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106-556: During its last six editions (1969–1974), the show constituted the national selection for the artist that would represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest the following year. Originating in radio as a song tournament in 1956, with the title Le canzoni della fortuna ("The songs of fortune"), it shortly gained great public success. The following year it was brought on television titled Voci e volti della fortuna ("Voices and faces of fortune") and turned into

212-565: A Chance on Me" did not top the American charts, it proved to be ABBA's biggest hit single there, selling more copies than "Dancing Queen". The drop in sales in Australia was felt to be inevitable by industry observers as an "Abba-Fever" that had existed there for almost three years could only last so long as adolescents would naturally begin to move away from a group so deified by both their parents and grandparents. A third single, " Eagle ",

318-973: A Song") for the 1972 contest, choosing newcomer Lena Anderson to perform. The song came in third place, encouraging Stig Anderson, and became a hit in Sweden. The first signs of foreign success came as a surprise, as the Andersson and Ulvaeus single " She's My Kind of Girl " was released through Epic Records in Japan in March 1972, giving the duo a Top 10 hit. Two more singles were released in Japan, "En Carousel" ("En Karusell" in Scandinavia, an earlier version of "Merry-Go-Round") and "Love Has Its Ways" (a song they wrote with Kōichi Morita ). Ulvaeus and Andersson persevered with their songwriting and experimented with new sounds and vocal arrangements. " People Need Love "

424-467: A Swedish pop group formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Fältskog , Björn Ulvaeus , Benny Andersson , and Anni-Frid Lyngstad . They are one of the most popular and successful musical groups of all time, and are one of the best-selling music acts in the history of popular music. In 1974 , ABBA were Sweden 's first winner of the Eurovision Song Contest with the song " Waterloo ", which in 2005

530-406: A big favourite with the bookmakers, Ermal Meta and Fabrizio Moro returned Italy to the top five, aided significantly by finishing third in the televote, which heavily counterbalanced the 17th place by the jury, finishing fifth overall. In 2019, Mahmood placed second with 472 points, Italy's best result since 2011, until Måneskin won the contest in 2021 with 524 points. Måneskin's victory marked

636-680: A brief solo career alongside. The Hootenanny Singers and the Hep Stars sometimes crossed paths while touring. In June 1966, Ulvaeus and Andersson decided to write a song together. Their first attempt was "Isn't It Easy to Say", a song that was later recorded by the Hep Stars. Stig Anderson was the manager of the Hootenanny Singers and founder of the Polar Music label. He saw potential in the collaboration, and encouraged them to write more. The two also began playing occasionally with

742-420: A competition between amateurs from the various regions of Italy, with the participation of some professional singers, who competed in a separate group. In 1958, the variety took its definitive name Canzonissima , with exception of 1963–1967 when the broadcast bore different titles: Gran Premio , Napoli contro tutti , La prova del nove , Scala reale and Partitissima . The show consisted of

848-612: A concert tour in southern Sweden and they soon became a couple. Andersson produced her single "Peter Pan" in September 1969—her first collaboration with Benny & Björn, as they had written the song. Andersson would then produce Lyngstad's debut studio album, Frida , which was released in March 1971. Lyngstad also played in several revues and cabaret shows in Stockholm between 1969 and 1973. After ABBA formed, she recorded another successful album in 1975, Frida ensam , which included

954-462: A demo recording of their music to Karl-Gerhard Lundkvist . The demo tape featured a song written and sung by Agnetha: "Jag var så kär" ("I Was So in Love"). Lundkvist was so impressed with her voice that he was convinced she would be a star. After going through considerable effort to locate the singer, he arranged for Agnetha to come to Stockholm and to record two of her own songs. This led to Agnetha at

1060-715: A few scenes from their self-written mini-operetta The Girl with the Golden Hair . The concert attracted huge media attention from across Europe and Australia. They continued the tour through Western Europe, visiting Gothenburg , Copenhagen, Berlin, Cologne , Amsterdam, Antwerp , Essen , Hanover , and Hamburg and ending with shows in the United Kingdom in Manchester , Birmingham, Glasgow and two sold-out concerts at London's Royal Albert Hall . Tickets for these two shows were available only by mail application and it

1166-518: A few shows, including a sole concert scheduled in Switzerland. The second leg of the tour, which took them through Scandinavia in January 1975, was very different. They played to full houses everywhere and finally got the reception they had aimed for. Live performances continued in the middle of 1975 when ABBA embarked on a fourteen open-air date tour of Sweden and Finland. Their Stockholm show at

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1272-582: A jazz-oriented cabaret style. She also formed her own band, the Anni-Frid Four. In the middle of 1967, she won a national talent competition with "En ledig dag" ("A Day Off"), a Swedish version of the bossa nova song "A Day in Portofino", which is included in the EMI compilation Frida 1967–1972 . The first prize was a recording contract with EMI Sweden and to perform live on the most popular TV shows in

1378-473: A major gay anthem ) with "Knowing Me, Knowing You" later peaking at number seven; "Money, Money, Money", however, had barely charted there or in Canada (where "Knowing Me, Knowing You" had reached number five). They did, however, get three more singles to the number-one position on other Billboard US charts, including Billboard Adult Contemporary and Hot Dance Club Play ). Nevertheless, Arrival finally became

1484-461: A month before the planned vote, Italian censors refused to allow the contest and song to be shown or heard. RAI censors felt that the song, titled " Sì " ( Yes ), and contained lyrics constantly repeating the aforementioned word could be subject to accusation of being subliminal messaging and a form of propaganda to influence the Italian voting public to vote 'yes' in the referendum (thus to repeal

1590-544: A musical contest where singers were paired with some national lottery numbers and which followed elaborate rules, generally different from one edition to another; the competition was interspersed with dances and comedy sketches involving special guests. The 1959 and 1970 editions contributed to the launch of the careers of Nino Manfredi and Raffaella Carrà , respectively. The 1962 edition, hosted by Dario Fo and Franca Rame , generated large political controversities due to some of Fo's satirical sketches being censored by RAI ;

1696-573: A regular basis at the Swedish folkparks in the middle of 1971. Stig Anderson , founder and owner of Polar Music , was determined to break into the mainstream international market with music by Andersson and Ulvaeus. "One day the pair of you will write a song that becomes a worldwide hit," he predicted. Stig Anderson encouraged Ulvaeus and Andersson to write a song for Melodifestivalen, and after two rejected entries in 1971, Andersson and Ulvaeus submitted their new song "Säg det med en sång" ("Say It with

1802-715: A single during the group's lifetime. ABBA: The Album topped the album charts in the UK, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Norway, Switzerland, while ascending to the Top 5 in Australia, Germany, Austria, Finland and Rhodesia, and making the Top 10 in Canada and Japan. Sources also indicate that sales in Poland exceeded 1 million copies and that sales demand in Russia could not be met by the supply available. The album peaked at number 14 in

1908-584: A true breakthrough release for ABBA on the US album market where it peaked at number 20 on the Billboard 200 chart and was certified gold by RIAA . In January 1977, ABBA embarked on their first major tour. The group's status had changed dramatically and they were widely regarded as superstars. They opened their much anticipated tour in Oslo , Norway, on 28 January, and mounted a lavishly produced spectacle that included

2014-404: A week there, followed by "Mamma Mia" staying there for ten weeks, and the album holding down the number one position for months. The three songs were also successful in nearby New Zealand with the first two topping that chart and the third reaching number two. In March 1976, the band released the compilation album Greatest Hits . It became their first UK number-one album, and also took ABBA into

2120-408: A well-known fish-canning company in Sweden, and itself an abbreviation . However, since the fish-canners were unknown outside Sweden, Anderson came to believe the name would work in international markets. A competition to find a suitable name for the group was held in a Gothenburg newspaper and it was officially announced in the summer that the group were to be known as "ABBA". The group negotiated with

2226-656: Is one of the only two countries of the Big Five – since it was introduced – to have won, the other being Germany in 2010 . Each participating broadcaster in the Eurovision Song Contest assigns a head of delegation as the EBU's contact person and the leader of their delegation at the event. The delegation, whose size can greatly vary, includes a head of press, the performers, songwriters, composers, and backing vocalists, among others. ABBA ABBA were

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2332-607: Is surrounded on this LP by so many good tunes that the mind boggles." In Australia, the airing of the music videos for "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" and "Mamma Mia" on the nationally broadcast TV pop show Countdown (which premiered in November 1974) saw the band rapidly gain enormous popularity, and Countdown become a key promoter of the group via their distinctive music videos. This started an immense interest for ABBA in Australia, resulting in "I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do" staying at number one for three weeks, then "SOS" spending

2438-472: The Billboard 200 chart, but received unanimous praise from US critics. The Los Angeles Times said the album was a "compelling and fascinating debut album" that captured the spirit of mainstream pop, and described it as "immensely enjoyable and pleasant", while Creem said it was "a perfect blend of exceptional, lovable compositions". ABBA's follow-up single, " Honey, Honey ", peaked at number 27 on

2544-558: The Billboard 200 chart. Opinions were voiced, by Creem in particular, that in the US ABBA had endured "a very sloppy promotional campaign". Nevertheless, the group enjoyed warm reviews from the American press. Cashbox went as far as saying that "there is a recurrent thread of taste and artistry inherent in Abba's marketing, creativity and presentation that makes it almost embarrassing to critique their efforts", while Creem wrote: "SOS

2650-691: The Entertainment Centre . The trip was accompanied by mass hysteria and unprecedented media attention ("Swedish ABBA stirs box-office in Down Under tour...and the media coverage of the quartet rivals that set to cover the upcoming Royal tour of Australia", wrote Variety ), and is captured on film in ABBA: The Movie , directed by Lasse Hallström . The Australian tour and its subsequent ABBA: The Movie produced some ABBA lore, as well. Fältskog's blonde good looks had long made her

2756-577: The European Broadcasting Union (EBU), thus eligible to participate in the Eurovision Song Contest . It has participated in the contest representing Italy since its first edition in 1956. Italy has withdrawn from the Eurovision Song Contest a number of times. The first withdrawal was in 1981 , when RAI stated that interest had diminished in the country. This absence continued through 1982 , before Italy returned in 1983 . Italy again withdrew in 1986 when RAI decided not to enter

2862-477: The Gröna Lund amusement park had an estimated audience of 19,200. Björn Ulvaeus later said, "If you look at the singles we released straight after Waterloo, we were trying to be more like The Sweet , a semi-glam rock group, which was stupid because we were always a pop group." In late 1974, "So Long" was released as a single in the United Kingdom but it received no airplay from Radio 1 and failed to chart in

2968-738: The Recording Academy 's Grammy Hall of Fame . In 2024, the United States Library of Congress included the album Arrival (1976) in the National Recording Registry , which recognises works "worthy of preservation for all time based on their cultural, historical or aesthetic importance in the nation’s recorded sound heritage". In 2016, the group reunited and started working on a digital avatar concert tour. Newly recorded songs were announced in 2018. Voyage , their first new album in 40 years,

3074-519: The best-selling music artists in history , with record sales estimated to be between 150 million to 385 million sold worldwide and the group were ranked 3rd best-selling singles artists in the United Kingdom with a total of 11.3 million singles sold by 3 November 2012. In May 2023, ABBA were awarded the BRIT Billion Award , which celebrates those who have surpassed the milestone of one billion UK streams in their career. ABBA were

3180-412: The " Big Five ", thereby granting the country automatic qualification for the final. Italy's return to the contest has proved to be successful, finishing in the top ten in 11 of the last 13 contests (2011–24), including second places for " Madness of Love " by Raphael Gualazzi ( 2011 ) and " Soldi " by Mahmood ( 2019 ), and third place for " Grande amore " by Il Volo ( 2015 ). "Grande amore" won

3286-467: The 1973 Swedish entry. Stig Anderson started planning for the 1974 contest. Ulvaeus, Andersson and Stig Anderson saw possibilities in using the Eurovision Song Contest to make the music business aware of them as songwriters, as well as to publicise the band. In late 1973 they were invited by Swedish television to contribute a song for the Melodifestivalen 1974 , and the upbeat song " Waterloo "

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3392-655: The ABBA logo, employing a different font. In 1992, Polygram added a crown emblem to it for the first release of the ABBA Gold: Greatest Hits compilation. After Universal Music purchased PolyGram (and, thus, ABBA's label Polar Music International), control of the group's catalogue returned to Stockholm. Since then, the original logo has been reinstated on all official products. ABBA entered the Melodifestivalen with " Ring Ring " but did not qualify as

3498-568: The Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Fraser and his family. At the first Melbourne concert, an additional 16,000 people gathered outside the fenced-off area to listen to the concert. In Adelaide , the group performed one concert at Football Park in front of 20,000 people, with another 10,000 listening outside. During the first of five concerts in Perth, there was a bomb scare with everyone having to evacuate

3604-424: The EBU that Italy had applied to compete in the 2011 contest. Their participation was further confirmed on 31 December with the announcement of the official participant list. Italy's return to the contest after a 13-year absence has been successful, finishing in the top ten in 11 of the last 13 contests (2011–24). In 2011, Raphael Gualazzi finished second, then Italy's best result since 1990. Italy came first with

3710-540: The Eurovision final regardless of their results in previous contests. The participant broadcasters from these countries earned this special status by being the four biggest financial contributors to the EBU, and subsequently became known as the " Big Four ". In a meeting with OGAE Serbia in 2007, then-Executive Supervisor of the Contest Svante Stockselius stated that, if Italy were to return to

3816-573: The French compilation album, Golden Double Album , released in May 1976 by Disques Vogue , and would henceforth be used for all official releases. The idea for the official logo was made by the German photographer Wolfgang "Bubi" Heilemann  [ de ] on a velvet jumpsuit photo shoot for the teenage magazine Bravo . In the photo, the ABBA members held giant initial letters of their names. After

3922-951: The German-speaking countries. "The Name of the Game" was a number two hit in the Netherlands, Belgium and Sweden while also making the Top 5 in Finland, Norway, New Zealand and Australia, while only peaking at numbers 10, 12 and 15 in Mexico, the US and Canada. "Take a Chance on Me" was a number one hit in Austria, Belgium and Mexico, made the Top 3 in the US, Canada, the Netherlands, Germany and Switzerland, while only reaching numbers 12 and 14 in Australia and New Zealand, respectively. Both songs were Top 10 hits in countries as far afield as Rhodesia and South Africa, as well as in France. Although "Take

4028-445: The Top 50 on the US album charts for the first time, eventually selling more than a million copies there. Also included on Greatest Hits was a new single, " Fernando ", which went to number-one in at least thirteen countries all over the world, including the UK, Germany, France, Australia, South Africa and Mexico, and the top five in most other significant markets, including, at number four, becoming their biggest hit to date in Canada;

4134-499: The UK chart within a week of each other. "Ring Ring" failed to reach the Top 30 in the UK, increasing growing speculation that the group were simply a Eurovision one-hit wonder . In November 1974, ABBA embarked on their first European tour, playing dates in Denmark, West Germany and Austria. It was not as successful as the band had hoped, since most of the venues did not sell out. Due to a lack of demand, they were even forced to cancel

4240-641: The UK. The group also enjoyed significant success in Latin America and recorded a collection of their hit songs in Spanish. ABBA were inducted into the Vocal Group Hall of Fame in 2002. The group were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2010, the first recording artists to receive this honour from outside an Anglophonic country. In 2015, their song " Dancing Queen " was inducted into

4346-465: The UK; and, " Knowing Me, Knowing You ", ABBA's sixth consecutive German number-one, as well as another UK number-one, plus a top five hit in many other countries, although it was only a number nine hit in Australia and France. The real sensation was the first single, " Dancing Queen ", not only topping the charts in loyal markets like the UK, Germany, Sweden, several other western and northern European countries, and Australia, but also reaching number-one in

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4452-511: The UK; the only countries in which it was successful were Austria, Sweden and Germany, reaching the top ten in the first two and number 21 in the latter. In the middle of 1975, ABBA released " I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do ", which again received little airplay on Radio 1, but did manage to climb to number 38 on the UK chart, while making top five in several northern and western European countries, and number one in South Africa. Later that year,

4558-540: The US Billboard Hot 100 , reached the top twenty in several other countries, and was a number-two hit in West Germany, although it only reached the top 30 in Australia and the US. In the UK, ABBA's British record label, Epic, decided to re-release a remixed version of "Ring Ring" instead of "Honey, Honey". A cover version of "Honey, Honey" by Sweet Dreams peaked at number 10, and both records debuted on

4664-591: The United Kingdom, Germany and Australia and the top two in a few other western and northern European countries. In the United States, both " I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do, I Do " and " SOS " peaked at number 15 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, with the latter picking up the BMI Award along the way as one of the most played songs on American radio in 1975. "Mamma Mia", however, stalled at number 32. In Canada,

4770-489: The United States, Canada, the Soviet Union and Japan, and the top ten in France, Spain and Italy. All three songs were number-one hits in Mexico. In South Africa, ABBA had astounding success with each of "Fernando", "Dancing Queen" and "Knowing Me, Knowing You" being among the top 20 best-selling singles for 1976–77. In 1977, Arrival was nominated for the inaugural BRIT Award in the category "Best International Album of

4876-515: The United States, where it peaked at number 114 on the Cashbox singles chart and number 117 on the Record World singles chart. Labelled as Björn & Benny (with Svenska Flicka) meaning Swedish Girl, it was released there through Playboy Records . According to Stig Anderson, "People Need Love" could have been a much bigger American hit, but a small label like Playboy Records did not have

4982-534: The Year". By this time ABBA were popular in the UK, most of Europe, Australia, New Zealand and Canada. In Frida – The DVD , Lyngstad explains how she and Fältskog developed as singers, as ABBA's recordings grew more complex over the years. The band's mainstream popularity in the United States would remain on a comparatively smaller scale, and "Dancing Queen" became the only Billboard Hot 100 number-one single for ABBA (though it immediately became, and remains to this day,

5088-495: The age of 18 having a number-one record in Sweden with a self-composed song, which later went on to sell over 80,000 copies. She was soon noticed by the critics and songwriters as a talented singer/songwriter of schlager style songs. Fältskog's main inspiration in her early years was singers such as Connie Francis . Along with her own compositions, she recorded covers of foreign hits and performed them on tours in Swedish folkparks . Most of her biggest hits were self-composed, which

5194-497: The band's "pin-up girl", a role she disdained. During the Australian tour, she performed in a skin-tight white jumpsuit, causing one Australian newspaper to use the headline "Agnetha's bottom tops dull show". When asked about this at a news conference, she replied: "Don't they have bottoms in Australia?" In December 1977, ABBA followed up Arrival with the more ambitious fifth album, ABBA: The Album , released to coincide with

5300-409: The band's breakthrough on the international music scene. Mahmood returned in 2022 as the host entrant alongside Blanco , placing sixth, followed by Mengoni returning in 2023, placing fourth. In 2024, Angelina Mango came in 7th place. The Sanremo Music Festival is the most popular Italian song contest and awards ceremony, held annually in the city of Sanremo , Liguria . First held in 1951 and itself

5406-556: The basis and inspiration for the Eurovision Song Contest, the festival has often been used as a method of choosing the Italian entry for the European contest, with some exceptions over the years. Since 2015, the winner of the festival has been given the right of first refusal to represent Italy in the contest. Since 1999, four countries – France , Germany , Spain , and the United Kingdom – have automatically qualified for

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5512-470: The canners for the rights to the name. Fred Bronson reported for Billboard that Fältskog told him in a 1988 interview that "[ABBA] had to ask permission and the factory said, 'O.K., as long as you don't make us feel ashamed for what you're doing ' ". "ABBA" is an acronym formed from the first letters of each group member's first name: A gnetha, B jörn, B enny, A nni-Frid, although there has never been any official confirmation of who each letter in

5618-429: The chance to tour Europe and perform on major television shows, as a result of which the "Waterloo" single charted in many European countries. After winning the contest, ABBA spent an evening of glory partying in the appropriately named first-floor Napoleon suite of The Grand Brighton Hotel . "Waterloo" was ABBA's first major hit and their first number-one single in nine western and northern European countries, including

5724-466: The conductor for Malta in 1975 and had helped San Marino take part in the ESC in 2008) and Eurovision winner Toto Cutugno expressed their sorrow at Italy's non-participation and called for the country to return to the contest. Contestants from the 2008 contest , starting with the winner Dima Bilan appeared on the Italian show Carramba! Che fortuna , hosted by Raffaella Carrà on Rai Uno . Whether this

5830-399: The contest came in 1990 with " Insieme: 1992 " by Toto Cutugno . Other good 1990s results were " Rapsodia " by Mia Martini in 1992 and " Fiumi di parole " by Jalisse in 1997 , who both finished fourth. After 1997, Italy withdrew from the competition. On 31 December 2010, the European Broadcasting Union (EBU) announced that Italy would be returning to the contest as part of

5936-412: The contest in the future, the country would also automatically qualify for the final, becoming part of a "Big Five". However, with the official announcement of the return of Italy, it was not confirmed whether the country would compete in one of the two semi-finals or be part of the "Big Five", as RAI, third largest contributor to the EBU, had not applied for "Big Five" membership. On 31 December 2010, it

6042-561: The contest three times, along with an additional 16 top-five finishes. Italy hosted the contest in Naples ( 1965 ), Rome ( 1991 ), and Turin ( 2022 ). In 1958 , " Nel blu, dipinto di blu " performed by Domenico Modugno finished third. Commonly known as " Volare ", the song became a huge international hit, topping the US Billboard Hot 100 and winning two Grammy Awards at its first edition . " Uno per tutte " by Emilio Pericoli also finished third in 1963 , before Italy won for

6148-539: The contest, along with former participants Monaco and Austria . At a press conference presenting the fourth edition of the Italian X Factor , Rai 2 director Massimo Liofredi announced that the winner of the competition might advance to represent Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest, rather than participate in the Sanremo Festival , as in previous years. On 2 December 2010, it was officially announced by

6254-473: The contest. From 1994 to 1996 , Italy withdrew again, with RAI citing a lack of interest in participating. Italy returned in 1997 , before withdrawing again without explanation, and the country did not participate again until 2011 . None of the 20th century Eurovision-winning songs were particularly successful in the Italian charts. " Non ho l'età " by Gigliola Cinquetti was a hit in February 1964 when

6360-463: The country. This TV performance, among many others, is included in the 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 -hour documentary Frida – The DVD . Lyngstad released several schlager style singles on EMI with mixed success. When Benny Andersson started to produce her recordings in 1971, she had her first number-one single, "Min egen stad" ("My Own Town"), written by Benny and featuring all the future ABBA members on backing vocals. Lyngstad toured and performed regularly in

6466-577: The couple was eventually fired, and the scandal lead to a five-year interruption of their collaboration with the broadcaster. [REDACTED] Media related to Canzonissima at Wikimedia Commons This Italian television programme–related article is a stub . You can help Misplaced Pages by expanding it . Italy in the Eurovision Song Contest Italy has participated in the Eurovision Song Contest 48 times since making its debut as one of only seven countries to compete at

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6572-551: The debut of ABBA: The Movie . Although the album was less well received by UK reviewers, it did spawn more worldwide hits: " The Name of the Game " and " Take a Chance on Me ", which both topped the UK charts and racked up impressive sales in most countries, although "The Name of the Game" was generally the more successful in the Nordic countries and Down Under, while "Take a Chance on Me" was more successful in North America and

6678-478: The distribution resources to meet the demand for the single from retailers and radio programmers. In 1973, the band and their manager Stig Anderson decided to have another try at Melodifestivalen, this time with the song " Ring Ring ". The studio sessions were handled by Michael B. Tretow , who experimented with a " wall of sound " production technique that became a distinctive new sound thereafter associated with ABBA. Stig Anderson arranged an English translation of

6784-480: The final, but still became a #3 hit in Italy and also placed at #20 on the chart of the best-selling Italian singles in 1984. RAI refused to broadcast the 1974 contest live because their competing song, sung by Gigliola Cinquetti, coincided with the intense political campaigning for the 1974 Italian divorce referendum which was to be held a month later in May. Despite the Eurovision Song Contest taking place more than

6890-505: The first contest in 1956 , which took inspiration from the Sanremo Music Festival . The Italian participant broadcaster in the contest is Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI). It competed at the contest without interruption until 1980 , discontinuing its participation on a number of occasions during the 1980s and 1990s. After a 13-year absence starting in 1998 , the country returned to the contest in 2011 . Italy has won

6996-419: The first group from a non-English-speaking country to achieve consistent success in the charts of English-speaking countries, including the United Kingdom , Australia , United States , Republic of Ireland , Canada , New Zealand and South Africa . They are the best-selling Swedish band of all time and the best-selling band originating in continental Europe . ABBA had eight consecutive number-one albums in

7102-413: The first time in 1964 with " Non ho l'età " by Gigliola Cinquetti . Cinquetti returned to the contest in 1974 and finished second with " Sì ", losing to " Waterloo " by ABBA . Italy then finished third in 1975 with " Era " by Wess and Dori Ghezzi . The country's best result of the 1980s was " Gente di mare " by Umberto Tozzi and Raf finishing third in 1987 . Italy's second victory in

7208-515: The folkpark circuit and made appearances on radio and TV. She had a second number-one single with "Man Vill Ju Leva Lite Dessemellan" in late 1972. She had met Ulvaeus briefly in 1963 during a talent contest, and Fältskog during a TV show in early 1968. Lyngstad linked up with her future bandmates in 1969. On 1 March 1969, she participated in the Melodifestival, where she met Andersson for the first time. A few weeks later they met again during

7314-445: The foursome closer together during the summer. After the 1970 release of Lycka , two more singles credited to "Björn & Benny" were released in Sweden, "Det kan ingen doktor hjälpa" ("No Doctor Can Help with That") and "Tänk om jorden vore ung" ("Imagine If Earth Was Young"), with more prominent vocals by Fältskog and Lyngstad–and moderate chart success. Fältskog and Ulvaeus, now married, started performing together with Andersson on

7420-559: The group received its first international prize, with "Fernando" being chosen as the "Best Studio Recording of 1975". In the United States, "Fernando" reached the Top 10 of the Cashbox Top 100 singles chart and number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. It topped the Billboard Adult Contemporary chart, ABBA's first American number-one single on any chart. At the same time, a compilation named The Very Best of ABBA

7526-490: The group's music, with later songs featuring darker and more introspective lyrics. After ABBA disbanded in December 1982, Andersson and Ulvaeus continued their success writing music for multiple audiences including stage, musicals and movies, while Fältskog and Lyngstad pursued solo careers. Ten years after the group broke up, a compilation, ABBA Gold , was released, becoming a worldwide best-seller. In 1999, ABBA's music

7632-556: The island . Andersson and Ulvaeus were at this time recording their first album together, Lycka , which was to be released in September 1970. Fältskog and Lyngstad added backing vocals on several tracks during June, and the idea of their working together saw them launch a stage act, "Festfolket" (which translates from Swedish to "Party People" and in pronunciation also "engaged couples"), on 1 November 1970 in Gothenburg . The cabaret show attracted generally negative reviews, except for

7738-524: The jury vote, but only 11th in the televote to place second overall behind eventual winner Azerbaijan. Nina Zilli in 2012 and Marco Mengoni in 2013 placed in the top ten (ninth and seventh, respectively); the latter scored 126 points, exactly doubling the points total of the other "Big Five" countries that year. This trend had a stop in 2014, when internally-selected Emma Marrone finished in 21st place. In 2015, Il Volo finished third with 292 points, behind winner Sweden and runner-up Russia, placing first in

7844-481: The keyboard and eventually started writing original songs for his band, many of which became major hits, including " No Response ", which hit number three in 1965, and " Sunny Girl ", " Wedding ", and " Consolation ", all of which hit number one in 1966. Andersson also had a fruitful songwriting collaboration with Lasse Berghagen , with whom he wrote his first Svensktoppen entry, "Sagan om lilla Sofie" ("The tale of Little Sophie") in 1968. Andersson wrote and submitted

7950-506: The law that allowed divorce). The song thus remained censored on most Italian state TV and radio stations for over a month. At the contest in Brighton , Cinquetti finished second, losing to ABBA . "Sì" went on to be a UK top ten hit, peaking at number eight. It also reached the German top 20. The contest was broadcast in June. In 2008, two notable Italian musicians, Vince Tempera (who was

8056-437: The lyrics by Neil Sedaka and Phil Cody and they thought this would be a success. However, on 10 February 1973, the song came third in Melodifestivalen; thus it never reached the Eurovision Song Contest itself. Nevertheless, the group released their debut studio album, also called Ring Ring . The album did well and the "Ring Ring" single was a hit in many parts of Europe and also in South Africa. However, Stig Anderson felt that

8162-670: The major markets of the UK and West Germany, and in South Africa. It made the top ten in other countries, rising to number three in Spain, number four in Australia and France, and number seven in Canada. In the United States, the song peaked at number six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, paving the way for their first album and their first trip to the US as a group. Although only a short promotional visit, this included their first performance on American television, on The Mike Douglas Show . The Waterloo album peaked at only number 145 on

8268-550: The original Swedish production of Jesus Christ Superstar and attracted favourable reviews. Between 1967 and 1975, Fältskog released five studio albums. An attempt at combining their talents occurred in April 1970 when the two couples went on holiday together to the island of Cyprus . What started as singing for fun on the beach ended up as an improvised live performance in front of the United Nations soldiers stationed on

8374-551: The original Swedish rendition of " Fernando ", a hit on the Swedish radio charts before the English version was released by ABBA. During filming of a Swedish TV special in May 1969, Fältskog met Ulvaeus and they married on 6 July 1971. Fältskog and Ulvaeus eventually were involved in each other's recording sessions, and soon even Andersson and Lyngstad added backing vocals to Fältskog's third studio album, Som jag är ("As I Am") (1970). In 1972, Fältskog starred as Mary Magdalene in

8480-730: The other's bands on stage and on record, although it was not until 1969 that the pair wrote and produced some of their first real hits together: " Ljuva sextital " ("Sweet Sixties"), recorded by Brita Borg, and the Hep Stars' 1969 hit "Speleman" ("Fiddler"). Benny Andersson (born 16 December 1946 in Stockholm , Sweden) became (at age 18) a member of a popular Swedish pop-rock group, the Hep Stars , that performed, among other things, covers of international hits. The Hep Stars were known as "the Swedish Beatles ". They also set up Hep House, their equivalent of Apple Corps . Andersson played

8586-436: The performance of the Andersson and Ulvaeus hit "Hej, gamle man" ("Hello, Old Man")—the first Björn and Benny recording to feature all four. They also performed solo numbers from respective albums, but the lukewarm reception convinced the foursome to shelve plans for working together for the time being, and each soon concentrated on individual projects again. "Hej, gamle man", a song about an old Salvation Army soldier, became

8692-414: The pictures were made, Heilemann found out that Benny Andersson reversed his letter "B;" this prompted discussions about the mirrored "B", and the members of ABBA agreed on the mirrored letter. From 1976 onward, the first "B" in the logo version of the name was "mirror-image" reversed on the band's promotional material. Following their acquisition of the group's catalogue, PolyGram began using variations of

8798-481: The quartet's first hit. The record was credited to Björn & Benny and reached number five on the sales charts and number one on Svensktoppen , staying on the latter chart (which was not a chart linked to sales or airplay) for 15 weeks. It was during 1971 that the four artists began working together more, adding vocals to the others' recordings. Fältskog, Andersson and Ulvaeus toured together in May, while Lyngstad toured on her own. Frequent recording sessions brought

8904-563: The recording studio, and sometimes added backing vocals; Fältskog even co-wrote a song with the two. Ulvaeus still occasionally recorded and performed with the Hootenanny Singers until the middle of 1974, and Andersson took part in producing their records. Anni-Frid "Frida" Lyngstad (born 15 November 1945 in Bjørkåsen in Ballangen Municipality , Norway) sang from the age of 13 with various dance bands, and worked mainly in

9010-485: The release of their self-titled third studio album ABBA and single " SOS " brought back their chart presence in the UK, where the single hit number six and the album peaked at number 13. "SOS" also became ABBA's second number-one single in Germany, their third in Australia and reached number two in several other European countries, including Italy. Success was further solidified with " Mamma Mia " reaching number-one in

9116-551: The sequence refers to. The earliest known example of "ABBA" written on paper is on a recording session sheet from the Metronome Studio in Stockholm dated 16 October 1973. This was first written as "Björn, Benny, Agnetha & Frida", but was subsequently crossed out with "ABBA" written in large letters on top. Their official logo, with its distinctive backward "B", was designed by Rune Söderqvist, who designed most of ABBA's record sleeves. The ambigram first appeared on

9222-424: The single went on to sell over 10 million copies worldwide. In Australia, "Fernando" occupied the top position for a then record breaking 14 weeks (and stayed in the chart for 40 weeks), and was the longest-running chart-topper there for over 40 years until it was overtaken by Ed Sheeran 's " Shape of You " in May 2017. It still remains as one of the best-selling singles of all time in Australia. Also in 1976,

9328-705: The song "Hej, Clown" for Melodifestivalen 1969 , the national festival to select the Swedish entry to the Eurovision Song Contest . The song tied for first place, but re-voting relegated Andersson's song to second place. On that occasion Andersson briefly met his future spouse, singer Anni-Frid Lyngstad , who also participated in the contest. A month later, the two had become a couple. As their respective bands began to break up during 1969, Andersson and Ulvaeus teamed up and recorded their first album together in 1970, called Lycka ("Happiness"), which included original songs sung by both men. Their partners were often present in

9434-432: The song won the 1964 contest, but according to the official "Hit Parade Italia" website, " Waterloo ", " Ding-a-dong ", " Puppet on a String ", " Save Your Kisses for Me " and even Italy's own winning entry of 1990, " Insieme: 1992 ", all failed to enter the top ten of the records sales charts. A notable exception to this rule was the 1984 entry " I treni di Tozeur " by Alice and Franco Battiato , which shared fifth place in

9540-402: The televote but sixth in the jury vote. Since the introduction of the 50/50 split voting system, this was the first time that the televote winner did not win the contest overall. Francesca Michielin , selected among the competitors of Sanremo 2016 after the waiver of the winners Stadio , ended in 16th place. Francesco Gabbani came in sixth place in 2017. The year after, although not initially

9646-401: The televote, receiving votes from all countries, but came sixth with the juries. This was the first time since the introduction of the mixed jury/televote system in 2009 that the televote winner did not end up winning the contest. Italy achieved its third victory in the contest in 2021 , with " Zitti e buoni " by the rock band Måneskin . Radiotelevisione italiana (RAI) is a full member of

9752-479: The three songs rose to number 12, nine and 18, respectively. The success of the group in the United States had until that time been limited to single releases. By early 1976, the group already had four Top 30 singles on the US charts, but the album market proved to be tough to crack. The eponymous ABBA album generated three American hits, but it only peaked at number 165 on the Cashbox album chart and number 174 on

9858-402: The true breakthrough could only come with a UK or US hit. When Agnetha Fältskog gave birth to her daughter Linda in 1973, she was replaced for a short period by Inger Brundin on a trip to West Germany. In 1973, Stig Anderson, tired of unwieldy names, started to refer to the group privately and publicly as ABBA (a palindrome ). At first, this was a play on words, as Abba is also the name of

9964-604: The wet stage during the concert. However, all four members would later recall this concert as the most memorable of their career. Upon their arrival in Melbourne , a civic reception was held at the Melbourne Town Hall and ABBA appeared on the balcony to greet an enthusiastic crowd of 6,000. In Melbourne, the group gave three concerts at the Sidney Myer Music Bowl with 14,500 at each including

10070-467: Was adapted into Mamma Mia! , a stage musical that toured worldwide and, as of October 2024, is still in the top-ten longest running productions on both Broadway (closed in 2015) and the West End (still running). A film of the same name , released in 2008, became the highest-grossing film in the United Kingdom that year. A sequel, Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again , was released in 2018. ABBA are among

10176-507: Was an initiative by Carrà (who presented three shows in TVE concerning the event) to try to bring Eurovision back to Italy is not clear, but Sietse Bakker, then-Manager Communications & PR of the Eurovision Song Contest, reiterated that "Italy is still very much welcome to take part in the competition." Shortly after revealing the list of participants for the 2009 contest , the EBU announced that they would work harder to bring Italy back into

10282-516: Was announced that Italy would take part in the 2011 contest and confirmed that the country would automatically qualify for the final as part of the "Big Five". Italy is currently the most successful Big Five country in the Eurovision Song Contest following the introduction of the rule, finishing in the top ten in 10 of the last 12 contests (2011–23), including a victory for Måneskin ( 2021 ), second places for Raphael Gualazzi ( 2011 ) and Mahmood ( 2019 ), and third place for Il Volo ( 2015 ). It

10388-417: Was chosen as the best song in the competition's history as part of the 50th anniversary celebration of the contest. During the band's main active years, it consisted of two married couples: Fältskog and Ulvaeus, and Lyngstad and Andersson. With the increase of their popularity, their personal lives suffered, which eventually resulted in the collapse of both marriages. The relationship changes were reflected in

10494-459: Was chosen. The group were now inspired by the growing glam rock scene in England. With this third attempt, ABBA were more experienced and better prepared for the Eurovision Song Contest, and they won the nation's hearts on Swedish television on 9 February 1974. Winning the 1974 Eurovision Song Contest on 6 April 1974, and singing "Waterloo" in English instead of their native language, gave them

10600-558: Was filmed as a reference for the filming of the Australian tour for what became ABBA: The Movie , though it is not exactly known how much of the concert was filmed. After the European leg of the tour, in March 1977, ABBA played 11 dates in Australia before a total of 160,000 people. The opening concert in Sydney at the Sydney Showground on 3 March to an audience of 20,000 was marred by torrential rain with Lyngstad slipping on

10706-493: Was later revealed that the box-office received 3.5 million requests for tickets, enough to fill the venue 580 times. Along with praise ("ABBA turn out to be amazingly successful at reproducing their records", wrote Creem ), there were complaints that "ABBA performed slickly...but with a zero personality coming across from a total of 16 people on stage" ( Melody Maker ). One of the Royal Albert Hall concerts

10812-457: Was quite unusual for a female singer in the 1960s. Agnetha released four solo LPs between 1968 and 1971. She had many successful singles in the Swedish charts. Björn Ulvaeus (born 25 April 1945 in Gothenburg , Sweden) also began his musical career at the age of 18 (as a singer and guitarist), when he fronted the Hootenanny Singers , a popular Swedish folk – skiffle group. Ulvaeus started writing English-language songs for his group and even had

10918-875: Was released in Germany, becoming a number-one album there whereas the Greatest Hits compilation which followed a few months later ascended to number two in Germany, despite all similarities with The Very Best album. The group's fourth studio album, Arrival , a number-one best-seller in parts of Europe, the UK and Australia, and a number-three hit in Canada and Japan, represented a new level of accomplishment in both songwriting and studio work, prompting rave reviews from more rock-oriented UK music weeklies such as Melody Maker and New Musical Express , and mostly appreciative notices from US critics. Hit after hit flowed from Arrival : " Money, Money, Money ", another number-one in Germany, France, Australia and other countries of western and northern Europe, plus number three in

11024-412: Was released in June 1972, featuring guest vocals by the women, who were now given much greater prominence. Stig Anderson released it as a single, credited to Björn & Benny, Agnetha & Anni-Frid . The song peaked at number 17 in the Swedish combined single and album charts, enough to convince them they were on to something. "People Need Love" also became the first record to chart for the quartet in

11130-567: Was released in continental Europe and Down Under becoming a number one hit in Belgium and a Top 10 hit in the Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland and South Africa, but barely charting Down Under. The B-side of "Eagle" was " Thank You for the Music ", and it was belatedly released as an A-side single in both the United Kingdom and Ireland in 1983. " Thank You for the Music " has become one of the best loved and best known ABBA songs without being released as

11236-568: Was released on 5 November 2021 to positive critical reviews and strong sales in numerous countries. ABBA Voyage , a concert residency featuring ABBA as virtual avatars, opened in May 2022 in London. Despite ABBA disbanding in 2022, the YouTube channel is still active. Agnetha Fältskog (born 5 April 1950 in Jönköping , Sweden) sang with a local dance band (headed by Bernt Enghardt) who sent

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