Nordic popular music

Nordic popular music biggest bands are ABBA, a-ha and Aqua. The 3 bands are by far the biggest non-metal acts to come out of Sweden, Norway and Denmark, respectively. The popular music of the Nordic countries exhibits great diversity. Sweden and Finland have possibly the largest music industries in the area, especially Sweden which is ranked third internationally in music production.^{[citation needed]} Norway, Iceland and Denmark have all had successful domestic record industries for many years. Because the Baltic countries of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania were under Soviet control for much of the 20th century, when recording technology and popular music spread across the world, those three countries have a more tenuous connection with the popular industries of Finland, Sweden and the rest. However, since the fall of the Soviet Union, Western popular music in general has gained audiences in the Baltic states; this includes popular music from the other Nordic nations, as well as the United Kingdom, United States and elsewhere.

The Nordic metal scene is highly visible compared to other genres from the region. Many big names such as Opeth, Meshuggah, Children of Bodom and Amon Amarth hail from Nordic nations. Nordic or Scandinavian metal bands have had a long and lasting influence on the metal subculture alongside their counterparts in Great Britain and The United States.

Nordic number-one hits on the Billboard Hot 100

Year	Artist	Song
1974	Blue Swede	Hooked on a Feeling
1977	ABBA	Dancing Queen
1985	A-ha	Take on Me
1989	Roxette	The Look
1989	Roxette	Listen to Your Heart
1990	Roxette	It Must Have Been Love
1991	Roxette	Joyride
1994	Ace of Base	The Sign

Nordic number-one singles in the UK

Year	Artist	Song
1974	ABBA	Waterloo
1976	ABBA	Mamma Mia
1976	ABBA	Fernando
1976	ABBA	Dancing Queen
1977	ABBA	Knowing Me, Knowing You
1977	ABBA	The Name of the Game
1978	ABBA	Take a Chance on Me
1980	ABBA	The Winner Takes It All
1980	ABBA	Super Trouper
1986	A-Ha	The Sun Always Shines on TV
1986	Europe	The Final Countdown
1993	Ace of Base	All That She Wants
1994	Whigfield	Saturday Night
1995	Rednex	Cotton Eye Joe
1995	Cher, Chrissie Hynde & Neneh Cherry with Eric Clapton	Love Can Build a Bridge
1997	Aqua	Barbie Girl
1998	Aqua	Doctor Jones
1998	Aqua	Turn Back Time
2000	A1	Take on Me
2000	A1	Same Old Brand New You
2004	Eric Prydz	Call On Me
2005	Crazy Frog	Axel F
2007	Robyn with Kleerup	With Every Heartbeat
2008	Basshunter	Now You're Gone

Further reading

• White, John David and JeanChristensen (eds.) (2002). New Music of the Nordic Countries. Pendragon Press. ISBN 1-57647-019-9.