Chiquitita

"Chiquitita" (a Spanish term of endearment for a woman meaning "little one") is a song recorded by Swedish pop group ABBA. It was released in January 1979 as the first single from the group's sixth album, '' Voulez-Vous'' (1979). Agnetha Fältskog performs the lead vocals. Originally, the track "If It Wasn't for the Nights" was going to be the album's lead single, but after "Chiquitita" was completed those plans were abandoned, and it would remain an album track.

Background and release

Many preliminary versions of "Chiquitita" exist. It had working titles of "Kålsupare", "3 Wise Guys", "Chiquitita Angelina" and "In The Arms of Rosalita". A revised version, which had a sound that was influenced by the Peruvian song "El Condor Pasa (If I Could)" performed by Simon and Garfunkel, was recorded in December 1978 and released as a single in January 1979.

With the success of the English version, ABBA also recorded "Chiquitita" in Spanish and it was one of the featured tracks on the Spanish-language release ''Gracias Por La Música''.

Reception

"Chiquitita" proved to be one of ABBA's biggest hits. It was featured in a 1979 UNICEF charity event, the ''Music for UNICEF Concert'', broadcast worldwide from the United Nations General Assembly. As a direct result of this event, ABBA donated half of all royalties from the song to UNICEF. "Chiquitita" hit No. 1 in Belgium, Finland, Ireland, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Spain, Switzerland, Mexico, South Africa and Rhodesia, and was a Top 5 hit in ABBA's native Sweden, the United Kingdom (peaking at No. 2 in both countries where Blondie's " Heart of Glass" was occupying the top spot), Australia, West Germany and Norway, making it the most successful single from the ''Voulez-Vous'' album in terms of global charts and one of the most famous charity songs ever. To this day, 50% of the proceeds from the song go to UNICEF in recognition of the "International Year of the Child" in 1979. In 2014, all ABBA members agreed on donating 100% of the royalties from the song to UNICEF. As of 2021, the song's royalties have raised $4.8 million for the charity.

In the United Kingdom, "Chiquitita" debuted at No. 8 in the singles chart, making it the highest place début for any ABBA single release.

In Argentina, sales figures up to the end of July 1979 on the single show 500,000 in the Spanish edition, and 25,000 in the original English language format.

''Cash Box'' said that it has "a bouncy tune" and "soaring harmonies."

As of September 2021, it is ABBA's ninth-biggest song in the UK including both pure sales and digital streams.

Music video

"Chiquitita" was one of the very few singles ABBA released without a custom-made video. Since then, on compilations of the group's videos, a contemporary TV performance of the song has been used, recorded in mid-February 1979, a month after the single's release. This clip was taped by the BBC
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