"Dancing Queen" is a song by the Swedish group ABBA, released as the lead single from their fourth studio album, Arrival (1976).

[5][6] As disco music dominated the US charts, the group decided to follow the trend, replicating Phil Spector's Wall of Sound arrangements.

During the sessions, Benny Andersson brought a tape home with the backing track on it and played it to Anni-Frid Lyngstad, who apparently started crying when listening.

[10] The band (especially Andersson) wanted to release "Dancing Queen" as the follow-up single to "Mamma Mia" but their manager, Stig Anderson, insisted that the more sedate and folksy "Fernando" should be first,[2] as he felt it would appeal to a broader audience and so was more likely to be a hit.

[11] Therefore, whilst "Dancing Queen" premiered on both German and Japanese television during the spring of 1976, the song did not appear on vinyl until later that summer, having had its first live and domestic performance on 18 June 1976 during an all-star gala staged by Kjerstin Dellert at the Royal Swedish Opera[12] (and shown on Swedish TV) in honour of King Carl XVI Gustaf and his bride-to-be, Silvia Sommerlath, who were married the next day.

The track was retitled "La Reina Del Baile" when included on the compilation album ABBA Oro: Grandes Éxitos in the 1990s.

Frida contacted the Real Group and together they did an a cappella version of the song on stage at the Royal Opera House in Stockholm, in front of the king and queen.

The Swedish prime minister at the time, Ingvar Carlsson, was also in the audience that night and said it was an ingenious idea to perform "Dancing Queen" a cappella.

[13] For the soundtrack of the 1994 Australian film Muriel's Wedding, songwriters Ulvaeus and Andersson allowed the use of "Dancing Queen" and other ABBA hits.

According to Donald A. Guarisco of AllMusic, the track's "sincerity and sheer musicality have allowed it to outlast the disco boom and become a standard of dance-pop.

"[7] The song's release also cemented ABBA as an international act and signified the beginning of the group's 'classic period', which would span the following four years.

[3] It has become a standard for dance divas like Carol Douglas and Kylie Minogue,[7] and it has been covered numerous times by acts including Ireland's U2.

[16][17] Billboard found the theme of a person's greatest experience coming at a disco age 17 to be more substantive than most ABBA songs, and compared the vocal harmonies to the Mamas and the Papas.

[18] Cash Box said that the song is "backed by a strong upbeat, in keeping with the title" and "the hooks brought by lush vocal harmonies, as well as the reverb-soaked wall of sound that distinguishes this group, are present.

[26] In the UK Singles Chart, "Dancing Queen" was the last of three consecutive chart-toppers for ABBA in 1976, following "Mamma Mia" and "Fernando" earlier in the year.

On 5 December 2010, Britain's ITV broadcast the results of a poll to determine "The Nation's Favourite ABBA Song" in which "Dancing Queen" placed at No. 2.

[38] Former US presidential candidate John McCain named "Dancing Queen" as his favourite song in a top-10 list submitted to Blender magazine in August 2008.

[39] In August 2012, listeners to the 1970s-themed UK radio station "Smooth 70s" voted "Dancing Queen" as their favourite hit of the decade.

[40] In October 2014, the musical instrument insurer Musicguard carried out a survey determining "Dancing Queen" to be the United Kingdom's favourite "floorfiller".

[44] In September 2016, The Guardian ran an article by Tim Jonze entitled "Why Abba's Dancing Queen is the best pop song ever".

Jonze writes: "Dancing Queen is beautifully produced: catchy and euphoric, the perfect backdrop for a song that encapsulates the carefree bliss of youth".

Several artists are cited as being influenced by the song, including Elvis Costello ("Oliver's Army"), MGMT ("Time to Pretend") and Chris Stein of Blondie ("Dreaming").

In 1999, British pop group S Club 7 recorded a version of the song for the one-off ITV programme ABBAmania, and the tribute album of the same name.

The song is performed by Pierce Brosnan, Christine Baranski, Julie Walters, Colin Firth, Stellan Skarsgård, Dominic Cooper and Amanda Seyfried; it was produced by Benny Andersson.