Shaggy Hints At New Music On ABBA’s Historic ‘Voyage’
Dancehall megastar Shaggy appears to be linking up with ABBA, for the legendary Swedish band’s Voyage album and a concert, a worldwide live event to celebrate their return to the international music scene, for the first time in 40 years.
ABBA, which is considered one of the most successful groups of all time, will stage the concert at a custom-built arena at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, in London on May 27, 2022.
“Yup! That is Abba in the background! #newmusic 🔥🔥🔥. @abba who’s ready for the tour?” Shaggy noted in an Instagram post of an in-studio video where the distinct voices of Agnetha and Anni-Frid could be heard, spurring speculations from a few of his fans that he could be featured on their upcoming Voyage album, which is set for release in November.
The quartet had unofficially split in 1982, and had repeatedly refused to reform again over the decades, even turning down a $1 billion offer from an American-British consortium in 2000 to perform together again touring 100 cities. They had indicated time and time again that there was “simply no motivation to re-group,” according to Business Insider.
It was not until 16 years after, that the quartet did reunite, singing The Way Old Friends Do at a private party in the Swedish capital, Stockholm.
ABBA released all their earlier hits between 1972 and 1982. The much-loved quartet has even dabbled in Reggae music in the past with their Tropical Loveland song from their ABBA album, in 1975.
However, they are best known for songs such as Dancing Queen, The Winner Takes it All, Take a Chance on Me, and Waterloo as well as The Way Old Friends Do which was covered by Reggae songstress Carlene Davis in the 1980s.
The Swedish quartet’s Abba Gold: Greatest Hits compilation which was released in 1992, is still one of the biggest-selling albums ever.
ABBA’s official website notes that the concert was 40 years in the making and that it “combines the old and new, the young and not-so-young” and “has brought all four of us together again”.
The concert will see the iconic four stars performing as digital avatars of their younger selves.
“ABBA Voyage is the long-awaited concert from one of the biggest pop acts of all time. See ABBA’s avatars accompanied by a 10-piece live band, in a custom-built arena at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park, London,” it noted.
Voyage will feature 10 new songs and has an official release date set for November 5. The album has already set a new record in UK with over 80,000 preorders in three days, according to Billboard.com.
The first two singles from Voyage titled I Still Have Faith in You and Don’t Shut Me Down, have already been released and have skyrocket to the top of the streaming charts.
On September 3, The Guardian reported that the Swedish pop group has shown what it described as “cross-generational appeal, amassing just under one million followers and 5.5m likes on TikTok in two days, beginning September 1.
In the article titled Abba comeback: band announce ‘revolutionary’ concert and brand-new album – video, it noted that “two singles released from Abba’s first album in 40 years have raced to the top of the streaming charts, in a comeback that has generated praise and excitement among fans who remember the original releases and a new younger audience”.
It also said that the two singles were in first and third place on YouTube’s trending rankings in 12 countries at the time, including the UK.
One of the two, I Still Have Faith In You gained 4.4 million views within 24 hours in Britain and almost 19 million globally by Saturday, September 11. The other, Don’t Shut Me Down had 1.4 million views in 24 hours. Up to Saturday September 11, the lyric video had just under nine million views.
The Guardian also said at the time that data from Spotify at the time showed the band’s music was most streamed by 18 to 24-year-olds. It also noted that ABBA’s music has been growing in popularity since 2014, with streams doubling over that period and that Dancing Queen has been the most popular track on the platform.