A Song for You

Chapter 1

Summer 2012
Stockholm, Sweden
Agnetha's POV

*BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!*

It was 7:00 am and it was time for me to wake up. I groaned as I turned off my alarm clock and got up to get ready for today. I got up and got ready for the day. Well, not necessarily. I typically like to take my morning walks around the woods here in Ekerö. It's a habit that I've done for many years and it's one of my favorite hobbies. I put on my hiking gear along with my boots before grabbing the two leashes hanging by the door. Bella and Bruno, my two dogs, immediately took notice of me grabbing their leashes and they excitedly ran towards me looking all happy and excited that I was going to take them out for a walk.

I attached their leashes onto their collars and soon enough, Bella, Bruno, and I began taking a walk around the woods surrounding Ekerö. I love living here. It's always given me the privacy that I have always craved. But then again, for me, privacy is a double sided word. While I'm happy and grateful for the years of privacy that I had, at the same time, it had it's problems. Mainly that I was a recluse and that I was turning into Greta Garbo with the lifestyle that I was living and still live in to some extent. And it's not always like that. I always go out every once in a while but I'm also a huge family person and I really value the time I spend with my children and grandchildren.

After a nice 45 minute walk around the woods, I came inside and fed the dogs before taking a shower and changing into my regular clothes before joining my daughter, Linda, and her family for breakfast. Today was just a typical day at the studio where I've been recording songs for a new album I've been working on. It was something totally unexpected but these two guys came to my house after having contacted me through a mutual friend that we have and wanted to meet me and play me a few songs that they had written specifically for me.

Since I didn't want to close any doors when it comes to any new opportunities, I agreed to let Jörgen Elofsson and Peter Nordahl, the two guys who had written the songs for me, come visit me here in Ekerö and play me some of the songs that they had written up for me. When I listened to the songs for the very first time, I just felt the need to do this album. I simply couldn't resist, I just had to do it. And of course, making a new album means going out and doing lots of promotions and Linda was sure to remind me of all that but I couldn't care less. I already knew all the risks ahead of me and I was ready to face the public again after years and years of being in "hiding," as the press would say.

Of course, when we first started recording the album, there were a few problems at first. I hadn't sung professionally since My Colouring Book, which was my last album came out and that was 8 years ago. Not to mention that up until now, I was absolutely sure that was going to be my last album. I was 54 back then and now I'm 62 and here I am recording a new album and because of all that, I was 100% sure I sounded too old once I got into the recording booth and began singing again. I thought my voice sounded a bit rusty and luckily, Jörgen and Peter agreed, so I ended up taking up some singing lessons just to remind me of the types of breathing exercises I had to do in order to be able to sing professionally again.

I know that sounds so ridiculous especially since I've been a famous singer since I was 15 years old but this is what happens when you get older and you haven't been singing professionally in a while. It was necessary, but luckily, things are ok now and I have no problems. And even though my voice, has clearly aged just like I have physically and emotionally, it still sounds beautiful even if I can no longer hit any high notes, which was something that Björn and Benny would often push me to do during the ABBA years.

And if you are wondering who Björn and Benny are, they were two of my bandmates in ABBA. The two guys and the two B's. More specifically, Björn was also my ex husband and the father of my two children. Benny, on the other hand, was married to my beautiful friend, Anni-Frid Lyngstad, or Frida for short. Together, Frida and I were the two girls and the two A's. And the four of us together were ABBA, an acronym of our first names and one of the most successful pop groups in music history.