Editing ABBA (section)

==== ''Greatest Hits'' and ''Arrival'' ====
In March 1976, the band released the compilation album ''[[Greatest Hits (ABBA album)|Greatest Hits]]''. It became their first UK number-one album, and also took ABBA into 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 (ABBA album)|Greatest Hits]]'' was a new single, "[[Fernando (song)|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; the single went on to sell over 10&nbsp;million copies worldwide.<ref>{{cite web |author=Collins, Karen |url=http://www.tagg.org/mmmsp/fernando.html |title=Fernando the Flute&nbsp;– Details |website=Tagg.org |date=25 August 2009 |access-date=31 January 2010 |archive-date=25 December 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101225163854/http://tagg.org/mmmsp/fernando.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

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.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/ed-sheeran-breaks-australian-music-chart-record-with-shape-of-you/news-story/d2d55f5a04b09dab9db04b795b2e9512 |title=Ed Sheeran breaks Australian music chart record with Shape of You |date=2 May 2017 |publisher=News Corp |location=Australia |first=Cameron |last=Adams |access-date=13 December 2019 |archive-date=14 December 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191214003226/https://www.news.com.au/entertainment/music/ed-sheeran-breaks-australian-music-chart-record-with-shape-of-you/news-story/d2d55f5a04b09dab9db04b795b2e9512 |url-status=live}}</ref> It still remains as one of the best-selling singles of all time in Australia. Also in 1976, 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 [[Adult Contemporary (chart)|''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'' 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.

[[File:Frida Lyngstad and Benny Andersson 1976b.jpg|thumb|upright=.9|[[Benny Andersson]] and [[Anni-Frid Lyngstad]] in [[Amsterdam Airport Schiphol]], 1976|left]]

The group's fourth studio album, ''[[Arrival (ABBA 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 ''[[NME|New Musical Express]]'', and mostly appreciative notices from US critics.{{citation needed|date=July 2023}}

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 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 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 Awards|BRIT Award]] in the category "Best International Album of 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, a major gay anthem<ref>{{cite encyclopedia
 | last =DeAngelis
 | first =Michael
 | editor-last=Gerstner
 | editor-first=David A.
 | title =ABBA
 | encyclopedia = Routledge International Encyclopedia of Queer Culture
 | edition= 1
 | pages =1
 | publisher =[[Routledge]]
 | language =English
 | date =2006
 | url =https://books.google.com/books?id=XS_SnVPixE8C
 | isbn = 9780415306515
 | access-date = 8 June 2022}}</ref>) 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 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 [[Recording Industry Association of America|RIAA]].