Tuesday, December 3, 2024

More Bad Pop News: The New ABBA Singles Are DOA, Although “Dancing Queen” Is Back on the Charts

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More bad pop news:

That big worldwide ABBA launch on Thursday? Introducing the first two singles in 40 years? And a new album and tour?

Fizz. Pfft.

“Don’t Shut Me Down” has sold 6,200 copies since Thursday afternoon. “I Still Have Faith in You” totals 6,700 copies.

That’s it.

This is the problem for legacy groups, no matter how much publicity you generate. And certainly we gave ABBA all the attention they desired.

But the songs aren’t very good, and are far from sounding like their hits. “I Still Faith in You” is a snooze. “Don’t Shut Me Down” picks up the pace a little but isn’t much better.

It was certainly obvious from the press conference that the women of ABBA really want nothing to do with this except the money. They didn’t join the guys for the Q&A. Funnier still is that their voices lead the new singles, as if that was a deal they made to get the whole “Voyage” project done.

Does it matter? The whole press conference did the trick. It got “Dancing Queen” up to number 40 on iTunes and sent all the albums up the charts again. It’s all about catalog and the tour. Period.

 

 

Roger Friedman
Roger Friedmanhttps://www.showbiz411.com
Roger Friedman began his Showbiz411 column in April 2009 after 10 years with Fox News, where he created the Fox411 column. His movie reviews are carried by Rotten Tomatoes, and he is a member of both the movie and TV branches of the Critics Choice Awards. His articles have appeared in dozens of publications over the years including New York Magazine, where he wrote the Intelligencer column in the mid 90s and covered the OJ Simpson trial, and Fox News (when it wasn't so crazy) where he covered Michael Jackson. He is also the writer and co-producer of "Only the Strong Survive," a selection of the Cannes, Sundance, and Telluride Film festivals, directed by DA Pennebaker and Chris Hegedus.

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