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.