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ABBA is getting back together, but only as holograms

If you’ve been dying to see ABBA perform “Dancing Queen” live, you’re sort of in luck.

The four-person Swedish pop sensation disbanded nearly 35 years ago, though its popularity has kept going strong. And while a full-on reunion tour isn’t apparently in the cards, something along those lines apparently is -- and it involves virtual reality.

An “artificial intelligence” version of ABBA will hit the road at some point in the future, the group announced on its Facebook page. While details of the new venture are still being kept vague, the producers promise they “will utilize the very latest in digital and virtual reality technology” to “create an original entertainment experience with the Swedish Pop Superstars, which will enable a new generation of fans to see, hear, and feel ABBA in a way previously unimagined.”

“American Idol” co-creator Simon Fuller is behind the project, explaining that his company “has been quietly investing in virtual reality technologies, developing hyper-realistic digital humans in the field of entertainment, for several years,” and this ABBA collaboration will be culmination of that development. 

“We are exploring a new technological world, with Virtual Reality and Artificial Intelligence at the forefront, that will allow us to create new forms of entertainment and content we couldn’t have previously imagined,” Fuller said.

The four members of ABBA -- Agnetha Fältskog, Björn Ulvaeus, Benny Andersson and Anni-Frid Lyngstad -- are all onboard with the venture.  

“We’re inspired by the limitless possibilities of what the future holds and are loving being a part of creating something new and dramatic here,” Andersson said. “A time machine that captures the essence of who we were. And are.”

DIGITAL ABBA (Stockholm and Los Angeles 26.10.2016) Nearly 35 years after their last public performance together, the...

Posted by ABBA on Wednesday, October 26, 2016
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