Honestly, it’s a bit of a suicide mission.
Taking on a The Winner Takes It All cover is basically the musical equivalent of trying to repaint the Sistine Chapel with a set of Crayola markers. You might do a decent job, sure, but everyone’s going to notice the original is better.
Why? Because the 1980 original by ABBA isn't just a pop song. It’s a three-minute-and-forty-eight-second document of a literal marriage collapsing in real-time. Björn Ulvaeus wrote those lyrics while he was going through a divorce with Agnetha Fältskog—the woman who then had to stand in front of a microphone and sing them. "Tell me does she kiss like I used to kiss you?" Imagine having to belt that out while your ex-husband watches from the sound booth.
It’s brutal. It’s raw. And yet, artists just can’t stop themselves from trying to reinvent it.
The Meryl Streep Effect: When Acting Matters More Than Singing
You’ve seen the movie. Or maybe you’ve seen the clip on YouTube where Meryl Streep is sprinting up a Greek hillside in a shawl.
Most people point to the Mamma Mia! version as the definitive The Winner Takes It All cover because of the sheer acting involved. Meryl isn't trying to be a pop star. She’s Donna Sheridan, a woman whose heart is being ripped out of her chest in front of a guy named Sam (who, let’s be real, Pierce Brosnan was mostly there for moral support during that scene).
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Her voice breaks. She screams half the lyrics. It’s messy.
But that’s exactly why it works. If you try to sing this song "perfectly," you’ve already lost. The original was a masterpiece of "smiling through the pain" disco-pop. Streep leaned entirely into the pain part. According to Benny Andersson, Meryl recorded her vocals in Stockholm in just one take. One. That kind of raw energy is why her version is basically the blueprint for every theatrical cover that followed.
Cher and the "Believe" Treatment
Then we have Cher.
In 2018, Cher decided she wasn't done with ABBA after her cameo in the Mamma Mia! sequel. She dropped Dancing Queen, an entire album of covers. Her take on "The Winner Takes It All" is... well, it’s very Cher.
If you were expecting a stripped-back, tear-jerker acoustic set, you haven't been paying attention to her career since 1998. She gives it the "Believe" treatment. It’s got that signature vocoder/auto-tune shimmer towards the end. It’s danceable. It feels like someone crying in the middle of a strobe-lit nightclub.
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Is it better than the original? No. But it’s a fascinating choice. She turns a song about losing everything into a song about surviving it. It’s less "I am small" and more "I am Cher, and I’m still here."
The Weird, the Metal, and the Operatic
If you dig a little deeper into the world of the The Winner Takes It All cover, things get weird fast.
- At Vance: A German power metal band. Yes, you read that right. They took this heartbreaking ballad and added double-kick drums and shredding guitar solos. It sounds ridiculous on paper, but Oliver Hartmann’s vocals actually capture the desperation of the lyrics surprisingly well.
- Carla Bruni: The former First Lady of France did a version that is the polar opposite of metal. It’s hushed, intimate, and very "French Touch." It’s basically a whisper. It’s the kind of music you’d hear in a high-end boutique while buying a $400 candle.
- Sarah Dawn Finer: If you’re a Eurovision nerd, you know this one. During the 2013 contest in Malmö, she performed a version that was so powerful it arguably outshone the actual contestants. It was a massive, sweeping orchestral arrangement that reminded everyone that ABBA is essentially Swedish royalty.
Why Do Most Covers Fail?
Most people think this is a song about a breakup. It’s not. It’s a song about the power dynamics of a breakup.
The "winner" is the person who gets to walk away and start a new life. The "loser" is the one standing small, watching them go.
Most artists who record a The Winner Takes It All cover make the mistake of making it too pretty. They focus on the melody—which is gorgeous—but they forget the "spectators of the show" and the "judges will decide" metaphors. They treat it like a standard ballad.
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But ABBA’s version had that driving, insistent piano riff that sounds like a clock ticking. It’s relentless. When you take that away and turn it into a slow, sad piano ballad (looking at you, Susan Boyle), you lose the sense of inevitable doom.
How to Actually Listen to These Covers
If you’re looking for the best way to experience these variations, don't just put them on a shuffle. You’ve gotta categorize them by your mood:
- Feeling Dramatic? Go with Meryl Streep. Watch the film clip. It’s a whole vibe.
- At the Gym/Need a Boost? At Vance or Cher. The BPM is high enough to keep you moving while you contemplate your failed relationships.
- Late Night Red Wine? Carla Bruni or the Sarah Dawn Finer live version.
- Better Call Saul Fans: You can't forget the karaoke scene with Jimmy and Chuck McGill. It’s heartbreaking for entirely different, brotherly-trauma reasons.
Honestly, the "best" cover is probably whichever one makes you want to go back and listen to the original immediately after. It’s a song that shouldn't work—a 19th-century French chanson structure hidden inside a 1980s pop shell—but it does.
Actionable Takeaway for Your Playlist
If you’re building a "Covers Better Than the Original" (or at least "Covers That Don't Suck") playlist, skip the versions that try to mimic Agnetha. You can't beat her. Look for the artists who changed the genre entirely.
Check out the metal version by Tommy Johansson (of Sabaton fame). It’s a masterclass in how to respect the source material while completely changing the coat of paint. It proves that a great song is a great song, whether it’s played on a grand piano or a Gibson Les Paul with the distortion turned up to eleven.