Mamma Mia! Gen Z drives massive ABBA resurgence
Teens and 20-somethings are saying ‘I do, I do, I do’ to the Swedish supergroup in record numbers.
When 21-year-old Taylor Sinni goes to bars and nightclubs, she hears all the contemporary hits – and invariably, a slew of ABBA floor-fillers, such as Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight).
“They’re very, very popular [among my peers],” says Sinni, ahead of a live performance by Bjorn Again, the Australian ABBA tribute band propelled to global prominence by Nirvana (more on that later). “I don’t think they make music like they used to … I prefer the older music, to be honest.”
As one of the world’s top-selling acts, ABBA has enjoyed a number of revivals since their 1970s heyday – but Generation Z, now aged between 14 and 29, has embraced the group with particular zeal. As USA Today reported, these teens and young adults accounted for half the ABBA songs streamed worldwide on Spotify in 2025. According to Chartmetric, a tool used by record companies to analyse audience tastes, ABBA has more social media followers aged 18 to 24 than any other demographic.
Spotify confirmed to this masthead that in Australia, ABBA is predominantly (and equally) popular among two groups: the Baby Boomers who grew up with them, and their 18 to 24-year-old grandchildren. And TikTok revealed that videos with an #ABBA hashtag have accumulated 17 billion views globally; in Australia, two-thirds of these clips were watched by 18 to 24-year-olds. Australian artist Jude York, 26, has amassed 48 million views on the platform for his moving rendition of Slipping Through My Fingers; when he performed it with his mother at the TikTok Awards in November, they received a standing ovation.
“You’d always get a sprinkling of young people at our shows but now, you might get 30 per cent of the audience who are in their teens or 20s,” says Bjorn Again manager and former drummer John Tyrrell, who co-founded the band in 1988. “A lot of the time, they’re just screaming. This is a new thing.”
Tyrrell attributes this trend to a few factors: the romantic comedy film Mamma Mia!, which has consistently attracted young audiences since its 2008 release; platforms such as Spotify and TikTok, which make it easy to access and share ABBA’s music; and brutal COVID lockdowns that left Generation Z hankering for an antidote to the incessant doom and gloom.
“It’s a lot more fun to dance to,” says Olivia Goodwin, 17, when asked how ABBA’s songs compare to new music. Her friend, 17-year-old Gemma Cicitta, agrees. “It’s pretty popular, especially at parties [with tracks such as] Dancing Queen, Mamma Mia and Voulez-Vous.”
“It’s a lot more fun to dance to.”Olivia Goodwin, 17, on how ABBA’s music compares to contempory chart hits
There might even be a scientific basis to such preferences: according to a 2018 BBC report, pop music has become melodically less complex in recent decades, using fewer chord changes. Overall, songs have become slower and sadder, while lyrics are increasingly “antisocial” or “angry”.
This almost certainly contributes to ABBA’s growing appeal. Instead of performing through a haze of irony, the band unashamedly wore their hearts on their sleeves. At one point, this made them uncool (at least to a certain breed of music snob); now, it’s helping drive their resurgence. “[Their songs] are relatable to everyone,” says Olivia Moody, 24, who plays ABBA “whenever I need that uplifting kind of spirit”.
It’s a similar story for Marissa Lamb, 22, who is attending today’s Bjorn Again concert, in the Melbourne suburb of South Morang, with her father, grandmother and 15-year-old sister, Mikayla. “A lot of music nowadays is more of the same,” Marissa says. “ABBA brings back that joy and that dance music that you found in the ’70s and ’80s.”
Mikayla, a musician, has been teaching herself ABBA tunes on guitar. “It’s really good to have songs you can relate to … and understanding how they felt while writing the music,” she says.
After the concert (in which the Gen Z-ers interviewed by this masthead dutifully danced and screamed), the four members of Bjorn Again, still in their white satin costumes, gather backstage, along with Tyrrell. All are fascinated by the intricacies of ABBA’s music: the pioneering production values; the range of genres that influenced the group, from disco to country to rock; and the fact that many ABBA songs go beyond typical three- or four-chord arrangements.
BJORN AGAIN: IN THEIR OWN WORDS
- “Frida Longstokin” (Laura Davidson): ABBA’s music is very dynamic, which is lacking in current music. Everything is so condensed; it’s all squished [into a generic sound].
- “Benny Anderwear” (Ashley Reeder): In a world where you have access to absolutely everything instantly, the fact that ABBA is the go-to music for a new generation speaks to how timeless and great it is.
- “Björn Volvo-us” (Rhys Warden): ABBA’s music is about universal human experiences that people have been having for generations, which is why it’s always going to be applicable to daily life.
- “Agnetha Falstart” (Jodie Thornton): There are always a few men who get dragged along by their wives. You might see a reluctant toe-tap at the start but by Dancing Queen, they’re all singing and dancing. That song seems to have a strange effect on middle-aged men.
Over the years, Bjorn Again, whose line-up has evolved, has performed in 120 countries; in the UK, they played to a sold-out audience of 20,000. And they cultivated this international following, in part, thanks to an unlikely alliance with a fellow group: Nirvana.
When the grunge band (and unabashed ABBA fans) saw Bjorn Again play in Melbourne in 1992, they purchased literally all their merchandise. To Tyrrell’s astonishment, he then learned that Nirvana were refusing to perform at the UK’s Reading Festival in 1992 unless Bjorn Again were added to the bill. Lead singer Kurt Cobain even insisted they sing Smells Like Teen Spirit, causing Tyrrell to fear they’d be pelted with mud by confused concert-goers.
Instead, the crowd of 50,000 moshed in delight while Nirvana cheered them on from the wings of the stage.
“It was the best moment of my life,” Tyrrell says. “There used to be a real stigma attached to whether you liked ABBA – or you could admit it – but that’s long gone.”
Bjorn Again’s national tour includes Sydney on March 7 and September 5; Brisbane on August 28 and 29; and Melbourne on October 31. For a full list of regional and capital city dates, visit bjornagain.com.au.