Allie Sherlock has just released her take on one of ABBA’s most powerful ballads, and “The Winner Takes It All” is the kind of track that demands total vocal control and raw emotion in equal measure. She brings her own interpretation to this pop classic, a song built around heartbreak that still hits hard decades later. Watch the full performance below, then read on for the story behind the song.
About This Performance
This cover landed on Allie’s official YouTube channel on September 13, 2026, making it one of her newest releases. “The Winner Takes It All” asks a singer to carry huge emotional weight without losing control of the melody, and that balance plays directly to Allie’s strengths as a performer who connects through genuine feeling rather than vocal showmanship.
About the Song
Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson wrote “The Winner Takes It All”, and ABBA released it on 21 July 1980 as the lead single from their seventh studio album, Super Trouper. Agnetha Fältskog delivers the lead vocal, and the song became one of ABBA’s signature ballads, topping the charts in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands, and reaching number eight on the Billboard Hot 100. The lyrics trace the end of a relationship through the metaphor of a game with a clear winner and loser, and listeners have long speculated that Ulvaeus drew on his own divorce from Fältskog, though both members have denied that the song is directly autobiographical. That emotional honesty is a big part of why the song remains one of the most covered and most requested ABBA tracks today.
Why Allie’s Version Stands Out
The best covers of a song like this don’t try to reinvent it, they mean it. Allie earned her following busking on the streets of Dublin precisely because she can take a song everyone knows and make it feel personal and immediate. A ballad built on heartbreak and quiet devastation sits perfectly in that wheelhouse, and it’s exactly why her stripped-back, voice-forward approach to big emotional anthems tends to resonate with listeners.
Who Is Allie Sherlock?
Allie Sherlock is an Irish singer and guitarist from Douglas, Cork, born on April 7, 2005. She rose to fame busking on Dublin’s Grafton Street and went viral in 2017 with her cover of Ed Sheeran’s “Supermarket Flowers.” Today her YouTube channel has over 6 million subscribers, and she has grown from street performances into original music and headline touring across Europe.
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Frequently Asked Questions
It’s a cover. ABBA originally released it in 1980, written by Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson.
Björn Ulvaeus and Benny Andersson wrote it, and ABBA released it as the lead single from Super Trouper in July 1980. Agnetha Fältskog sang lead vocals, and the song reached number one in the UK, Ireland, Belgium, and the Netherlands.
She’s best known for busking on Grafton Street in Dublin, Ireland, shares performances on her YouTube channel, and tours live across Europe.
She was born on April 7, 2005, in Cork, Ireland.
She uploaded it to her official YouTube channel on September 13, 2026.
