ABBA: Still the Soundtrack to Our Lives in the 21st Century

From the iconic Eurovision win with “Waterloo” in 1974 to countless hits that have become pop culture staples, ABBA has been a beloved musical force for decades. And now, as the latest Eurovision winner is crowned, fans of the Swedish sensations will be delighted to know that their legacy shows no signs of slowing down.

On Sunday, May 14th, Greatest Hits Radio will count down ABBA’s most-played songs of the 21st century, with chart show legend Mark Goodier as the host.

Compiled exclusively for the station by UK music licensing company PPL, the countdown will use official performance data from across UK TV and Radio to determine the 20 ABBA songs that have been the most beloved by fans in this century. Fans can tune in to the chart this Sunday evening to discover which ABBA classic holds the coveted number one spot.

But in the meantime, did you know that “Waterloo” is played on average nine times per day across UK radio and television? And in 2022, “Dancing Queen” was played an average of 18 times a day across UK radio and television. On average, an ABBA song is played on a UK radio station or television channel every nine minutes, or about seven times per hour. In fact, ABBA has generated over 250 million seconds of airplay on UK radio and TV in the 21st century to date. That means of the 22 years of this century so far, ABBA has been playing continuously in the UK for more than a third of them – that’s eight years!

For fans of ABBA, it’s clear that their music is still the soundtrack to our lives in the 21st century. From the catchy beats of “Mamma Mia” to the emotional depth of “The Winner Takes It All,” their music continues to bring joy and nostalgia to fans around the world. With the upcoming countdown on Greatest Hits Radio, we can celebrate the enduring popularity of these Swedish sensations and look forward to many more years of dancing to their iconic tunes.