Editing ABBA (section)

=== 1973–1976: breakthrough ===
==== Eurovision Song Contest 1974 ====
[[File:ABBA - TopPop 1974 1.png|thumb|right|ABBA on Dutch TV in April 1974; clockwise from top left: [[Benny Andersson]], [[Björn Ulvaeus]], [[Agnetha Fältskog]] and [[Anni-Frid Lyngstad]]]]
ABBA entered the Melodifestivalen with "[[Ring Ring (ABBA song)|Ring Ring]]" but did not qualify as 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 (ABBA song)|Waterloo]]" 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 [[Eurovision Song Contest 1974|1974 Eurovision Song Contest]] on 6 April 1974, and singing "Waterloo" in English instead of their native language, gave them 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 [[Grand Brighton Hotel|The Grand Brighton Hotel]].<ref>{{cite web |last=Gilson |first=Edwin |date=16 December 2017 |url=https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/15776822.relive-abbas-eurovision-night-of-glory-from-1974/ |title=Relive Abba's Eurovision night of glory from 1974 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200724204039/https://www.theargus.co.uk/news/15776822.relive-abbas-eurovision-night-of-glory-from-1974/ |archive-date=24 July 2020 }}</ref>

"Waterloo" was ABBA's first major hit and their first number-one single in nine western and northern European countries, including 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|''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)|Waterloo]]'' album peaked at only number 145 on the [[Billboard 200|''Billboard'' 200]] chart, but received unanimous praise from US critics. {{failed verification span|text=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",|date=April 2025}} while ''[[Creem]]'' said it was "a perfect blend of exceptional, lovable compositions".<ref>{{Cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/artist/abba/chart-history/tlp/| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20211020/https://www.billboard.com/music/abba/chart-history/TLP| archive-date=20 October 2021|title=ABBA| magazine=[[Billboard (magazine)|Billboard]]}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |url=https://latimes.newspapers.com/article/the-los-angeles-times/170982423/ |title=Pop Album Briefs |newspaper=Los Angeles Times |date=1 September 1974 |access-date=9 November 2021 |page=415 |via=Newspapers.com |url-access=}}</ref>

ABBA's follow-up single, "[[Honey, Honey]]", peaked at number 27 on the US [[Billboard Hot 100|''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 (1970s band)|Sweet Dreams]] peaked at number 10, and both records debuted on 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]].

==== Post-Eurovision ====
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 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 the [[Gröna Lund]] amusement park had an estimated audience of 19,200.<ref>{{harvnb|Palm|2001|p=268}}</ref> 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."<ref name=Guardian2014>{{cite news |url= https://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/apr/10/abba-interview-bjorn-ulvaeus-frida-lyngstad |title= Abba on Drugs, Eminem and Why Writing Great Pop is a Job for Young People |first= Tim |last= Jonze |newspaper= [[The Guardian]] |date= 10 April 2014 |access-date= 10 April 2014 |archive-date= 10 April 2014 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20140410191631/http://www.theguardian.com/music/2014/apr/10/abba-interview-bjorn-ulvaeus-frida-lyngstad |url-status= live }}</ref>

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 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, the release of their self-titled third studio album ''[[ABBA (album)|ABBA]]'' and single "[[SOS (ABBA song)|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 (ABBA song)|Mamma Mia]]" reaching number-one in 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 (ABBA song)|SOS]]" peaked at number 15 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart, with the latter picking up the [[Broadcast Music, Inc.|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, 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 the ''Billboard'' 200 chart. Opinions were voiced, by ''Creem'' in particular, that in the US ABBA had endured "a very sloppy promotional campaign".{{cn|date=June 2024}} Nevertheless, the group enjoyed warm reviews from the American press. ''[[Cashbox (magazine)|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",<ref>{{cite web |last1=Love |first1=Bret |title=Take A Chance On Me |url=https://encoreatlanta.com/2017/05/22/take-a-chance-on-me/ |website=Encore Atlanta |access-date=6 June 2024 |date=22 May 2017}}</ref> while ''Creem'' wrote: "SOS is surrounded on this LP by so many good tunes that the mind boggles."{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

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 (Australian TV series)|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 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.