Watch New, Official Lyric Video For ABBA’s 1979 Smash ‘Chiquitita’
The new interpretation is sure to help bring this much-loved classic to another new generation of admirers.
A new, official lyric video for ABBA’s 1979 smash “Chiquitita” is now available. The clip has been launched on the Swedish superstars’ YouTube channel, accompanied by the social media handles #ABBA and #DuetWithABBA.
The video uses period footage of the group and adds the song’s lyrics, seen across the screen in bold capital letters. Unusually for ABBA, “Chiquitita” did not feature an original custom-made video, and the one familiar to millions of fans is from a contemporary TV performance. The new interpretation is sure to help bring this much-loved classic from the ABBA catalog to another new generation of admirers.
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“Chiquitita” was released on January 16, 1979 as a preview of the group’s sixth studio album Voulez-Vous, which followed in April. The song was written and produced by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, with plaintive lead vocals by Agnetha Fältskog and the group’s unmistakeable harmonies. It reached No.1 across many European countries, and was certified platinum in Japan and gold in the Netherlands and the UK.
A week before the release of the track, ABBA performed “Chiquitita” at the Music for UNICEF Concert: A Gift of Song, which took place in the United Nations General Assembly in New York City on January 9, 1979. ABBA donated half the proceeds from the song to UNICEF. Other performers at the concert included the Bee Gees, Andy Gibb, Olivia Newton-John, John Denver, Earth, Wind & Fire, Rita Coolidge and Kris Kristofferson, Rod Stewart, and Donna Summer.
Writer Chris Charlesworth, reviewing the 2014 release Live At Wembley, captured at ABBA’s November 1979 shows in London, noted that Agnetha and Frida Lyngstad’s vocals were “pitch-perfect as ever, almost operatic in fact. For all its schlager roots, ‘Chiquitita’ has a gorgeous, uplifting melody and the wonderful sound of Agnetha and Frida singing together, their vocals generous and rich, covers the Wembley Arena like a warm blanket.”
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