ABBA April Fools?
This morning, ABBA fans were shocked to see a new musical release from the disco group pop up on Spotify. However, once they pressed play, it was a far cry from "Dancing Queen."
The song, titled "West Cup," is a rap song performed completely in Italian and is exclusively available on Spotify, not available on YouTube or any other streaming service. Manu has zero monthly listeners and no other releases on the platform.
"West Cup," which is one minute and 42 seconds in length, was released on April 1, commonly known as April Fools. The band has not spoken out about the single on any of their rarely-used social media accounts and there appears to be no other promotion regarding its release.
The baffling situation only gets more peculiar as the single does not feature any vocals or musical production that can be connected to ABBA. While the group's music is typically sampled in modern pop and disco music, "West Cup" could not be further from their signature sound.
In 2021, ABBA released their final studio album, "Voyage," along with launching their European hologram concert experience. Upon its release, the group confirmed that it is the end of their work together and they would not be releasing any additional music after.
Conversely, there is little to no information regarding manu as a musical artist. With no social media pages and other music releases, the mysterious artist's Spotify profile does not specify any information regarding their identity or connection to ABBA.
With ABBA officially broken up and sparse information available about manu, it seems that an April Fools music release is likely. As high-profile music typically drops on Fridays, a Monday release date continues to play into the theory.
Under the "Song Credits" tab, Spotify states that "West Cup" is written by Alessandro Abbatepaolo and Emanuele Martino, with manu and ABBA listed as the performers. Neither writers have any additional music releases circulating online, with no social media presence or information regarding their artistry. No production credit is listed on "West Cup."
Abbatepaolo and Martino may be the ones behind the joke, since it seems unlikely that ABBA would be working together on a humorous music drop over two years after they confirmed they were no longer together. With their profile names seemingly created as a joke, the two songwriters could potentially be pranksters using made-up pseudoyms on the infamous holiday.
In recent months, fake releases from high-profile artists have also surfaced on Spotify. Last year, several unreleased songs by Miley Cyrus were compiled into one album and released on streaming services under the name "Clara Pierce." Several hours after they were leaked onto Spotify and Apple Music, the songs were taken down with no explanation provided.
Although ABBA is no longer together, fans in the U.K. are still flocking to the ABBA Voyage attraction. The concert features ABBA avatar holograms performing hit songs like "Mamma Mia," "Super Trouper," and "Voulez-Vous" with a live band. The popular experience currently has dates listed through November 2024.
