Without fail, when talking to a new person about the Eurovision Song Contest, the first question is inevitably "Have I ever heard of anybody from the contest?"
Of course, the first answer is ABBA.
ABBA in all of their 70s glory.
ABBA has sold 300 million albums around the world, their music has inpired successful movies and a long running jukebox musical. There are tribute bands in Canada, the Czech Republic, Brazil, and even Sweden.
And the Australian love of the Swedish quartet is well known and doesn't need to be repeated.
But they first came to the attention of the wider world when they won the Eurovision Song Contest in 1974 with their song "Waterloo".
And as of today, it's the only winner of the Eurovision Song Contest to chart on Billboard's Top 40 in the US, hitting #6 on the charts.
But what's fun is that "Waterloo" was ABBA's second attempt to represent Sweden at the ESC, the year before the entered Melodifestivalen this number:
ABBA "Ring Ring"
They came in third. To this:
Nova and the Dolls "You're Summer"
Now, I'm not a big fan of ABBA, but I have to say "Waterloo" is one of the most important to come out of the contest, and an easy way to introduce people to the contest, which is why they're Eurovisionaries.
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