"The Final Countdown " is a song by the Swedish rock band Europe, released in 1986. Written by lead singer Joey Tempest, the song is based on a keyboard riff he created in the early 1980s, with lyrics inspired by David Bowie's " Space Oddity ."
Originally intended as the opening song for concerts, The Final Countdown quickly spread worldwide . It was also the first single and the title track from the band Europe's third studio album of the same name. The music video for The Final Countdown , created to promote the single, has garnered 1 billion views on YouTube. The video features footage from two of the band's concerts at Solnahallen in Solna, Sweden, as well as additional footage of soundproofing sessions and filming in Stockholm.
The lyrics of this song are both apocalyptic and optimistic, describing a journey into space, towards Venus, leaving Earth behind: Together we set off/ But it won't be a farewell/ Maybe we'll return/ To Mother Earth, who knows? We'll take flight/ Will everything be the same when we return? This is the final countdown… We'll head straight to Venus/ And we'll still hold our heads high…
The band Europe consists of 5 members.
Europe's lead singer, Joey Tempest, once explained: "I had the demo but hadn't found the right vocals, and I sang it over and over again. The melody was almost like the soundtrack of a movie, about leaving Earth, and that Earth has run out of resources. One day, we might have to leave this place. The lyrics were like a dream."
The iconic keyboard riff was composed by lead singer Joey Tempest five years before the song was recorded.
The Final Countdown was included in VH1's list of 100 greatest one-hit wonders. Joey Tempest said: "It's surprising that this song became such a huge hit because it was originally created for the band, for our concerts, written to be the opening theme for concerts. The song is almost 6 minutes long, with no intention of becoming a hit or anything, it was really a surprise and it's been used for all sorts of events, from Formula 1 races to boxing, football to New Year's Eve celebrations."
One of the first singles that Europe's lead singer Joey Tempest bought was David Bowie's Space Oddity . Written before the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, this song greatly influenced Tempest and sparked his passion for space exploration . The singer confessed that the lyrics of The Final Countdown were inspired by Bowie's song and how it sparked his interest in space travel.
On May 26th and 27th, 1986, Europe performed The Final Countdown at the Solnahallen arena near Stockholm. Footage from that performance was compiled for a video titled The Final Countdown Tour 1986. During these performances, director Nick Morris filmed the band in action, which was later used in the music video.
The Final Countdown reached number 1 in the UK and number 8 in the US. The single topped the charts in 26 countries and sold over 8 million copies worldwide. The song was used as the theme song for the English football team Blackburn Rovers and for the NBA basketball team Detroit Pistons.
The song has also been used in television shows such as Arrested Development , Chuck , Glee, and Gotham , and the films Shiner (2000), The Kid & I (2005), and Pitch Perfect (2012).
In 1999, on millennium New Year's Eve, The Final Countdown became the theme song for the countdown in Sweden, instead of ABBA's Happy New Year as was traditional.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/the-final-countdown-ca-khuc-bat-hu-don-chao-nam-moi-185241231164923427.htm
