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ABBA star Agnetha Fältskog is relaunching her solo career after success of ABBA Voyage
25 August 2023, 13:49
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ABBA Voyage has been a resounding success.
People are often sceptical when "concerts" and "holograms" are mentioned within the same sentence, likely because it hints at a dystopian future for live performance.
That was certainly the case when Swedish pop phenomenon ABBA revealed they'd be reuniting for a tour, though not technically.
Using state-of-the-art technology developed by Industrial Light And Magic, the four original members of ABBA were digitally recreated as avatars, or ABBA-tars.
Safe to say, it was a hit - the concert, held at the purpose-built ABBA Arena in London’s Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, Stratford, was one of the most highly-anticipated shows in recent history. And it delivered.
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For fortunate fans who happened to be there on the night, all four original ABBA members - Agnetha Faältskog, Benny Andersson, Bjorn Ulvaeus and Anni-Frid Lyngstad - were in attendance to open the run of virtual shows.
Due to overwhelming demand, the concert was extended from its initial end date of December 2022 to November 2023.
Any hopes of a full reunion of the four Swedes have been dashed, as it's been revealed that Agnetha is primed to relaunch her solo career at the age of 73.
The Sun has revealed that the 'Mamma Mia' singer has recently signed a record deal with BMG.
They are the label that has reinvigorated Aussie pop legend Kylie Minogue back to the top of the charts in recent months.
BMG are hoping they can have the same effect with Agnetha, after the tremendous critical and commercial success of ABBA Voyage.
Agnetha is reportedly planning to release a brand new album later this year, which will mark her first original solo material for a decade.
An insider revealed: "Agnetha loved being back in the studio with ABBA and it inspired her to relaunch her solo career."
"She has been in regular contact for months with the team at BMG in London and they have helped develop her new sound."
"After a long time working on new music, there is finally a body of work which she loves and which is ready for release."
The 'Dancing Queen' recently launched her own official Instagram account, where she posted an image featuring the phrase: "Where do we go from here?"
Something is surely in the works, and we could see Agnetha returning to the UK charts for the first time since 2013 when her last album, A, reached No.6 in the album charts.
That's surely the final nail in the coffin for ABBA die-hards who were expecting a full reunion, especially given the rumours around Eurovision returning to Sweden for the 50th anniversary of their 'Waterloo' win in 1974.
Though new material looks likely, it's far less likely that Agnetha will return to live performance herself.
When asked back in 2013 about whether or not any potential concerts were in the offing, she said: "No, I can’t."
"That’s my weakest [thing], the live thing. And also the fact I’m older now, so I can’t do that. I don’t want to disappoint people."
