One of Us (ABBA song)

"One of Us"—which had the working titles "Number 1" and "Mio Amore"—was one of the last songs recorded for ABBA's 1981 album The Visitors, and features a lead vocal by Agnetha Fältskog. It was one of a number of tracks that explored the darker territory of Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson's songwriting, as the two men's divorces were beginning to influence their musical output. The message of the song is about a woman trying to revive a relationship she had ended. Despite misgivings on the part of manager Stig Anderson, and its somewhat depressing lyric, "One of Us" was released as the first single from The Visitors, coupled with the non-album track "Should I Laugh or Cry". Ulvaeus had favored releasing it as the first single from the new album and the majority of the record companies agreed with him; it proved a wise move as it would become ABBA's final No. 1 single of their career. The decision to release "One of Us" as a single was made so late that it did not become available in Swedish shops until after The Visitors had been released.

In the United Kingdom, "One of Us" was issued in a different sleeve. Whereas the sleeve used in most countries repeated the album cover photo, Epic Records wanted a different image for the British release, and used separate photos of the group members together with a large ABBA logo. Agnetha and Frida appeared on the front cover, with Björn and Benny on the back. The photos were actually out-of-date, as Frida was depicted still with her frizzy perm, while Björn was beardless. A limited-edition picture disc using very similar artwork was also issued.

The B-side, "Should I Laugh or Cry", included a spoken count-in (in Swedish) from Benny. This count-in appeared on the British and South African releases, but not internationally. The master tapes supplied to Epic contained the error, but were not picked up in time, and so appeared on the single release. In the early 2000s, Epic's rights to ABBA's music in the UK had long since expired; however they still owned all the UK master tapes for the singles. These were then returned to Polar Music (itself owned by Universal Music) in Stockholm, who later issued the error count-in version as a "rarity" on The Complete Studio Recordings box-set, thereby making it available to a worldwide audience (and on CD for the first time). This count-in version is also available on the special "Deluxe Edition" of The Visitors (released on 23 April 2012).

"One of Us" was the first official single release in which both couples within the band had divorced. It would become ABBA's last major hit, and the last No. 1 single of their career. It topped the charts in Belgium, Germany, Ireland[2] and the Netherlands, and was also ABBA's 13th and final No. 1 on the Eurochart. "One of Us" proved a successful hit in Austria, France, Norway, South Africa, Spain and Switzerland, reaching the Top 10 in all of these countries.

In the United Kingdom, "One of Us" debuted at No. 11 on the singles chart on 12 December 1981 and peaked at No. 3 the following week, where it stayed for three weeks; it remained in the chart for 10 weeks. Upon exiting the Top 10 of the chart on 16 January 1982,[3] "One of Us" would become ABBA's final appearance in the UK Top 10 to date.[4] It was awarded a gold disc for sales of 500,000 in the UK.[5]

"One of Us" was not released as a single in the United States until February 1983, and proved to be ABBA's worst-ever performing charting song in that territory, reaching a high of No. 107,[6] though this came more than a year after its release elsewhere and ABBA had disbanded by that time.

In November 1981, a music video for "One of Us" was filmed, directed by Lasse Hallström.[7] It sees Agnetha Fältskog playing a woman who is moving into a new house. She decorates the room by adding furniture and coloring the walls. This is interspersed with individual shots of the ABBA members in a studio standing against a wall of mirrors.

• Agnetha Fältskog - lead vocals
• Anni-Frid Lyngstad – backing vocals
• Björn Ulvaeus – guitar
• The Three Boys - mandolins
• Benny Andersson – keyboards, synthesizer

"One of Us"
Single by Pandora
from the album Tell the World
Released	June 1995
Recorded	1995
Genre	Dance Eurodance House
Length	3:56
Label	Virgin Records
Songwriter(s)	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
Producer(s)	Huma Peka P. Martin Ankelius
Pandora singles chronology
"The Naked Sun" (1995) "One of Us" (1995) "A Little Bit" (1996)

In June 1995 Swedish eurodance singer Pandora released a cover version of the song. The track was included on the Japanese edition of her second studio album Tell the World (1995). The song peaked at No. 13 in Sweden, but did reach the top spot in neighbouring Finland.

The A-Teens released a version on their debut album The ABBA Generation in 1999.

As an attempt to promote the A-Teens a bit more, Universal Music Group released a one-track promo single of "One of Us" on radio in late 1999. The song was promoted in Scandinavia, Mexico, Chile, Argentina and Japan.

A special music video was filmed for a TV special in Sweden. It was not used as an official video. It shows parts of shows in Sweden and behind-the-scenes footage of the band having fun, waiting in a room at Stockholm Records' building.

"One of Us" was released on 13 July 2018, alongside the soundtrack of Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again, by Capitol and Polydor Records. The song is performed by Amanda Seyfried (Sophie) and Dominic Cooper (Sky) and it was produced by Benny Andersson.

"One of Us"
Single by Cher
from the album Dancing Queen
Released	21 September 2018
Recorded	2018
Genre	Pop
Length	3:53
Label	Warner Bros.
Songwriter(s)	Benny Andersson Björn Ulvaeus
Producer(s)	Mark Taylor
Cher singles chronology
"SOS" (2018) "One of Us" (2018) "Chiquitita" (2020)
Music video
"One of Us" on YouTube

"One of Us" was chosen as the third single from Cher's 2018 ABBA tribute album Dancing Queen, released by Warner Bros. Records on 28 September 2018.[33] The track was digitally released on 21 September 2018, at each country's individual midnight time.

• In 1982 schlager singer Marianne Rosenberg recorded the song, with lyrics in German, as "Ich sah deine Tränen" ("I saw your tears"). This version peaked at No. 66 on the singles chart in the former West Germany that year.
• In 1989 Véronique Béliveau covered it on her album Veronique.
• In 1993 French pianist Richard Clayderman recorded an instrumental version, together with 14 other ABBA songs, for his album Richard Clayderman Plays ABBA.
• In 1996 British singer Hazell Dean recorded a cover of this song for her tribute album The Winner Takes It All: Hazell Dean Sings ABBA.
• In 1997 the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus recorded a cover of the song for their album ExtrABBAganza!.
• In 1998 German Dune recorded a slow, orchestral version of the song for their album Forever and Ever with The London Session Orchestra. Their version featured singer Tina Lacebal on vocals.
• In 1999 a version by British pop duo Go West was included on the album ABBA: A Tribute – The 25th Anniversary Celebration.
• In 2001 the compilation ABBAMetal (also released as A Tribute to ABBA) featured a rendition by German gothic metal band Flowing Tears.
• In 2001 Spanish singer-songwriter Javier Álvarez included an English language rendition of the song on his album Grandes éxitos.
• In 2001 a dance cover of the song by Donna Burke was included on the Japanese import ABBA Ibiza Caliente Mix compilation.
• In 2002 Da Buzz, a Swedish eurodance/pop group, included a cover of the song as a bonus track on the Japanese edition of their album Wanna Be With Me. Their version slightly reworks the melody of the song, but keeps the original lyrics intact.
• In 2004 the German ABBA Mania album included a cover of the song by pop group US5.
• In 2006 a cover of the song by Finnish a cappella choral ensemble Rajaton was released on their ABBA tribute album Rajaton Sings ABBA With Lahti Symphony Orchestra.
• In 2007 Pandora released a remixed version, credited to United DJ's vs. Pandora. It was included on her album Celebration. (2007)
• In 2008 Scottish singer Julienne Taylor covered it on her album Time For Love.
• The song is performed in the stage musical Mamma Mia! by the character Donna. It was one of the songs omitted from the 2008 film adaptation, as well as from its soundtrack, but was included in Mamma Mia! Here We Go Again.
• In 2013 Tommy Johansson of ReinXeed and later Sabaton recorded a metal version for the album Swedish Hitz Goes Metal Vol. 2.

• The song appears in Guardians of the Galaxy: The Telltale Series.
• "One of Us" serves as the theme song for Time Crisis with Ezra Koenig, a radio show that airs on Beats 1.

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics