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One of Us (ABBA song)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| "One Of Us" | |||||
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| Single by ABBA from the album The Visitors |
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| Released | December 7, 1981 (Sweden) December 12, 1981 (UK) February 12, 1983 (US) |
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| Format | 7" Single | ||||
| Genre | Pop/Europop | ||||
| Length | 3:56 | ||||
| Writer | Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson |
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| Producer | Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson |
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| Certification | N/A | ||||
| ABBA singles chronology | |||||
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"One of Us" was the first single from Swedish pop group ABBA's final studio album The Visitors, their eighth for Polar, and their seventh for Epic and Atlantic.
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"One of Us" was one of the last songs recorded for ABBA's 1981 album The Visitors. It was one of only a handful of tracks that explored the darker territory of Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson's songwriting as the two men's divorces were beginning to influence their musical output. Indeed, the message of the song was about a woman trying to revive a dead relationship. Despite the somewhat depressing context, and reservations by manager Stig Anderson, "One of Us" was released as the first single from The Visitors, coupled with "Should I Laugh or Cry".
"One of Us" was ABBA's last major hit, and their last No.1 single in many countries. It topped the charts in Ireland, Belgium, West Germany and the Netherlands, and reached the Top 3 in ABBA's native Sweden, Austria, Switzerland and the UK. It also hit the Top 10 in South Africa, Norway, Spain and France.
When "One of Us" was released as a single in the United States in February 1983, it proved to be ABBA's worst ever performing charting song in that territory, reaching a high of No.107. Nevertheless, "One of Us" was ABBA's swansong in terms of their hit-making career.
| Chart | Position |
|---|---|
| Belgian Singles Chart | 1 |
| Dutch Singles Chart | 1 |
| German Singles Chart | 1 |
| Irish Singles Chart | 1 |
| Swedish Singles Chart | 2 |
| Austrian Singles Chart | 3 |
| Swiss Singles Chart | 3 |
| UK Singles Chart | 3 |
| South African Singles Chart | 4 |
| Norwegian Singles Chart | 6 |
| Spanish Singles Chart | 7 |
| French Singles Chart | 8 |
| Finnish Singles Chart | 17 |
| New Zealand Singles Chart | 43 |
| Australian ARIA Singles Chart | 48 |
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 | 107 |
Following its success as a single in the UK, "One of Us" was parodied in a sketch [1] on the BBC comedy programme, Not the Nine O'Clock News in 1982. Renamed "Supa Dupa", the sketch comprised a musical parody. It included the following satirical lyrics about ABBA (intended to apply equally to the Not the Nine O'Clock News team themselves):
- One of us is ugly, one of us is cute
- One of us you'd like to see in her birthday suit
- Two of us write music, two have way a song
- Sorry, in translation, that line come out wrong
Anni-Frid Lyngstad, Benny Andersson, Björn Ulvaeus and Agnetha Fältskog were played respectively by Griff Rhys Jones, Mel Smith, Rowan Atkinson and Pamela Stephenson.
| "One Of Us" | ||
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| Single by A*Teens from the album The ABBA Generation |
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| Released | 1999 | |
| Format | Airplay | |
| Recorded | 1999 | |
| Genre | Pop | |
| Length | 3:56 | |
| Label | Universal Music | |
| Writer | B. Andersson B. Ulvaeus |
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| Producer | Thomas Johansson Ronald Malmberg |
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| A*Teens chronology | ||
| "Happy New Year" (1999) |
"One Of Us" (1999) |
"Take A Chance On Me" (2000) |
The A*Teens released the song as a promo single from their debut album The ABBA Generation.
As an attempt to promote the A*Teens a bit more, Universal Music released "One Of Us" on radio in late 1999. The song was promoted in Scandinavia, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Japan. Promo copies are a rare item.
A special music video was filmed for a TV Special in Sweden. It was not used as an official video. It shows parts of shows in Sweden and behind scenes footage of the band having fun, waiting in a room of Stockholm Records' building.
Swedish Promotional CD
- One Of Us [Album Version] - 3:56
- Almighty Records released a dance cover version of the song by Abbacadabra in the late 1990s.
- Another dance version was also covered by the group Angeleyes on their 1999 album ABBAdance.
- German rave/techno band Dune (German band) recorded a slow, orchestral version of the song for their 1998 Forever and Ever with The London Session Orchestra. Their version featured singer Tina Lacebal on vocals.
- A version by British pop duo Go West was included on the 1999 album ABBA: A Tribute - The 25th Anniversary Celebration.
- The compilation ABBAMetal featured a rendition by German gothic metal band Flowing Tears.
- British singer Hazell Dean recorded a cover of this song for her own ABBA tribute album.
- The German ABBA Mania album (which coincided with a TV special) has a cover of the song by pop group US5.
| A*Teens |
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| Marie Serneholt - Amit Sebastian Paul - Dhani Lennevald - Sara Lumholdt |
| Discography |
| Studio albums: The ABBA Generation - Teen Spirit - Pop 'Til You Drop! - New Arrival - Greatest Hits |
| Singles: "Mamma Mia" - "Super Trouper" - "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme!" - "Happy New Year" - "Dancing Queen" - "Upside Down" - "Halfway Around the World" - "Sugar Rush" - "Heartbreak Lullaby" - "Can't Help Falling In Love" - "Floorfiller" - "A Perfect Match" - "I Promised Myself" |
| Videography |
| DVD Releases: Bouncing Off The Ceiling (Upside Down) - The DVD Collection - Floorfiller |
| Related articles |
| Music of Sweden - ABBA |