# One of Us (ABBA song)

"One of Us" is a song by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in December 1981 by Polar Music as the lead single from the band's eighth studio album, The Visitors (1981). Written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus, who also produced it, the song has lead vocals by Agnetha Fältskog and is about a woman trying to revive a relationship she had ended. It would become ABBA's last major hit for 40 years, and the last No. 1 single of their career, topping the charts in Belgium, Denmark, West Germany, Ireland and the Netherlands. "One of Us" was also a Top 10 hit in countries like Austria, Norway, South Africa, Spain, Switzerland and the UK.
"One of Us" wasn't released as a single in North America until 1983, to promote the 1982 compilation "The Singles". In the US, it only charted on the Billboard Bubbling Under the Hot 100 chart and the Adult Contemporary chart, peaking at number 107 and 33, respectively. In the US, the first single from The Visitors album was instead "When All Is Said and Done".
The music video for the song was directed by Lasse Hallström, featuring Fältskog as a woman moving into her new house. It has since been covered by Pandora in 1995, A-Teens in 1999 and Cher in 2018. In 2017, Billboard named "One of Us" the fifth best ABBA song in their list of "The 15 Best ABBA Songs".

## Background and release

"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 favoured 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).

## Critical reception

American magazine Cash Box reviewed the single, saying that "a strong but subtle orchestration provides the backdrop for Agnetha Faltskog’s vocals, with a cadre of mandolins adding a romantic flourish". In 2017, Billboard named "One of Us" the fifth best ABBA song in their list of "The 15 Best ABBA Songs", writing, "The single marked a darker shift in the group's later material, while blending uplifting harmonies on the heartbreaking chorus ("One of us is crying / One of us is only / Waiting for a call… / Wishing she had never left at all") to encapsulate the emotional depth baked into the group's history that makes them sound so good."

## Commercial performance

"One of Us" was the first official single release after both couples within the band had divorced. It would become ABBA's last major hit for 40 years, and the last No. 1 single of their career. It topped the charts in Belgium, Denmark, West Germany, Ireland 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, 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 6 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, "One of Us" would mark ABBA's final appearance in the UK Top 10 for 39 years. It was awarded a gold disc for sales of 500,000 in the UK. As of September 2021, it is ABBA's 15th-biggest song in the UK, including both pure sales and digital streams.
"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, though this came more than a year after its release elsewhere and ABBA had disbanded by that time.

## Music video

In November 1981, a music video for "One of Us" was filmed, directed by Swedish film director Lasse Hallström. It sees Agnetha Fältskog playing a woman who is moving into a new house. She decorates the room by adding furniture and colouring the walls. This is interspersed with individual shots of the ABBA members in a studio standing against a wall of mirrors.
A lyric video featuring excerpts and clips from its 1981 music video was released on ABBA's YouTube channel on 27 April 2023.

## Personnel

ABBA
* Agnetha Fältskog – lead vocals
* Anni-Frid Lyngstad – backing vocals
* Björn Ulvaeus – guitar, mandolin, backing vocals
* Benny Andersson – keyboards, synthesizer, backing vocals
Additional personnel
* Lasse Wellander – guitar, mandolin
* Rutger Gunnarsson – bass, mandolin
* Ola Brunkert – drums
* Åke Sundqvist – percussion

## Pandora's version

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, and reached the top spot in Finland.