How ABBA's 'Angeleyes' has become the ultimate nostalgia song on TikTok

15 July 2022, 15:12

ABBA are a hit on TikTok. Picture: ABBA/Alamy/TikTok

By Tom Eames

"Sometimes when I'm lonely, I sit and think about him" - the immortal lyrics of ABBA's 'Angeleyes', which has become a popular TikTok trend in recent months.

Kate Bush has returned to the top of the charts thanks to her song 'Running Up That Hill' becoming a social media monster after its use on Stranger Things.

But she isn't the only veteran star having a renaissance online, as ABBA's 'Angeleyes' has become an unexpected hit on TikTok in recent months.

Their 1979 track has become the ultimate nostalgia song for people sharing memories about subjects ranging from deceased TV characters, retired football managers and embarrassing moments from their own past.

TikTokkers have been using the sound of a sped-up version of 'Angeleyes' by ABBA, to reminisce about various things they loved from the past.

How did this happen?

In late April 2022, @_theaea posted this TikTok using the sped-up audio for the first time:

The video received over 90,000 views, with the audio being used hundreds of thousands of times since.

People are now using the sound to accompany TikTok videos about missing someone or something and/or being lonely.

Some of these will be totally genuine feelings of sad nostalgia, while some are rather tongue-in-cheek.

Here are a few examples:

'Angeleyes' was written and recorded in 1978 by ABBA, and appears on their sixth studio album, Voulez-Vous.

It was released as a double A-side single in July 1979, with the lyrics and music composed by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus.

It became one of ABBA's most popular tracks in the UK, reaching number 3 in the UK.

In 2018, it was performed in the film Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again! by cast members Julie Walters (Rosie), Christine Baranski (Tanya) and Amanda Seyfried (Sophie), and it was produced by Benny.

Going full circle, ABBA's own official TikTok account participated in the trend, with a video of Björn and his platform boots set to the song: