: The song reached No. 1 in the UK, Belgium, Ireland, the Netherlands, and South Africa.
: Agnetha Fältskog recorded the vocals in the dark to capture the raw vulnerability of the lyrics. Despite the painful subject matter, she has called it her favorite ABBA song . Chart Performance & Legacy ABBA - The Winner Takes It All (1980)
: It is frequently voted as Britain's favorite breakup song and gained renewed fame through the Mamma Mia! musical and films, where it was memorably performed by Meryl Streep . : The song reached No
: Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson wrote the song in a summer cabin on the island of Viggsö. It began as an up-tempo track titled "The Story of My Life" before they settled on a slower, French chanson-style arrangement featuring a descending piano motif . Despite the painful subject matter, she has called
: It was ABBA's last Top 10 hit in the United States, peaking at No. 8 on the Billboard Hot 100.
"The Winner Takes It All" is ABBA's definitive heartbreak ballad, released in July 1980 as the lead single from their album Super Trouper . While Björn Ulvaeus has stated the lyrics are a fictionalized portrayal of divorce, they were written in the wake of his own separation from lead vocalist Agnetha Fältskog, who recorded her legendary performance just ten days after their divorce was officially finalized.