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Acclaimed singer and actor Olly Alexander expressed his admiration for the legendary Swedish pop group ABBA, highlighting their unparalleled contributions to the music industry.
On May 3, 2024, Alexander and Rebecca Judd on Apple Music 1 paired up to discuss his upcoming performance at Eurovision 2024. During an interview, Olly Alexander, known for leading pop band Years & Years, suggested that ABBA has a significant influence on his music and emphasized that they have made "finest pop" ever —
"ABBA made some of the finest pop music ever created. They have incredible range, but a lot of their songs really take you on a journey," he said.
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Alexander further suggested that their compositions are challenging for artists who attempt to cover their iconic songs.
ABBA was a Swedish Europop band that dominated the European charts in the 1970s, according to Britannica. The group was named after the first names and initials of all members and arranged in a palindrome.
Exploring ABBA's coverless realm, Olly Alexander's perspective
This Friday, Olly Alexander appeared on a special episode of The Rebecca Judd Show to discuss how ABBA has influenced his music, why there are no covers of the band, and his performance at Eurovision.
During an interview, Alexander told Rebecca that ABBA had an incredible range of songs because the pop band was never afraid of chords that do not follow the expected patterns.
"They weren't afraid to use unusual chord sequences, unusual progressions, and they're obviously always about melody and hook, which sounds obvious. And obviously, the singers, their ranges, would always use the whole of their range."
The Dizzy artist suggested that he tries to add melody, a higher-note chorus, and change the key or introduce new chords in his tracks, just like ABBA.
Olly Alexander also shared his perspective on why artists do not make the cover of this Swedish pop band, calling their compositions complicated.
"ABBA just always nailed that so brilliantly. They're really complicated songs. That's why you don't hear people cover ABBA songs a lot because they're so difficult," he told Rebecca Judd.
ABBA was formed in Stockholm in 1972. The rock band gave popular hits like Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!, Dancing Queen, Waterloo, and Mamma Mia.
Olly Alexander talked about his forthcoming performance at Eurovision 2024
Speaking about his album, Olly Alexander suggested he started working on it earlier last year with the producer Danny L Harle. In a candid conversation, the duo talks about Eurovision, as Alexander and Harle love the contest. Harle asked if he could do one song for the contest. The singer said it was the best timing as he is launching his new music, so "Why not?"
"It just seemed to make sense as a timingebecause I am coming back with new music, and it's an amazing platform. For any artist. So I thought, Okay, this might work out in my favor. And I just love to put on a show, so I just thought, Why not?"
The British singer discussed his performance and noted that he would give his best without taking the pressure of the result. He further said participating is "enough" for him, but he would "love to make the UK proud." Olly Alexander is the solo participant among six representing the UK in the finale.
"Of course, I want to do well, and I want to do, mostly myself proud, but of course, I'd love to make the UK proud, but you just never know what's going to happen. So we'll have to wait and see."
As per Chronicle Live, this year's Eurovision made a traditional change. In the past, the Big Five—the United Kingdom, Spain, France, Italy, and Germany—had always been exempt from competing in the semi-finals.
However, this year, there has been a change. The UK and the other Big Five nations, including the host country, Sweden, compete for semi-finale.
Eurovision is an international song competition organized annually by the European Broadcasting Union. Olly Alexander will perform his track Dizzy on Tuesday, May 7, 2024, which will air live on BBC at 8 pm local time.
