The ABBA Generation — Left to Right: Sara Lumholdt, Marie Serneholt, Amit Paul, and Dhani Lennevald.
Formed in 1998 by Niklas Berg, the Swedish pop group A-Teens (sometimes stylized as A*Teens) began as an ABBA cover group for the the Teen Pop Revival of the Turn of the Millennium. Like ABBA, the band consisted of two males, Amit and Dhani, and two females, Marie and Sara.
The cover group gimmick only lasted one album, The ABBA Generation. Their follow-up, Teen Spirit, saw the group doing exclusively original material and scored the group's biggest hit, "Bouncing Off The Ceiling (Upside Down)." The group released one more album, Pop 'Till You Drop, in 2002 before disbanding in 2004.
Band members:
- Marie Eleonor Serneholt: The oldest in the group, born on 11 July, 1983. After the band, she had some success with her solo album, Enjoy the Ride. She has taken part in a variety of TV shows, including for appearances on Melodifestivalen, the Swedish version of The X Factor, and most recently the lottery game show, Bingolotto.
- Amit Sebastian Paul: The older of the two males, born 29 October, 1983. He was born to an Indian father and a Swedish mother. He has been relatively laying low since the band's days, mainly producing indie music.
- John Dhani Lennevald: The tallest of the group, was born on 24 July, 1984. Dhani has also been keeping a low profile since the band's days, he's mainly now a music producer.
- Sara Helena Lumholdt: The youngest and smallest of two females, was born on 25 October, 1984. She was born to a Swedish father and a half-Turkish, half-Filipino mother. When it comes to as far as music, she's been keeping a low profile about it although her song, "First," has been released on iTunes. Apart from music, she has appeared on many programs as well, like co-hosting the after show for The X Factor and became a pole dance instructor.
Discography:
- The ABBA Generation (1999)
- Teen Spirit (2001)
- Pop 'til You Drop! (2002)
- New Arrival (2003)
- Greatest Hits (2004)
Tropes based on their work:
- Artifact Title: As mentioned above, the A in A-Teens initially stood for ABBA when the group was an ABBA tribute act, but the A-Teens never covered any more of their songs after that first album.
- Break-Up Song: "Heartbreak Lullaby."
- Cover Version: In addition to all of the ABBA covers in The ABBA Generation, there was...
- "Morning Light" (E-Type).
- "One Night in Bangkok" (Murray Head. While not technically an ABBA cover, it was from a musical co-written by Bjorn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson).
- "I Promised Myself" (Nick Kamen).
- "Can't Help Falling In Love" (Elvis Presley, for the Lilo & Stitch soundtrack).
- "School's Out", which even featured Alice Cooper on backup vocals.
- Darker and Edgier: Their "Gimme! Gimme! Gimme! (A Man After Midnight)
video. - Gender-Equal Ensemble; Much like the group they were based on, it was a foursome that consisted of two men and two women.
- Nonindicative Name: Their first album, The ABBA Generation, was specifically made for a generation who'd never even heard of ABBA, and none of the A-Teens themselves were even born when ABBA was together.
- Only Known by Their Nickname: During the tenure, Dhani was rarely called by his real name, John, by anyone including his bandmates and anyone interviewing them. He was often called by his middle name.
- Spinoff Babies: What the group was original conceived as, a tribute act who performed ABBA covers with a 2000s teen pop shtick, but the gimmick only lasted one album.
- Shout-Out: There had been a few, other than ABBA covers:
- Their video remake of "Dancing Queen" spoofs The Breakfast Club, observe.
- "A Perfect Match" mentions South Park.
- A KISS poster appears in the teenage boy's bedroom in "Super Trouper."
- Their video remake of "Dancing Queen" spoofs The Breakfast Club, observe.
- Working-Class Hero: In their video remake of "Mamma Mia," they are seen as waiters, that is, until they summon a party.
- Up, Up and Away!: Sara, at least in this video, she does!
