The Final Countdown is a song by Swedish rock band Europe, released in 1986. Written by lead singer Joey Tempest, the song is based on a keyboard riff he made in the early 1980s, with lyrics inspired by David Bowie's Space Oddity .
Originally intended as a concert opening, The Final Countdown quickly spread around the world. It was also the first single and title track from the band's third studio album of the same name. The music video for The Final Countdown was made to promote the single, and has received 1 billion views on YouTube. The music video features footage from the band's two concerts at Solnahallen in Solna, Sweden, as well as additional footage from sound checks and in Stockholm.
The lyrics are both apocalyptic and optimistic, describing a journey into space, towards Venus, leaving Earth behind: Together we set out/ But it won’t be goodbye/ 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’re going straight to Venus/ And we’ll still hold our heads high…
Europe band consists of 5 members
Europe's lead singer Joey Tempest once explained: "I had a demo but I couldn't find the vocals, and I sang it over and over again. The melody is almost like a movie soundtrack, about leaving the earth, and that the earth is running out of resources. One day, we might have to leave this place. The lyrics are 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 listed as one of VH1's 100 Greatest One-Hit Wonders. Joey Tempest said: "It was a surprise that it became such a big hit because it was originally created for the band, for our concerts, written to be the opening song at concerts. It's almost six minutes long, it wasn't intended to be a hit or anything, it was a total surprise and it's been used for everything from Formula 1 races to boxing to football to New Year's Eve."
One of the first singles Europe lead singer Joey Tempest bought was David Bowie's Space Oddity . The song, written before the Apollo 11 moon landing in 1969, had a huge influence on Tempest and led to his fascination with space exploration. The singer confessed that the lyrics to The Final Countdown were inspired by Bowie's song and how it sparked his interest in space travel.
On 26 and 27 May 1986, Europe performed The Final Countdown at the Solnahallen arena near Stockholm. Footage from the performance was compiled for a video called The Final Countdown Tour 1986. During these performances, director Nick Morris filmed footage of the band performing and used it for the music video.
The Final Countdown reached number one in the UK and number eight in the US. The single topped the charts in 26 countries, selling over 8 million copies worldwide. The song was used as the theme song for the English football team Blackburn Rovers and as the theme song for the NBA basketball team Detroit Pistons.
The song has also been used in television series such as Arrested Development , Chuck , Glee and Gotham , and the films Shiner (2000), The Kid & I (2005) and Pitch Perfect (2012).
In 1999, on the eve of the millennium, The Final Countdown became the theme song of the countdown in Sweden instead of ABBA's Happy New Year as was the tradition.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/the-final-countdown-ca-khuc-bat-hu-don-chao-nam-moi-185241231164923427.htm
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