Swedish pop band ABBA took the internet by storm after releasing their new album Voyage on Friday, November 5, 2021. The album marks the group's comeback as their first project in 40 years.
The group has not released any new music since they split in 1982 following their last album, The Visitors. Their comeback album was announced back in September with singles like Don’t Shut Me Down and I Still Have Faith In You.
Voyage is their ninth studio album and contains ten original tracks written by the band’s songwriters, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus. In addition to their new music, the pop group also announced the launch of their digital avatars or “ABBAtars”.
The band members began working on their holograms in 2017 and reportedly spent five weeks in the studio to create their avatars. The digital versions of the four-piece were created using advanced motion graphic techniques in collaboration with 850-team technicians from Industrial Light & Magic.
The holograms are set to be unveiled at the Voyage concert in London next year.
Exploring the age of ABBA band members
ABBA is undoubtedly one of the greatest music groups of all time. Singers Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad came together to form the band in 1972.
The group dominated the music industry between 1974 and 1983 and became one of the most successful pop bands in history. During the band's active years, Agnetha was married to Bjorn, while Anni was married to Benny.
Unfortunately, their highly publicized relationships took a toll on their personal lives, and both the couples called it quits before the group decided to split in 1982. However, the quartet has finally agreed to reunite with the release of their new album.
All members of the band are currently in their seventies. The oldest member of the group is 76-year-old Bjorn Ulvaeus. He was born on April 25, 1945, in Gothenburg. Meanwhile, his former wife, Agnetha Faltskog, is the youngest member of the band. She was born on April 5, 1950, in Jonkoping and turned 71 this year.
Singer Benny Andersson is currently 74-years-old. He was born on December 16, 1946, in Stockholm. His ex-wife, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, was born on November 15, 1945, in Ballangen and will celebrate her 76th birthday this month.
Twitter reacts to new ‘Voyage’ album
ABBA left their longtime fans emotional and overwhelmed with the release of their reunion album Voyage. Following the initial announcement of its release, the album had 40,000 pre-orders in the first 24 hours within the UK.
The album recorded more than 80,000 pre-orders in the UK alone, becoming the biggest pre-ordered album for Universal Music Group UK. On the day of its release, several fans reportedly queued outside the Dussman Department Store in Berlin amid pouring rain to be part of a special sale of the album.
Numerous fans also took to Twitter to share their reactions to the band’s reunion and their new music:
As reactions to the new album continue to pour in online, fans are also excited to witness the band’s holographic tour. The ABBA Voyage concert will begin on May 2022 at the Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London.
The concert will feature digital avatars of the four band members in place of their physical appearance on stage. The tour will come to an end in December 2022.