| The ABBA Generation | |
| Type: | studio |
| Artist: | A-Teens |
| Cover: | Theabbagenerationinternational.jpg |
| Border: | yes |
| Released: | 25 August 1999 |
| Recorded: | January–March 1999 |
| Length: | 42:50 |
| Next Title: | The ABBA Generation Remix |
| Next Year: | 2001 |
The ABBA Generation is the debut studio album by Swedish pop group A-Teens. It was released on 25 August 1999 by Stockholm Records. The album is composed of cover versions of well-known ABBA songs. The album spawned four singles, "Mamma Mia", "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)", "Super Trouper", and "Dancing Queen".
The album reached number one in Sweden and Argentina. In the United States, the album peaked at seventy-one on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart and was certified Gold.[1]
In 1998, Marie, Sara, Dhani, and Amit came together to form the ABBA-Teens and began recording their debut album which would consist entirely of covers of ABBA songs. Their first single, "Mamma Mia", was first released in April 1999 in their native Sweden where it stayed at number one for eight consecutive weeks. Following this release, the group's name was changed to the A-Teens to avoid litigation.[2] [3] "Mamma Mia" was released internationally following their name change and topped the charts in over ten countries.
Further singles from the album were hits in Sweden: "Super Trouper" peaked at number two and "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight) peaked at number ten; both songs charted moderately worldwide. "Happy New Year" was released as a standalone single in Sweden at the end of 1999 and peaked at number four.
In March 2000, the group released the single "Dancing Queen". The single reached ninety-five on the Billboard Hot 100 and sold over 500,000 copies in the U.S. alone, being certified Gold. Coinciding with this release, the band embarked on a promotional tour of the United States and was an opening act for the Britney Spears tour later that summer.[4]
Despite its commercial success around the world, the album received generally negative reviews from music critics. Alex Henderson of AllMusic said that the group's "versions of ABBA gems like "Take a Chance on Me", "Mamma Mia", "Dancing Queen", and "Voulez-Vous" aren't brilliant, but they're enjoyable—and they show just how well the songs have held up over time." He concluded his review by saying, “All things considered, The ABBA Generation is a pleasing, if unremarkable, testament to the durability of ABBA's songs." In an average review for The A.V. Club, Steven Thompson wrote, "Pop music doesn't get more marginal than a collection of overdriven dance-pop covers, but The ABBA Generation succeeds on its own modest terms."[5]
David Hiltbrand of Entertainment Weekly gave the album a B+, saying that the group "look and sound better than their supergroup heroes; even the music is spruced up, thanks to a cast of savvy Swedish producers." Writing for Rolling Stone, Arion Berger gave the album one and a half out of five stars, saying that "all the keyboard doodling and note-for-note diligence in Scandinavia wouldn't help these poseurs bring the pure-pop greatness of the real ABBA to life."
All tracks written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, except as noted.
Adapted from the album liner notes.
Musicians
Production
Other personnel
| Chart (1999–2000) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Japanese Albums (Oricon)[6] | 18 |
| Spanish Albums (Promusicae)[7] | 19 |
| Chart (1999) | Position | |
|---|---|---|
| Belgian Albums (Ultratop Flanders)[8] | 92 | |
| Dutch Albums (Album Top 100)[9] | 27 | |
| Chart (2000) | Position | |
| Austrian Albums (Ö3 Austria)[10] | 17 | |
| European Albums (Music & Media)[11] | 44 | |
| German Albums (Offizielle Top 100)[12] | 21 | |
| Swiss Albums (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] | 39 |