This is Debbie Sims' first single off from the 1998 tribute album, "Songs of Andersson & Ulvaeus", which is a tribute to the Swedish pop music quartet ABBA.


NOTE: PROBLEM: The original song, “Super Trouper” by ABBA contains no strings, no horns, no bongos, no congas, no American percussion playing, no bass drum pounding, nor handclaps since the disco backlash started in late 1980, but too many synthesizers that made their original sound too euro-pop, too plain, too ordinary, too Schlager, too Swedish pop with not enough American disco rhythms or not enough American roots when they don’t pronounce the “z” sound, but pronounce the “s” sound just because the members from ABBA, named, Frida Lyngstad, Agnetha Faltskog, Benny Andersson and Bjorn Ulvaeus are Swedish. Also, in this original song by ABBA, during the first half of the chorus for the third time, there were no drums playing nor the pulsating beat of the bass drum playing that made it too plain; instead it had nothing.


SOLUTION: Debbie Sims’ American disco remake of this song where she pronounces the “z” sound with an American accent due to her American roots instead of a Swedish accent, produced by American disco producer Ed O’Loughlin, has a lot more American disco rhythms that make this song as a dance floor song, where you hear the bass drum pounding in the first half of the chorus for the third time to get your foot tapping to the beat of this song, which makes most everybody want to dance to the disco beat and clap their hands at Studio 54 discotheque than ABBA’s original from 1980.

Here's the story behind the song:


“Super Trouper” was a hit single for Swedish pop group ABBA, and was the title track from their 1980 studio album Super Trouper, written by Benny Andersson and Björn Ulvaeus. The song, with lead vocals by Anni-Frid Lyngstad, was the last to be written and recorded for this album. “Super Trouper” is included on the Gold: Greatest Hits compilation, as well as in the Mamma Mia! musical.
The name “Super Trouper” referred to the spotlights used in stadium concerts.

Music video

In October 1980, the music video for “Super Trouper” used the largest number of artists that ABBA have ever used in a music video. The spotlight featured throughout the music video is, in fact, a CCT Silhouette follow spot, as opposed to a real Super Trouper. The city of Glasgow mentioned in the lyric was suggested by Howard Huntridge who worked with their then-UK publishers Bocu Music. The music video was directed by Lasse Hallström.

Reception

“Super Trouper” was a successful single for ABBA. It topped the charts in Belgium, West Germany, the UK (their ninth and final No. 1 in the UK Singles Chart), Republic of Ireland and the Netherlands. It reached the Top 5 in Austria, France, Norway, Switzerland and Mexico, while peaking in the Top 10 in Finland and Spain. In the United States, where ABBA never quite managed to achieve the same sort of popularity experienced elsewhere, the single reached No. 45. However, combined with “Lay All Your Love on Me” and “On and On and On”, it topped the US Hot Dance Club Play chart.

“Super Trouper” was A-Teens' second single from their 1st album The ABBA Generation, a cover of ABBA’s song. When the single came out in the fall of 1999, it became a hit around the globe, just as its predecessor “Mamma Mia”, also an ABBA cover. “Super Trouper” debuted at No. 2 in Sweden and was later certified platinum .
It also became their only Top 5 hit in Germany peaking at #4. The single also reached No. 21 in the United Kingdom, No. 18 in Switzerland, No. 15 in Norway, No. 11 in Austria and No. 12 in Netherlands.

Music video

The music video was directed by Sebastian Reed and was filmed in Sweden. The video shows a girl so obsessed with the band that she owns posters, magazines, mugs, clothing, and even a key chain. She also copies the band’s choreography that is shown on TV. Some of the articles that feature pictures of the band come to life in the video.
In the first few seconds of the video, before the actual song starts, Mamma Mia can be faintly heard in the background.
The video was a hit in most TV stations charting inside the Top 10 countdowns in late 1999 and early 2000.

American alto pop singer Debbie Sims covered this song from her 1998 album, “Songs of Andersson & Ulvaeus”, produced by disco producer Ed O'Loughlin (who produced for American girl-group disco/soul singer Carol Douglas) in an American disco style with a lot of rhythmic, percussive disco beats that sound like “Do You Love What You Feel” by R&B star Chaka Kahn and her band Rufus.