ABBA (Swedish pronunciation: [2ab:a]) were a Swedish pop group, formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad: the group name derives from the first letter in each of their names. They became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of popular music, topping the charts worldwide from 1974 to 1982. ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest 1974 at The Dome in Brighton, UK, giving Sweden its first triumph in the contest. They are the most successful group to have taken part in the competition.

As the group entered the Melodifestivalen with "Ring Ring" but failed to qualify as the 1973 Swedish entry, Stig Anderson immediately started planning for the 1974 contest.  Ulvaeus, Andersson and Stig Anderson believed in the possibilities of using the Eurovision Song Contest as a way to make the music business aware of them as songwriters, as well as the band itself. In late 1973, they were invited by Swedish television to contribute a song for the Melodifestivalen 1974 and from a number of new songs, the upbeat song "Waterloo" was chosen; the group was now inspired by the growing glam rock scene in England.  ABBA won their national heats on Swedish television on 9 February 1974, and with this third attempt were far more experienced and better prepared for the Eurovision Song Contest. Winning the 1974 Contest on 6 April 1974 gave ABBA the chance to tour Europe and perform on major television shows; thus the band saw the "Waterloo" single chart in many European countries. "Waterloo" was ABBA's first number-one single in big markets such as the UK and West Germany. In the United States, the song peaked at number-six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, paving the way for their first album and their first trip as a group there. Albeit a short promotional visit, it included their first performance on American television, The Mike Douglas Show. The album Waterloo only peaked at number 145 on the Billboard 200 chart, but received unanimous high praise from the US critics: Los Angeles Times called it "a compelling and fascinating debut album that captures the spirit of mainstream pop quite effectively ... an immensely enjoyable and pleasant project", while Creem characterised it as "a perfect blend of exceptional, lovable compositions".  ABBA's follow-up single, "Honey, Honey", peaked at number 27 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and was a number-two hit in West Germany. However, in the United Kingdom, ABBA's British record label, Epic, decided to re-release a remixed version of "Ring Ring" instead of "Honey, Honey", and a cover version of the latter by Sweet Dreams peaked at number 10. Both records debuted on the UK chart within one week of each other. "Ring Ring" failed to reach the Top 30 in the United Kingdom, increasing growing speculation that the group was simply a Eurovision one-hit wonder. CANNOTANSWER

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ABBA (svenskt uttal: [2ab:a]) var en svensk popgrupp, bildad i Stockholm 1972 av Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, och Anni-Frid Lyngstad: gruppnamnet härrör från första bokstaven i vart och ett av deras namn. De blev en av de mest kommersiellt framgångsrika akterna i populärmusikens historia, toppande listorna världen över från 1974 till 1982. ABBA vann Eurovision Song Contest 1974 på The Dome i Brighton, Storbritannien, vilket gav Sverige sin första triumf i tävlingen. De är den mest framgångsrika gruppen att ha deltagit i tävlingen. Då gruppen gick in i Melodifestivalen med "Ring Ring" men inte lyckades kvalificera sig som 1973 års svenska inhopp började Stig Anderson omedelbart planera inför 1974 års deltävling. Ulvaeus, Andersson och Stig Anderson trodde på möjligheterna att använda Eurovision Song Contest som ett sätt att göra musikbranschen medveten om dem som låtskrivare, liksom bandet självt. I slutet av 1973 bjöds de in av svensk TV för att bidra med en låt till Melodifestivalen 1974 och från ett antal nya låtar valdes den optimistiska låten "Waterloo"; gruppen inspirerades nu av den växande glamrockscenen i England. ABBA vann sina nationella heat i svensk TV den 9 februari 1974, och var med detta tredje försök betydligt mer erfarna och bättre förberedda för Eurovision Song Contest. Att vinna 1974 års tävling den 6 april 1974 gav ABBA chansen att turnera i Europa och uppträda i stora TV-program; därmed såg bandet singeldiagrammet "Waterloo" i många europeiska länder. "Waterloo" var ABBA:s första främsta singel på stora marknader som Storbritannien och Västtyskland. I USA nådde låten topp på nummer-sex på Billboard Hot 100-diagram, vilket banade väg för deras första album och deras första resa som grupp där. Även om det var ett kort reklambesök, innehöll det deras första framträdande i amerikansk TV, The Mike Douglas Show. Albumet Waterloo nådde bara sin höjdpunkt på nummer 145 på Billboard 200-diagrammet, men fick enhälligt högt beröm av USA:s kritiker: Los Angeles Times kallade det "ett övertygande och fascinerande debutalbum som fångar andan av mainstreampop ganska effektivt ... ett oerhört njutbart och behagligt projekt", medan Creem karakteriserade det som "en perfekt blandning av exceptionella, älskvärda kompositioner". ABBA:s uppföljande singel, "Honey, Honey", toppade på nummer 27 på USA:s Billboard Hot 100, och var en nummertvå-hit i Västtyskland. I Storbritannien beslutade dock ABBA:s brittiska skivbolag, Epic, att återutge en remixad version av "Ring Ring" istället för "Honey, Honey", och en coverversion av den senare av Sweet Dreams toppade på nummer 10. Båda skivorna debuterade på Storbritanniens sjökort inom en vecka efter varandra. "Ring Ring" misslyckades med att nå topp 30 i Storbritannien, vilket ökade den växande spekulationen om att gruppen helt enkelt var ett Eurovision one-hit wonder. CANNOTANSWER Ställ en fråga om den här artikeln.
ABBA (Swedish pronunciation: [2ab:a]) was a Swedish pop group, formed in Stockholm in 1972 by Agnetha Faltskog, Bjorn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson, and Anni-Frid Lyngstad: the group name derives from the first letter of each of their names. They became one of the most commercially successful acts in the history of popular music, topping the charts worldwide from 1974 to 1982. ABBA won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 at The Dome in Brighton, UK, giving Sweden its first triumph in the competition. They are the most successful group to have participated in the competition. As the group entered the Melodifestival with "Ring Ring" but failed to qualify as the 1973 Swedish entry, Stig Anderson immediately began planning for the 1974 contest. Ulvaeus, Andersson and Stig Anderson believed in the possibilities of using the Eurovision Song Contest as a way to make the music industry aware of them as songwriters, as well as the band itself. In late 1973, they were invited by Swedish television to contribute a song to the 1974 Melodi Festival and from a number of new songs the optimistic song "Waterloo"; the group was now inspired by the growing glam rock scene in England. ABBA won their national heats on Swedish television on 9 February 1974, and with this third attempt was significantly more experienced and better prepared for the Eurovision Song Contest. Winning the 1974 competition on 6 April 1974 gave ABBA the chance to tour Europe and perform on major television shows; thus, the band saw the single chart "Waterloo" in many European countries. "Waterloo" was ABBA's first top single in major markets such as the UK and West Germany. In the United States, the song peaked at number-six on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, paving the way for their first album and their first trip as a group there. Although it was a brief advertising visit, it featured their first appearance on American television, The Mike Douglas Show. The album Waterloo only peaked at number 145 on the Billboard 200 chart, but received unanimous high praise from US critics: The Los Angeles Times called it "a compelling and fascinating debut album that captures the spirit of mainstream pop quite effectively ... an extremely enjoyable and pleasant project", while Creem characterized it as "a perfect mix of exceptional, lovable compositions". ABBA's follow-up single, "Honey, Honey", peaked at number 27 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100, and was a number two hit in West Germany. In the UK, however, ABBA's UK record label, Epic, decided to re-release a remixed version of "Ring Ring" instead of "Honey, Honey", and a cover version of the latter of Sweet Dreams peaked at number 10. Both records debuted on the UK chart within a week of each other. "Call Ring" failed to reach the top 30 in the UK, increasing the growing speculation that the group was simply a Eurovision one-hit wonder. CANNOTANSWER Ask a question about this article.
Hur många tv-program dök de upp på?
How many TV shows did they show up on?