ABBA returns with new music, an avatar concert, and TikToks

Mamma mia! Here we go again. (Sorry, you know I just had to start with these lines. How could I resist?) After 40 years, ABBA is finally back with new music. The band announced that it will be releasing a 10-track album called “Voyage” during its livestream event “ABBA Voyage” which aired today, Sept. 3. While waiting for the album to drop on Nov. 5, fans can listen to two new tracks, “I Still Have Faith in You” and “Don’t Shut Me Down,” which ABBA debuted on the show. Both sound like they’re cut from the same cloth as the group’s iconic bops. 

That’s not all. ABBA is also preparing for a new concert set to begin on May 27, 2022. The kicker? The members will be performing digitally through their “ABBA-tars,” which were brought to life by George Lucas’ company Industrial Light & Magic using motion capture technology. They’re coming for Hatsune Miku and Aespa’s gigs. 

The “Voyage” concert will be held at the 3,000-capacity ABBA arena in London which was purposely built for the show. While we’ve yet to find out whether they plan to fill up the arena to full capacity, the thought of people possibly contracting COVID-19 because they went to see the “ABBA-tars” is giving us “Black Mirror” vibes.

Nevertheless, it is undeniably exciting to get new ABBA content. We could all use some scintillating songs to groove to in our rooms. Put on your skinny scarves with your platform shoes. You can save all the twerking for later. As TV writer Louis Virtel elegantly puts it, “ABBA is important because I too believe pointing counts as dancing.”

Although, we wouldn’t mind seeing ABBA do the latest dance trends. It’s not entirely impossible. The band has joined TikTok for their comeback and has been participating in challenges, sort of.  

 

Photo courtesy of ABBA’s Twitter page

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Amrie Cruz: Amrie is a nonbinary writer who likes to talk about politics and viral animal videos. They have a dog daughter named Cassie who doesn’t go to school.