song that set the band's identity after the success of "Waterloo." It hit number 15 in the U.S.
7. "Knowing Me, Knowing You"
The first of Abba's great divorce bangers, the 1977 song was actually released before the two Abba marriages ended. In a 2004 interview, Benny said it was one of his four favorite Abba songs, and it hit 14 on the main Billboard chart.
6. "Fernando"
This Abba classic was actually first written for Anna-Frid's 1975 solo album, but was re-recorded with the full band (and in English) the following year, when it made it to 13 in the U.S. charts.
5. "The Name of the Game"
Benny and Bjorn have discussed how this song was inspired by the work of The Beach Boys and Stevie Wonder. That American-influenced sound helped the 1977 song make it to number 12 in the U.S. The song also has been surprisingly influential to hip-hop, thanks to it being sampled in The Fugees' "Rumble in the Jungle" (the first time Abba allowed a sample of one of their songs to be used.)
4. "The Winner Takes It All"
The ultimate Abba divorce anthem, the 1980 song was their last U.S. top 10 after it hit number eight. Not bad for a song that Bjorn says he wrote the lyrics for in an hour while drunk.
3. "Waterloo"
The 1974 song was an international smash hit for the band after it won the Eurovision Song Contest. The undeniably catchy nature of the song, however, helped the song to chart in places where Eurovision meant nothing—like the U.S., where the song hit number six. "Waterloo" was their first U.S. hit.
2. "Take a Chance on Me"
The band's last top-five single in America, the 1978 hit reached number three. One of the first Abba hits written without the help of their manager, it was inspired by Bjorn's love of running—he would use a "tck-a-ch" rhythm to pace himself.
1. "Dancing Queen"
This song was essentially the band selling the disco sound back to the U.S., but it worked: "Dancing Queen" became the band's only American number-one single (and number one in 14 other countries) a Grammy Hall of Fame inductee and probably their defining song around the world.
