Did you know that the Swedish Europop band ABBA has sold over 300 million albums and singles worldwide?
Back in the day, during their primetime in the ‘70s, ABBA was the first group coming from a non-English-speaking country to reach and maintain such huge success on the charts of English-speaking countries!
And now they’re returning after 40 years. Mamma mia! Here we go again!!
Not only have the quartet given us new music, which feels like an incredible surprise to their millions of fans all over the globe, but they will also be performing again… We did not see this one coming.
Let’s dive right in on all the details.
Their upcoming album is titled “Voyage” and will be released on November 5, 2021, which is just around the corner. Its first two singles are actually already out!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pAzEY1MfXrQ (embed)
“I Still Have Faith in You” and “Don’t Shut Me Down” were both released early this month, and it’s safe to say they have caused somewhat of a sensation on the Internet as ABBA devotees are gathering in the comment section expressing their emotions and getting hyped for this iconic reunion. Many have already purchased their tickets for next year’s spectacle!
But why did we decide to dedicate this edition of our Industry Innovation series to the singers from Stockholm?
They have promised us a revolutionary concert! In spring 2022 the bandmates Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad will be taking the stage as their very own hologram “Abbatars.”
Fifty years after its founding (yup, you heard that right!), the internationally recognized and adored ABBA will come together for a show in London like never before.
Working alongside the team at Industrial Light & Magic, who have won 7 Emmy Awards for their fascinating creations, they have been co-creating an audiovisual experience with the use of AI (Artificial Intelligence) technology and advanced motion capture techniques.
The ultimate goal is to create extremely realistic virtual copies of the “Dancing Queen” musicians. There’s no doubt the vision will be achieved when we’re talking about ILM who have worked on films like Star Wars, Avengers, Black Panther, and Bird Box. That’s quite the portfolio…
It was shared that between 500 and 1000 talented professionals have been participating in the grande project, scrutinizing the manners, movements, and physique of all four ABBA members in order to bring their younger selves back to life and back on stage. Yet another exciting example of blurring the lines between the physical and the digital, the real and the surreal, the old and the new.
“What all of this merging of the real and digital domains centers around is an attempt to create environments that are as (if not more) interactive and experiential as the real world, where all of our senses are engaged and stimulated, while being as accessible and unfettered as the digital, online world.” says world-renowned futurist Bernard Marr in his article for Forbes.
The Swedes broke up in 1982, but today they are blessing the entertainment industry with a comeback that’s surely going to go down in history. Their avatars will be accompanied by a 10-piece live band in a custom-built arena at Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park in London. The concept sounds like a once-in-a-lifetime sort of experience, and it’s nice to know that the ABBA members enjoyed the process as Benny Andersson shares “it was so joyful to be together in the studio again, the four of us.”
Are we going to see you in London next year? Boy, are we excited about this!
