ABBA reaches number one on the Billboard Dance Charts for the first time. The album “Gold” benefits from the success of “Stranger Things”.
Almost half a century after their international breakthrough, ABBA is making chart history again. The Swedish pop group reached number one on the Billboard dance charts for the first time in around 50 years – with an album that has been considered a classic for decades. The 1992 compilation “Gold: Greatest Hits” climbed to number one on the Billboard Top Dance Albums chart in the chart week of January 17, 2026, giving the band their first ever number one placement in this category. A crucial part of this success was the Netflix series “Stranger Things,” which used ABBA’s repertoire for its soundtrack.
First real number one in the dance charts
According to the US market research company “Luminate”, the decisive factor for the top spot was around 15,000 album units sold in the USA in the week from January 2nd to 8th. A remarkable value for an album that is more than 30 years old and has long been part of the established canon of pop history. Included are some of ABBA’s biggest hits, including “Dancing Queen,” “Mamma Mia,” “Take a Chance on Me” and “The Winner Takes It All.”
Although ABBA was once at the top of a Billboard dance list in 1981, it was a special constellation back then: the songs “Lay All Your Love on Me”, “Super Trouper” and “On and On and On” were listed together as one entry in the dance club songs charts – a common practice at the time, as DJs played several titles in parallel. However, there has not yet been an independent number one placement for an album in the dance charts.
Editorial recommendations
“Stranger Things” as a chart accelerator
The soundtrack of Stranger Things season five remains firmly anchored in the ’80s. In addition to classics like “Rockin’ Robin” by Michael Jackson, “Running Up That Hill” by Kate Bush and “Heroes” by David Bowie, songs by ABBA, Tiffany and The Psychedelic Furs appear. Particularly present is ABBA’s track “Fernando,” which accompanies a scene with Karen Wheeler during a Demogorgon attack. In the finale, the Duffer brothers also played iconic tracks by Prince, including “When Doves Cry” and “Purple Rain”.
A timeless hit: ABBA’s “Fernando”
411 weeks on the Billboard 200
Even outside of the dance rankings, “Gold: Greatest Hits” remains a long-running hit. The album has now been in the Billboard 200, the most important US album charts across all genres, for 411 weeks and is currently at number 80. This makes “Gold” by far the longest-charting ABBA album ever. For comparison: the band’s second-longest chart album, also a “greatest hits” collection from the 1970s, only lasted 61 weeks.
There is also great enthusiasm about the ABBA top on Instagram:
Guaranteed success ABBA: From “Dancing Queen” to “Voyage”
In the history of the Billboard charts, ABBA has always been successful at points. “Fernando” reached number one on the Adult Contemporary charts in October 1976, followed by “Dancing Queen” in April 1977, becoming the first and only ABBA song to reach number one on the Billboard Hot 100.
In 1981 the group achieved another top spot in the Adult Contemporary charts with “The Winner Takes It All”. In the album sector, ABBA only celebrated their first number one success in the top album sales and vinyl album charts in 2021 with the comeback and farewell album “Voyage”; It reached second place on the Billboard 200.
___________________________________
Pre-order now: Exclusive 7-inch single “Baltimore”/“Stare” by Prince in MUSIKEXPRRESS 03/26
We are opening the year 2026 with a unique and extraordinary collaboration: on the occasion of the tenth anniversary of his death, ROLLING STONE and MUSIKEXPRESS are releasing two world-exclusive vinyl singles by Prince.
A few months before his death, the genius of the century had recorded two albums that once again show him in top form and will be re-released in the new year: “HITnRUN Phase I” and “Phase II”. These were to remain his last works. For “Phase I” he worked with singers such as Rita Ora and Lianne La Havas. “Phase II” shows him as a political observer of his time.
The March issue of MUSIKEXPRESS features a second world exclusive Prince single: “Baltimore” / “Stare”, two songs from HITnRUN Phase II. Prince wrote the ballad-like “Baltimore” under the impression of racist police violence in the USA. Both editions are also available HERE together in a bundle at the special price of EUR 19.90.
Included in delivery: MUSIKEXPRESS issue 03/2026 + exclusive Prince 7″ vinyl single