History YMMV / Abba

* FunnyAneurysmMoment: Music videos that featured a vehicle at fast speed, like "Money, Money, Money", "That's Me", and "Tiger" could fall under this when one thinks about Agnetha Fältskog getting involved in a bus crash in 1983, [[OnlyAFleshWound with a minor concussion]] considering the fact [[NoOneCouldSurviveThat she was thrown out a window from the force of impact and lived]]. "Tiger" in particular has them driving at high speed, with the male members as backseat passengers and the ladies at the front, with the boys looking seemingly somewhat worried.

* SpiritualSuccessor:
** The premise of "Nina Pretty Ballerina", in which an apparently unremarkable young lady amazes audiences with her dancing, was essentially reused in the more popular songs "Dancing Queen" and "Thank You for the Music". Many fans have suggested it could be the same character.
** "One of Us" is about a woman who has left her lover, regrets it, and wishes she could win him back. "Don't Shut Me Down" is about a woman who has left her lover, regrets it, and is trying to win him back.

* GuiltyPleasures: They're commonly cited as one, due to the way they were great songwriters behind the poppy image. The reanalysis of their music by critics shows this might be fading.

* GuiltyPleasure: They're commonly cited as one, due to the way they were great songwriters behind the poppy image. The reanalysis of their music by critics shows this might be fading.

* AmericansHateTingle: Not ''hate'' exactly but still a difference in appeal - North America: pretty successful, but just another group. Rest of the World: popularity rivaled that of the Beatles. One factor could've been that, at the time ABBA was most popular worldwide, Music/FleetwoodMac had the prime position in the North American market, so to speak, on melodic, harmonic pop. It was pretty hard for ''anyone'' to compete against the Mac at the time of ''Music/{{Rumours}}''. For that matter, the parallel between the two groups in terms of couples that broke up but kept on working together is pretty eerie. Another factor could have been Americans weren't that used to hearing foreign sounding singers at the time. Even most British pop/rock artists sing with an American accent. It also doesn't help their American popularity that one of their {{Signature Song}}s, "Dancing Queen", is a disco song, and it was released just before the "Disco Sucks" backlash began.

* NarmCharm:
** Their videos.
** Most of their songs, really.

** Their last album ''Music/TheVisitors'' is also divisive. Critics and a fair number of fans think it is a mature work with songwriting and dark themes that were noticeably distinct from their earlier pop image. However, it also wasn't as well-received from a lot of record buyers at the time, primarily due to the slower tempos, emphasis on sparse synthy production, and dark themes, in comparison to the more upbeat material on their earlier albums.

* SpiritualSuccessor: The premise of "Nina Pretty Ballerina", in which an apparently unremarkable young lady amazes audiences with her dancing, was essentially reused in the more popular songs "Dancing Queen" and "Thank You for the Music". Many fans have suggested it could be the same character.

** "Happy New Year", released around New Year's Eve of 1980, is a very bittersweet song, but it has a linger of hope about the future in the lyrics: "In another ten years time / Who can say what we'll find / What lies waiting down the line / In the end of '89". The band didn't reach that date together, breaking up around two years after the song's release.

* PeripheryDemographic: Go into the comments section of any of their videos. You will inevitably find some variation of "I'm a metalhead/hard rock fan, but I love ABBA." It doesn't hurt that quite a few metal bands have covered some of their songs. Heck, Glenn Matlock ''of the Music/SexPistols'' admitted that the bass line for "Pretty Vacant" was cribbed from hearing "S.O.S." on the radio. Apparently, when that became public knowledge, he said the band's bassist sent him Christmas cards for about a decade. Whether that was Benny, Bjorn, or whatever session bassist may have participated in the recording "S.O.S." was left undisclosed. There's also the fact that they're among the bands whose songs fellow Swedes Music/{{Ghost}} made covers of (namely, "I'm the Marionette"), with many fans ending up finding that, given "I'm the Marionette" having more DarkerAndEdgier themes than ABBA's usual repertoire, if anything Ghost ''softened'' the song. Overall, ABBA in general are that rare pop band that's embraced by rock fans and musicians everywhere, especially those of the RockIsAuthenticPopIsShallow mindset.

** They were very popular in Latin America, especially in Mexico in the 80s, to the point that they recorded [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gracias_Por_La_Música an album of Spanish versions of their greatest hits for the region]], and their ''Gold: Greatest Hits'' album got [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oro:_Grandes_Éxitos its own Spanish equivalent.]] ABBA's popularity in the region is also credited as a factor in the Music/ATeens, which was initially [[SpinoffBabies a tennage ABBA tribute/cover band]] [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q6s7XkwSe9E being greeted with a similar mania]] at the 2000 edition of the fabled Viña del Mar Festival.

* PeripheryDemographic: Go into the comments section of any of their videos. You will inevitably find some variation of "I'm a metalhead/hard rock fan, but I love ABBA." It doesn't hurt that quite a few metal bands have covered some of their songs. Heck, Glenn Matlock ''of the Music/SexPistols'' is a fan, and later admitted that the bass line for "Pretty Vacant" was cribbed from "S.O.S.". Apparently, when that became public knowledge, he said the band's bassist sent him Christmas cards for about a decade. Whether that was Benny, Bjorn, or whatever session bassist may have participated in "S.O.S'" recording was left undisclosed.
** ABBA in general are that rare pop band that's embraced by rock fans and musicians everywhere, especially those of the RockIsAuthenticPopIsShallow mindset.

*** And there's also the fact that the music video ends with the band members [[OffIntoTheDistanceEnding walking out of the warehouse into the daylight]], reminiscent of an "AndTheAdventureContinues" ending, but would later become the last time the world would see ABBA together.

** The ''"alright, alright, alright, alright"'' from "So Long", which would later become MemeticMutation attributed to ''Film/DazedAndConfused'' (by extension, Creator/MatthewMcConaughey) and Music/OutKast's "Hey Ya!"

** They were very popular in Latin America, especially in Mexico in the 80s, to the point that they recorded [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gracias_Por_La_Música an album of Spanish versions of their greatest hits for the region]], and their ''Gold: Greatest Hits'' album got [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oro:_Grandes_Éxitos its own Spanish equivalent.]]

** "The Piper" is about a fascistic leader seducing the public.

* PeripheryDemographic: Go into the comments section of any of their videos. You will inevitably find some variation of "I'm a metalhead/hard rock fan, but I love ABBA." It doesn't hurt that quite a few metal bands have covered some of their songs.

** Their last album ''Music/TheVisitors'' is also divisive. Critics and a fair number of fans think it is a mature work with songwriting and dark themes that were noticeably distinct from their earlier pop image. However, it also received DarknessInducedAudienceApathy from a lot of record buyers at the time, primarily due to the slower tempos, emphasis on sparse synthy production, and dark themes, in comparison to the more upbeat material on their earlier albums.

* BrokenBase: "Voulez Vous" is noticeably divisive. Many believe it is one of their best and most consistent albums, with several album tracks that receive praise as being amongst ABBA's best non-singles. However, there are others who prefer ABBA's earlier pop-schlager influenced sound to the disco prevalent on Voulez Vous, and considered the band to have abandoned their roots for something that was popular in America.
** Their last album "The Visitors" is also divisive. Critics and a fair number of fans think it is a mature work with songwriting and dark themes that were noticeably distinct from their earlier pop image. However, it also received DarknessInducedAudienceApathy from a lot of record buyers at the time, primarily due to the slower tempos, emphasis on sparse synthy production, and dark themes, in comparison to the more upbeat material on their earlier albums.

** "Does Your Mother Know" is about trying to ''invoke'' the JailbaitWait, in the sense that a legal minor is all but throwing themselves at the singer. Very much not kid-friendly.

** The more pretentious type of rock critic (and rock fan) liked to deride ABBA during their heyday as being little better than bubblegum pop; as Björn pointed out in a 2002 Australian interview, "for the main part of the group's lifespan, the critics despised us". Specifically, people like to mention how dark ''The Visitors'' (their last album) is, [[TrueArtIsAngsty 'dark' being a codeword for cool]] amongst music critics. These days, a lot of people appreciate the group for their musical and vocal craftsmanship.

* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: ''ABBA Gold: The Complete Story'', which was at one point the "authorised" ABBA biography is full of factual errors to the point that some of them have become CommonKnowledge, most notably the "18 months with no ABBA hits"[[note]]This refers to ABBA's UK chart positions prior to the release of "S.O.S."[[/note]] and "ABBA entered Eurovision twice, winning the second time."[[note]]While they did enter and win in 1974, the festival they entered in 1973 was ''Melodifestivalen'', the Swedish selection festival for Eurovision, with "Ring Ring" and came third, meaning that they didn't even get into Eurovision yet. Official averted as their current "official" historian rarely refers ''Melodifestivalen'' by name.[[/note]]

* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: ''ABBA Gold: The Complete Story'', which was at one point the "authorised" ABBA biography is full of factual errors to the point that some of them have become CommonKnowledge, most notably the "18 months with no ABBA hits"[[note]]This refers to ABBA's UK chart positions prior to the release of "S.O.S."[[/note]] and "ABBA entered Eurovision twice, winning the second time."[[note]]While the 1974 part is true, they entered Melodifestivalen, the Swedish selections for Eurovision in 1973 with "Ring Ring" and came third, hence why they couldn't get into Eurovision tet. Official averted as their current "official" historian rarely refers Melodifestivalen by name[[/note]]

* SpiritualSuccessor: The premise of "Nina Pretty Ballerina", in which an apparently unremarkable young lady amazes audiences with her dancing, was essentially reused in the more popular songs "Dancing Queen" and "Thank You For The Music". Many fans have suggested it could be the same character.

** The more pretentious type of rock critic (and rock fan) liked to deride Abba during their heyday as being little better than bubblegum pop; as Björn pointed out in a 2002 Australian interview, "for the main part of the group's lifespan, the critics despised us". Specifically, people like to mention how dark ''The Visitors'' (their last album) is, [[TrueArtIsAngsty 'dark' being a codeword for cool]] amongst music critics. These days, a lot of people appreciate the group for their musical and vocal craftsmanship.

** Furthermore, Björn And Benny's self-deprecating sense of humor regarding most of their songs means that you know their cheesiest moments are just as cheesy to them too.

* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: ''ABBA Gold: The Complete Story'', which was at one point the "authorised" ABBA biography is full of factual errors to the point that some of them have become CommonKnowledge, most notably the "18 months with no ABBA hits"[[note]]This refers to ABBA's UK chart positions piror to the release of "S.O.S"[[/note]] and "ABBA entered Eurovision twice, winning the second time"[[note]]While the 1974 part is true, they entered Melodifestivalen, the Swedish selections for Eurovision in 1973 with "Ring Ring" and came third, hence why they couldn't get into Eurovision tet. Official averted as their current "official" historian rarely refers Melodifestivalen by name[[/note]].

* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: ''ABBA Gold: The Complete Story'', which was at one point the "authorised" ABBA biography is full of factual errors to the point that some of them have become CommonKnowledge, most notably the "18 months with no ABBA hits"[[note]]This refers to ABBA's UK chart positions piror to the release of "S.O.S"[[/note]] and "ABBA entered Eurovision twice"[[note]]While the 1974 part is true, they entered Melodifestivalen, the Swedish selections for Eurovision in 1973 with "Ring Ring" and came third, hence why they couldn't get into Eurovision tet. Official averted as their current "official" historian rarely refers Melodifestivalen by name[[/note]].

* CowboyBebopAtHisComputer: ''ABBA Gold: The Complete Story'', which was at one point the "authorised" ABBA biography is full of factual errors that some of them have become CommonKnowledge, most notably the "18 months with no ABBA hits"[[note]]This refers to ABBA's UK chart positions piror to the release of "S.O.S"[[/note]] and "ABBA entered Eurovision twice"[[note]]While the 1974 part is true, they entered Melodifestivalen, the Swedish selections for Eurovision in 1973 with "Ring Ring" and came third, hence why they couldn't get into Eurovision tet. Official averted as their current "official" historian rarely refers Melodifestivalen by name[[/note]].