Susan Boyle's Cover of ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All" Is Jaw-Dropping

In 2012 while on The View, Britain's Got Talent Season 3 runner-up Susan Boyle performed a gorgeous rendition of "The Winner Takes It All" by ABBA to promote her fourth album Standing Ovation - Greatest Songs From the Stage.

During Boyle's performance, dramatic piano music played while she crooned the emotional lyrics in a perfectly balanced tone. And when her voice soared during the gripping chorus, you'll surely be reaching for the tissues. Watch the jaw-dropping cover here. 

About "The Winner Takes It All" by ABBA

A track off the band's iconic 1980 album Super Trouper, the ballad reached the number-eight position on the Billboard Hot 100. Lyrically, it tells the story of a rough break-up and was featured in the musical Mamma Mia!. In 2021, Rolling Stone named it the eighth best ABBA song, describing it as "the break-up ballad to end all break-up ballads" and adding, "There's an ABBA song to go with every emotional crisis." 

Susan Boyle sang a cover of ABBA's "The Winner Takes It All" in 2012. Photo: Getty Images

"The Winner Takes it All" by ABBA lyrics

I don't wanna talk
About things we've gone through
Though it's hurting me
Now it's history

I've played all my cards
And that's what you've done too
Nothing more to say
No more ace to play

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The winner takes it all
The loser's standing small
Beside the victory
That's her destiny

I was in your arms
Thinking I belonged there
I figured it made sense
Building me a fence

Building me a home
Thinking I'd be strong there
But I was a fool
Playing by the rules

Susan Boyle performing on stage during America's Got Talent: The Champions, Season 1 Episode 6. Photo: Jordin Althaus/NBC

The gods may throw a dice
Their minds as cold as ice
And someone way down here
Loses someone dear

The winner takes it all (takes it all)
The loser has to fall (has to fall)
It's simple and it's plain (it's so plain)
Why should I complain? (Why complain?)

But tell me, does she kiss
Like I used to kiss you?
Does it feel the same
When she calls your name?

Somewhere deep inside
You must know I miss you
But what can I say?
Rules must be obeyed

The judges will decide (will decide)
The likes of me abide (me abide)
Spectators of the show (of the show)
Always staying low (staying low)

The game is on again (on again)
A lover or a friend (or a friend)
A big thing or a small (big or small)
The winner takes it all (takes it all)

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I don't wanna talk, if it makes you feel sad
And I understand
You've come to shake my hand

I apologize
If it makes you feel bad
Seeing me so tense
No self-confidence
But you see

The winner takes it all
The winner takes it all

So the winner takes it all
And the loser has to fall
Throw the dice, cold as ice
Way down here, someone dear
Takes it all, has to fall
And it's plain, why complain?