A-Teens
A*Teens (or A-Teens) is a pop music group from Stockholm, Sweden, formed in 1998 as ABBA Teens and later renamed to A*Teens. The four Swedish-born members of this group have sold over 8 million albums and 1.5 million singles worldwide. The band's members are:
- Marie Eleonor Serneholt, born Monday July 11, 1983 in Stockholm.
- Amit Sebastian Paul, born Saturday October 29, 1983 in Boden.
- John Dhani Lennevald, born Tuesday July 24, 1984 in Stockholm.
- Sara Helena Lumholdt, born Thursday October 25, 1984 in Solna.
Formation and Name Change
In 1998, Marie, Amit, John, and Sara were musically united as the ABBA Teens. However, upon the request of Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson of the legendary Swedish group ABBA, the group's name was changed to the A*Teens to avoid confusion. This choice allowed the band more freedom in creating their own style of music and not be solely based around ABBA.
The ABBA Generation
In 1999, the A*Teens released their first album ABBA Generation consisting purely of ABBA covers reinterpreted with a modern pop and techno flair to appeal to a new generation of young pop fans. The debut album hit #1 on Swedish charts and enjoyed international success, selling 110,00 copies in Chile and peaking at #71 on the United States' Billboard 200. During that year, the A-Teens toured some with *NSYNC and Britney Spears. After they released their second album, Teen Spirit, a year later, they toured in the United States with Aaron Carter.
Building and Honing the A*Teens' Sound
The A*Teens' sophomore album, entitled Teen Spirit, featured a compilation of tracks that were not ABBA covers and showcased the group's maturing, unique pop sound. This disc sold three million copies worldwide when it was released in 2001, peaking at #50 on the United States Billboard 200. The group promoted their album with a United States tour also featuring Aaron Carter.
Amit, Sara, Marie, and John then released a third album, Pop Til You Drop, exclusively in the United States in 2002. In 2003, the European and Asian version of the album, entitled New Arrival (a throwback the ABBA album entitled Arrival), was released. Some of the material on these two albums was co-written by the members of the A*Teens. The majority of tracks, while recorded in Sweden, were the work of producers from the United States, Norway, Denmark. and Sweden. To promote the albums, the group headlined their own tour in 2002 with Play, LMNT and Jump5.
Pop Til' You Drop peaked at #45 on the Billboard 200 in the United States. Together with New Arrival, the A*Teens had sold over 1.6 million albums in 2002 and 2003.
Greatest Hits
The A*Teens' fourth album Greatest Hits, was released in Europe in 2004 and in the United States in 2005. Though this album is a greatest hits compilation, a few new songs are included, such as a cover of Nick Kamen's single I Promised Myself. The album sold 500,000 copies worldwide. After the release of this album, the members of the band decided to pursue solo interests for awhile, though they left open the possibility of an eventual reunion.
Solo Efforts
In late 2004, (John) Dhani Lennevald released his first single as a solo artist titled Girl Talk.
Discography
Albums
- 2000 ABBA Generation - #71 US, WW: 4 million copies
- 2001 Teen Spirit - #50 US, WW: 3 million copies
- 2002 Pop 'Til You Drop - #45 US, WW: 800,000 copies
- 2003 New Arrival (European/Asian version of Pop 'Til You Drop)
- 2004 Greatest Hits, WW: 500,000 Copies
Singles
| Year | Title | Chart Positions | Album | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| US Hot 100 Chart | UK Singles Chart | Radio Disney Airplay Chart | |||
| 1999 | Mamma Mia | - | #12 | #2 | ABBA Generation |
| 1999 | Super Trouper | - | #21 | - | ABBA Generation |
| 2000 | Dancing Queen | #93 | - | #1 | ABBA Generation |
| 2001 | Bouncing Off The Ceiling (Upside Down) | #95 | #10 | #3 | Teen Spirit |
| 2001 | Halfway Around The World | - | #30 | #28 | Teen Spirit |
| 2001 | Sugar Rush | - | - | - | Teen Spirit |
| 2002 | Can't Help Falling In Love | - | - | #1 | Pop 'Til You Drop |
| 2003 | Heartbreak Lullaby | - | - | - | New Arrival |
| 2003 | A Perfect Match | - | - | - | New Arrival |
| 2003 | Floorfiller | - | - | - | New Arrival |
| 2004 | I Promised Myself | - | - | - | Greatest Hits |
Other Compilations
- 2000 Cool Generation ("Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)")
- 2001 Hits For Kids ("Mamma Mia")
- 2002 DisneyMania ("Under the Sea" from The Little Mermaid)
- 2004 Radio hits 2004 ("I Promised Myself")
- 2004 Radio Disney: Ultimate James ("Can't Help Falling in Love")
- 2005 Girlz Rock {"Can't Help Falling in Love")
Videography
Music Videos
- "Mamma Mia"
- "Super Trouper"
- "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (a man after midnight)"
- "Dancing Queen"
- "Upside Down"
- "Halfway Around the World"
- "Sugar Rush"
- "Heartbreak Lullaby"
- "Can't Help Falling In Love"
- "Floorfiller"
- "A Perfect Match"
- "I Promised Myself"
DVD Releases
- Upside Down (DVD single)
- The DVD Collection
- Floorfiller (DVD single)
Trivia
- The A*Teens' music video for the ABBA cover "Dancing Queen" features a plot very similar to the 1985 John Hughes film The Breakfast Club. In addition, the principal seen in the music video was played by Paul Gleason, the same actor who was the principal in the movie.
- Much like ABBA, the main vocalists of the A*Teens initally were the two female members of the band, Sara and Marie, while the two male members of the band, Amit and John, generally danced in the background. However, as the A*Teens moved away from covering ABBA songs, all four members could be heard singing on the group's albums.
- The group's sophomore album Teen Spirit was re-released with three bonus tracks, which can also be heard on the DVD collection.
- Fan fiction involving the four members of the band is fairly popular among fans of the A*Teens. In fact, a section of the group's official discussion board contains a forum dedicated to these fan-created stories. Bolstered by this encouragement, many A*Teens fans write fan fiction, which is comprised primarily of self-insertion and shippers dealing with favorite band members (with such pairings as Dhani/Sara [DS] and Amit/Marie [AM]).
- Many A*Teens fans declared that March 7, 2005 would be celebrated (unofficially) as A*Teens Day.