Reception
After the big success for Frida with her Swedish version of this song, the group decided to record an English version. This was a wise step, as "Fernando" became one of ABBA's best-selling singles, with more than 10 million copies sold worldwide and topping the charts in at least 13 countries: Australia, Austria, Belgium, France, West Germany, the United Kingdom, Hungary, Ireland, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, South Africa, and Switzerland. In Australia "Fernando" stayed at number 1 for 14 weeks and spent 40 weeks in the charts, making "Fernando" one of the best selling singles of all time in Australia. In fact, it still holds the record for the single spending most weeks at number 1 (along with The Beatles' "Hey Jude"). "Fernando" also reached the Top 3 in Canada, Finland, Norway, Spain, Sweden and Rhodesia. Lyngstad's version stayed at number 1 on the Swedish radio charts for 9 weeks. It was also released as a single in Norway, where it did not chart.
"Fernando" peaked at number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart in the United States, making it, at the time, ABBA's highest-charting American single after "Waterloo". However, "Fernando" did peak at number 1 on the Billboard Adult Contemporary, the first of two number ones for ABBA on the chart (the 2nd being "The Winner Takes It All"). The song remains an airplay staple on American radio stations specializing in the MOR, adult standards and easy listening formats.
"Fernando" was the second of three consecutive UK number 1 singles for ABBA, after "Mamma Mia" and before "Dancing Queen".
The song was also chosen as the Best Studio Recording of 1975, ABBA's first international prize.
Read more about this topic: Fernando (song)
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