thumb|Den svenske sangeren og låtskriveren Agnetha Fältskog under [[ABBA-konserten i Ekeberghallen i Oslo 28. januar 1977. Foto: Helge Øverås]]
'''Agnetha Åse Fältskog''' (født svensk popsanger, låtskriver og komponist, som begynte sin karriére i 1967. I ettertid er hun mest kjent som medlem av det verdensberømte, svenske popkvartetten ABBA fra omkring 1971 til 1983.
Hun var gift med Björn Ulvaeus, som også var medlem av ABBA, i perioden 1971 til 1979, og har to barn med ham: Linda, som er født i 1973, og Christian, født 1977.

== Solo-album før og under ABBA ==

Agnetha Fältskog gjorde sine første innspillinger 16. oktober 1967, med to av sine egne komposisjoner: «Jag Var Så Kär» og «Utan Dig», og begge låtene havnet på Svensktoppen tidlig i 1968.
 
# LP'en Agnetha Fältskog ble utgitt mot slutten av 1968
# LP'en Agnetha Fältskog Vol. 2 ble utgitt mot slutten av 1969.
# LP'enSom Jag Är ble utgitt september 1970.
# LP'en När En Vacker Tanke Blir En Sång ble utgitt mot slutten av 1971.
# LP'en Elva Kvinnor I Ett Hus ble utgitt 1. desember 1975.
# LP'en Tio År Med Agnetha, en samlingsplate, kom i 1979.

Sangmaterialet på platene var med stort bidrag fra henne selv; bortimot halvparten av melodier og tekster.

== Solo-album og innspillinger etter ABBA ==

På engelskspråklige soloalbumene:
# Wrap Your Arms Around Me (1983)
# Eyes Of A Woman, (1985)
# I Stand Alone, (1987)
Den første innholdt den selvkomponerte Man, og en b-side på en single fra neste album var også egen komposisjon: You're There. Hun har senere innrømmet at det var tungt å komponere på denne tiden.

I P&nbsp;&&nbsp;B''.

Hun spilte inn duettene «Never Again» sammen med Tomas Ledin i 1982, «The Way You Are» med Ola Håkansson i 1986 og «I Wasn't The One (Who Said Goodbye)» med Peter Cetera i 1987.

I singelen «If I Thought You'd Ever Change Your Mind», en gammel Cilla Black-låt.

{{Infobox Musical artist <!-- See Wikipedia:WikiProject Musicians -->
| Name                = Agnetha Fältskog
| Img                 = Abba 28011977 15 200.jpg
| Img_capt            = Agnetha Fältskog at a concert in Oslo in 1977
| Img_size            = <!-- Only for images narrower than 220 pixels -->
| Landscape           = 
| Background          = solo_singer
| Birth_name          = Agnetha Åse Fältskog
| Born                = 
| Origin              = Jönköping, Sweden
| Occupation          = Singer, Composer, Record producer
| Genre               = Easy Listening, Pop Music
| Years_active        = 1967 - 1988, 2004 - 2005
| Label               = Cupol<br /> CBS Records<br />Polar Music<br /> Warner Music Group
| Instrument          = Vocals, Piano
| Associated_acts     = ABBA
|URL = http://www.agnetha.net
}}

'''Agnetha Åse Fältskog''' () (born '''Agneta Åse Fältskog''' ) is a Swedish pop singer-songwriter and record producer, most notable for being a member of the popular Swedish pop group ABBA.

==Biography==
left|thumb|Fältskog's eponymous debut album, including hit single "Jag Var Så Kär, 1968.
Agnetha Fältskog was born  in Jönköping, Småland, Sweden. She was the first of two daughters of department store manager Knut Ingvar Fältskog (1922 - 1995) and his wife Birgit Margareta Johansson (1923-1994). Ingvar Fältskog showed much interest in music and show business, whereas Birgit Fältskog was a very calm and careful woman who devoted herself to her children and household. Agnetha often said that female singers such as Connie Francis, Marianne Faithfull, Aretha Franklin and Lesley Gore were among her strongest influences.

In 1958, at the age of eight, Fältskog started taking piano lessons, which continued until 1964, when she was 14. She also sang in the church choir.

In the early 1960s, Fältskog formed a trio, The Cambers, with two female friends. The trio performed in unimportant venues and soon dissolved because of a lack of engagements.

In 1966, at the age of 16, when she was working as a switchboard operator in a car dealership, Fältskog started performing with Bernt Enghardt's Orchestra, which toured on weekends, since all the members had day jobs. Eventually Fältskog had to quit her job, however, because of overwork. The following year, in 1967, the band sent a demo tape to the record label Cupol. At Cupol, they were more interested in Agnetha than the orchestra, and she thus got her first solo recording contract. In late 1967, she recorded her first two singles. In 1968, she released her first album.

In 1969, Fältskog released the single "Zigenarvän" about a young girl attending a gypsy wedding and falling in love with the bride's brother. Its release coincided with a heated debate about gypsies in the Swedish media, and Agnetha was accused of deliberately trying to make money out of the situation by writing the song.

In 1970, Fältskog released "Om tårar var guld," which was perhaps her most successful song in Sweden before the ABBA period in spite of a claim from a Danish composer postulating that Agnetha has used 22 bars from his composition "Tema," even though this was written in the 1950s and had never been recorded. The case dragged on until 1977, when a settlement was reached and Agnetha paid the Dane SEK 5,000.

===First marriage===

On , Fältskog married Linda Elin Ulvaeus (born Peter Christian Ulvaeus (born 4 December 1977).

The couple decided to separate in late 1978, and Fältskog moved out of their home on Christmas night, 25 December 1978. In January 1979, the couple filed for divorce, which was finalised in June 1980. Both Fältskog and Ulvaeus agreed not to let their failed marriage interfere with their responsibilities with ABBA.

===ABBA===

In 1971, Fältskog recorded the song "Dröm är dröm, och saga saga." Björn, Frida, and Benny all contributed with backing vocals. This song demanded a lot from the singer's breathing technique and made Fältskog decide to take singing lessons.

In 1972, Fältskog starred as Mary Magdalene in the original Swedish production of the musical Jesus Christ Superstar, providing vocals for its original Swedish cast recording. Her relationship with Björn Ulvaeus, as well as her friendship with Anni-Frid Lyngstad and Benny Andersson, eventually led into the formation of ABBA.
  
In Waterloo'' and ''ABBA''. Even though ABBA was already a number one act in Sweden by 1975, Fältskog's album failed to reach the Top 10 on the Swedish album charts, peaking at #11. ''Elva Kvinnor I Ett Hus'' did, however, spend a staggering 53 weeks on the chart, even longer than any of the ABBA albums, and it also contained three further Svensktoppen entries for Fältskog: her Swedish language version of ABBA's "SOS" (also #4 on the single sales chart); "Tack För En Underbar Vanlig Dag"; and "Doktorn!". Except for the version of "SOS," all the songs had lyrics by Bosse Carlgren and music by Fältskog herself. The album had been underway since 1972, when Agnetha started writing the songs, but it got delayed because of the work with ABBA and her pregnancy. In 1974, she and Carlgren agreed on a concept for the album; it should consist of 12 songs, sung by 12 different women living in the same apartment building, each having a distinct name, identity, etc. In the end, only 11 songs were put onto the album, and the concept was never fully developed.

Between the years 1968 and 1980, Fältskog had a total of 18 entries on the important Svensktoppen radio chart, starting with debut single "Jag Var Så Kär" in January 1968 (peak position #1) and ending with "När Du Tar Mig I Din Famn" from compilation ''Tio år med Agnetha'' twelve years later, in January of 1980 (peak position #1). The 18 entries, most of which were composed or co-written by Fältskog herself, spent a total of 139 weeks on the chart during this time, with the biggest hit being 1970's "Om Tårar Vore Guld" (#1, 15 weeks). 

Fältskog also recorded the Swedish Christmas album ''Nu tändas tusen juleljus'' with daughter Linda Ulvaeus which reached #6 on the Swedish album sales chart in December of 1981. Chartwise Fältskog was therefore by far the most successful solo artist of the four ABBA members, both before and during the band's international career. <ref>[http://svensktoppen.nu/artist.php?id=143 Svensktoppen.nu, detailed chart info]</ref>

===Solo career after ABBA===
right|thumb|First international solo album, ''Wrap Your Arms Around Me'', 1983.

In the 1980s, Fältskog released three English-language solo albums. Their success was mostly limited to Europe, Scandinavia in particular.

At the end of Never Again", which became a Top Five hit in Sweden, Norway, Belgium, and South America. In the summer of the same year, Fältskog starred in the hit Swedish movie ''Raskenstam''<ref>[http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0086173/ IMDB entry for Raskenstam]</ref>, and received positive reviews for her film début.

In The Heat Is On" became a No. 1 hit in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Finland and the Netherlands, but only just scraped into the UK Top 40. The title track also reached No.1 in Belgium. In North America, the album track "Can't Shake Loose" was released as the lead-off single, reaching No. 29 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and No. 23 on the RPM Top 50 singles chart in Canada.

The same year, Fältskog was voted by the readers of Aftonbladet as "Best Female Artist Of The Year," and received the Music Award Price Rockbjörnen.

Her next album, ''Eyes Of A Woman'', produced by Eric Stewart of 10cc fame, was released in March 1985. "She is quite content to grace the works of various other lesser mortals with her immaculate, sugar-sweet voice," wrote Barry McIlheney in Melody Maker. The album sold well in parts of Europe, reaching No. 2 in Sweden and the Top 20 in Norway and Belgium, but failed to match the success of ''Wrap Your Arms Around Me''. 
left|thumb|1987 album ''I Stand Alone'', produced by [[Peter Cetera.]]

In Malibu, I Stand Alone'', produced by Peter Cetera and Bruce Gaitsch (fresh off Madonna's ''La Isla Bonita'' collaboration). Released in November of that year, it was a minor hit in Europe, except for Sweden where it spent eight weeks at No. 1 and became the biggest selling album of 1988. The single from the album, "I Wasn't The One (Who Said Good-Bye)," on which Fältskog duetted with Peter Cetera, was released primarily in North America, and became her second solo single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100 (No. 93). It was also a Top 20 Billboard Adult Contemporary hit.

After the release of ''I Stand Alone'' in mid-1988 Fältskog took a break from her musical career and completely withdrew from public life.

===Second marriage===