This song IS officially the best selling song of the whole 80's decade as well as the music video. Both won more awards than any other of several decades.
Really according to whom? Are you talking a single country, worldwide? It certainly was not in the UK or America. Uk was Band Aid with Do they know it's Christmas as the best selling song, This was at 92, so a long way off number 1. I could not find a single country where this was best selling song. As such could not of been best selling of the decade you claim it to be. As for Video, again could not find it listed as best video according to sales, however may have been the most played on streaming platforms such as MTV> Maybe. Certainly is one of the most played on RU-vid. That however is not sales.
@@davidroberts794 Wow...WTF is with your hostile attitude. I don't post stuff that is incorrect. (Nor do I come here to argue.) Over 3 different sources confirm what I said. Your searching skills suck. Don't take it out on me. Sounds like you hate the group or are jealous in some way. 72 people before you already gave my comment a thumbs up because they like the song and are aware of the Mega-Hit it was. Keep searching until you see your premature bashing of my post was unnecessary.
Fantastic band. It took 16 weeks to draw the 3,000 drawings used in the video. The artist is Michael Patterson. He made a film as a student called Communter. The film was later used in the music video for "Train of thought", also a-ha (pronounced ah-ha). In 2019, Take on me had been played on the radio an average of 350 times a day for 35 years in the United States. You couldn't have avoided hearing it. The song was boosted by the video, but obviously stands well on its own. The sequel, The sun always shines on TV is epic!
Agreed 👍 I was just checking out the comments to see if anyone had yet recommended that song as the next one they should listen to. I used to check out lps from the library as a kid and was lucky to find them and some of their recordings available there. I totally recorded them to cassette tapes on my dad’s stereo. 😂 I still have some of those tapes ✌️💜Love to watch you guys learn about older music like I did when I was younger. Records were a big part of my musical education 😂❤
The group originally came from Oslo Norway .... they came to the capital of London ,in the United Kingdom. In 1982 ,to start a career in music . And the actual name if the group A-Ha.... came from a song they found terrible, but liked the concept for a group name . A ha was chosen as the language ,that they as Norwegians spoke. To what they Knew best of the English language.
This Norwegian pop group won a Grammy for this video. Still iconic to this day. Thanks for watching and sharing your opinions with us. You fans love you too.
@@dennislindqvist8443 The video is actually American. It was the Americans that picked up A-ha and delivered them. The Brits did not put enough effort into the band to help them break through.
@@ahkkariq7406 actually, they got their record deal in London, the first single version from 1984 was a bomb...only the rerecording & video did the trick...yes the US broke the song & band first but only overseas markets took to the band longevity-wise...the US label was fickle, currently, their upcoming album "True North" out later this fall is #11, their first with Sony Music, they have had at least 17 Top 10 hits worldwide & have had an innovative sound with lots of depth & variety & range, from synth sounds to guitar crunch & great songwriting, vocals, harmonies, musicianship & arrangements...they are one of my all-time fave bands & Coldplay owe their careers to a-ha, even U2 paid homage in "Beautiful Day"...the Touch Me lyric is a nod to "The Sun Always Shines On TV"...also the Doors are a major influence on a-ha...
Unfortunately not for sure, but if you do look at some trends in fashion and music over the last 4 years. we’ve seen some 80s style clothing but 90s and 70s came along too.
When fans refer to "greatest song of the 80's" I believe they mean to say music recording and accompanying video. In the case of "Take on Me" you really can't have one without the other. Just saying...
@@stevenmalham2234 yes you can, and they have many more innovative videos, but many more great songs & albums...their 11th, "True North" is out later this fall, their first on Sony Music...a-ha are one of my fave bands ever...
This is amazing, especially when you consider when it was done; we hadn't seen much if anything at all similar to this when the video came out. It was a game-changer.
In Germany that time, they promoted the uncut Michael Jackson video Thriller on MTV. In the beginning it was only shown from 11 p.m. Funny today, cool in earlier times.
This video was all over MTV and still one of the most unique ever made. Remember it running on the TVs in a dive food joint on campus during my freshman year (1985 at Marquette).
@@Tyrannosaurus_STFU_III it is all hand-made. No filters, no computers. Computers could not do that at the time. It is literally drawn frame by frame. That’s why it still looks lit.
I remember how huge this was back in the 80's, it seems like its even bigger now. 1 billion views for a 35 year old song, and it been covered by so many artists.
@@ExperienceEric yeah me too, and that status is both a blessing & a curse on a-ha, their career & massive catalogue...yes many know the song but not the band, many don't know that the band is still an ongoing concern & that they are far from 1-hit wonders...many don't know they have a new album out soon, "True North", later this fall, and its accompanying film was shown in theatres worldwide just recently on September 15...yes the song & video are great & a landmark, but that's not all the band are about...
I was 1 year old. haha Was born in 1984. Missed those childhood days in late 80s to early 90s. The colorful shirts..grandmas and grandpas of never ending World War 1 & 2 stories. haha
@Dswan1 I was 10 years old when it came out, but the first time I actually heard it I was 13 branching out to different music. Fell in love with this immensely to this day of 48 years old 😊👍 This is forever my favorite song 🎵
The technology was entirely hand-drawn. Rotoscope animation converted film into animation by artists painstakingly drawing the animation images over film, frame by frame. The genre is New Wave/Pop. That song is so catchy.
@@parisbratThere is a series videos on RU-vid about making the song/video as a buildup to it hitting a billion views. Just search for making of take on me.
A-HA from my country Norway. They have a lot of good songs. On 19th Oct 1985, A-Ha went to No.1 on the US singles chart with “Take On Me”. Lead singer is named Morten Harket. Some of their songs thats really good is: The sun always shines on tv, Summer moved on, Crying in the rain. Another of the band members has his own band called Savoy, you guys should check out one of his songs called: Velvet. Pretty good.
I saw them play live on the Grammy Awards in the 80s. Kenny Rogers was the host. When Morton finished singing and they cut back to Kenny. Kenny's mouth was open wide, he looked at the camera and said. "Oh my god, my voice does not do that."
The Sun Always Shines (On TV), The Living Daylights, Cry Wolf, Hunting High & Low, Crying In the Rain ... all JUST AS GOOD as this. This was just their biggest hit.
But remember every era, including now, is loaded with great art. When we look back we view and listen thru a filter. But when we are in the middle of an era, we see and hear all the greats and all the mediocrity. However, in the rear view of time we just get the goodies. I think we all tend to down grade current music and hype the past. I realized I did this after looking back to songs I love in times I said ...at the time...sucked.
I NEVER took the music, the videos, the VHS cassettes for granted. From Blondie (1979) "Heart of Glass" and "Call Me" through to Stevie Winwood (1986) "Higher Love" and "Back in the High Life" The years between were miraculous. New Wave to 1980's Synthetic Pop.
@@Swonder1972Doesn’t matter what lens you’re looking at, but the 2010s is filled with trash music. I wasn’t even alive in the 80s and graduated high school in the 2010s. There’s no nostalgia for me to have a bias and 2010s SUCKS
@@robertsmalls3513 There is always great music... often underground. Trust me, there was a ton of trash in the 80s and 90s...We just edit out the mediocre when viewing hindsight...
The first time I ever heard the acoustic set you were talking about, I almost cried. I never noticed how sad this song is until I heard the strip down slow down acoustic set. The acoustic version has got to be one of my favorite versions of any song of all time. And I’ve lived for 50 years so that’s saying a lot. Lol
A-ha are from Norway. They never broke America except this song. In the rest of the world they are huge and still fill stadiums. They’ve broken up a few times, but always get back together and release new great music. They are def not just an 80s band and Morten Harket has an amazing voice.
The genre of their music would be Pop, but typically referred to throughout 80's as New Wave. A-HA had over 25 top of the chart songs worldwide, but this was their only hit in the US. The lead singer is Morten Harket. They are still around too. I still love them after all these years.
6:09 "I didn't think they had the technology to do that, you know when this video came out." They didn't. All those panes were hand-drawn one by one and took over a year to complete. And actually, that's the third version of the song they released, the other two apparently weren't too good but this version hit worldwide and is still being appreciated 35+ years later.
There were a few versions of this song that failed before they moved to the UK. When they added the synthesizer they had a hit song. @@Theknightsofpop82
Brother man, my wife saw this post come up on my phone and told me I "HAD" to check it out as I've never heard it either...not my cup of tea as it were, but since it was you two reacting I said cool and here I am...so I'm taking this voyage for the first time with you...OMG!!!! Are you serious???? The melody draws you in, the lyrics grab ahold of you and the video...holds you mesmerized!!! Now I fully, 100% understand exactly why you do this!!! Thank you so very, very much! I have been schooled!!??!! PEACE!!!!!
Open your mind to the new. From what I just read of you, I think you will find something amazing in Rock & Roll. Give it a shot. That’s what all these reaction channels are about. I think you will be blown away to.
@@sandersson2813, awww... backward? We have done more good things for the world than any other country. We invented a shit load of things that make it possible for you to express your opinion. I know, I know, we are also number one in bad things too. Maybe you’ve been here or maybe not. If you haven’t, I suggest you find some good American people to hang out with when you come over.
@@sandersson2813, and you’d be surprised at what we take for granted that other people have never even heard of. It’s weird but true. Some people just blow past it the first time around and it’s just not in their universe from then on.
@@philstone3859 I was being flippant rather than literal, but in many respects America is incredibly far behind the rest of the developed world in things like healthcare, education, employment law, holiday entitlement, maternity leave etc As for being inventive every nation is, but the www is a British invention if you are alluding to that being something which allows me to express an opinion.
The two of you just made my day. I served in the US Army for most of the 80's and that was in what was then West Germany. The music at that time was played all the time and as loud as allowable. This one really shook everybody when it came out, I believe the video had a good deal to do with that. I'm so glad you both liked it.
a-Ha is a Techno-Pop band (at least they were at this early stage in their careers). They are a Norwegian band, and they have been together since 1982. This song and music video came out in 1985, and was historic and groundbreaking for its landmark animation techniques, which would be used to develop computer generated animation years later. Morten Harken is the lead singer in the group. According to their Wikipedia page, a-Ha will be embarking on a world tour, including dates in the US, in 2022.
@@abettmartin6197 Most music/music video reactors were born in the late-1980s and in the 1990s. Some of them were born in the 2000s. Unless they are regular viewers of VH-1 Classic, they have never seen music videos from the 1980s, and promotional film clips and TV performances from the 1940s, 1950s and 1960s. They have never seen the music videos, and they have never heard the songs, since most of them get their music from Internet sources, and not from radio stations, like older music listeners do. I am an old man that was born in the 1960s, and I have seen and heard just about everything when it comes to music. But when I have a question about a music group or music artist's history, I do a Bing Search, and look for a Wikipedia entry, which, while not perfect, provides a lot of interesting information about a music group or music artist. Once I get my question answered, I relay the information to the music reactor in the form of a comment reply.
My first concert as a teen back in the 80s was A-Ha. :) A-Ha was much bigger in Europe than in North America. I'd say their genre was somewhere between "Synth Pop" and what we used to call "New Wave". This was A-Ha's biggest song but they also did the theme song to the James Bond movie "The Living Daylights" which is my favourite A-Ha song. You guys should check that one out!
Oh, isn't the synthesizer playing in this song spectacular? I like the tone of the singer's voice. His high notes are remarkable and his vocal range is everything but baritone. Such fun energy in the beat, that I'm always glad to hear over and over.
It bears the all-important plot point of never letting our lovers totally separate from one another. Their connection sill exists in the nexus of the coffee shop and trash bin (look closely). With great effort the two leads reunite and decide together which world (Reality/color) or (Artist/pencil) they will call home.
@@kimmichaud4064 no way that A-ha were New Wave when they created the band. On their early interviews, they stated that they were determined not to fall into the New Wave genre that was dominating the music scene back then
This song spans 3 octaves. It's pretty incredible. Back when MTV played music videos 24/7 this one was played quite often. This video continues to amaze me even today. Also, great for driving. Don't get a speeding ticket. ;D
When it was played for the first time on British TV on a program called 'Top Of The Pops' this was totally cutting edge. There had never been anything like it before. Happy to say I saw it and was totally wow'ed - Still stands the test of time as a song and a video in my opinon.
"Pop" is sufficient as a general genre marker, more specifically it's synth pop, and it's not technically new wave but there's a lot of new wave influences.
Not only was this one heavy rotation on MTV, it was a really groundbreaking video for its time. Might've been the 1st time someone incorporated animation with a live action video.
Not exactly - rotoscoping already existed in the 1950's and 60's. Parts of The Beatles film Yellow Submarine film (Lucy in the sky with diamonds) was filmed with rotoscoping sequences.
@@TheEnnisfan the technology was about the same as the one used on the Beatles movie. The investment on this video was much bigger. It took several professional artists six months to perfect those drawings and around 1 million dollars. It paid off through.. It helped the song to reach the success we know today
A similar technique is used (much more sparingly) in Nik Kershaw's "Wouldn't It Be Good" video, which I believe came out maybe a year before a-ha's video. But this sets the standard easily. I still think it's the best music video ever made.
I still remember seeing the video the first time - the visuals and the switching back and forth between drawings and live video were and still are astonishing! It's just something you never forget once you've seen it, I think. So clever and what a fun story displayed in such a unique way. So glad you both liked it!!
Try "The Sun Always Shines on TV" or "The Living Daylights". Morten Harket is the singer and he can still hit those high notes. You might want to check out the acoustic version of this they did a few years ago.
The video for Sun Always Shine on TV could be seen as a spiritual sequel to this video given how it starts with the same two people as he turns back to a drawing once more.
This video still stands as one of the greatest of all time, such vibes and so innovative. Absolutely 80s pop all the way, just needed a sax to complete the 80s checklist.
Def no sax on that song, but they do have a good song with sax in it, "I Call Your Name" from 4th album from 1990, "East Of The Sun West Of The Moon"...about Paul & Lauren's wedding...
What I love most about this song is that ANY nationality/race can vibe off of this‼️Even if you can’t dance 💃🏽 🕺 there is no way to mess up The Head Bop to this beat 😂❤
The song was ahead of it’s time with such a beautiful creative song and beautiful music video. This song will be in the music history books til years to come from generations to newer generations.
Was?? Try IS!! Their new album "True North", their 11th, is out later this fall...the band first took a hiatus from 1994 to 1998 with a comeback album in 2000, then they bid farewell in 2010, only to reunite in 2015 & release 10th album "Cast In Steel"...just a heads up...
Morten Harket can still hit those notes to this day, and still one of the most beautiful men alive ❤️ check out the live version of this song done recently.
@@RB747domme LOL, I remember my ex getting mad at me the time I watched the acoustic version that came out several years ago. All I said was how impressed I was that Morten Harket managed to stay so fit and handsome 3 decades after it was originally released. 🤷♀️
Morten was on a foreign edition of The Masked Singer...UK I think...his character was the Viking...yes he can still hit those notes...I just saw a-ha live back in April in NYC...same thing...
@@lawrencedavis4406 Yes, I think in his older age it is amazing he can still hit that upper register. I use to be able to sing like that when this song came out. Not anymore. What blew my mind is when he was hitting those high notes, effortlessly, the panel had no idea it was him when my brain was screaming his name in my head.
they did pure pop but then progressed to a very mature haunting sound. Mortens voice is just so incredible & powerful. Stay on these roads is my fave aha song. the vocal is insane.
1980년도때 중학생때 카세트 테잎으로 아하 노래 늘어지도록 들었는데~ ^^ 당시 뮤직비디오가, 미술 드로잉으로 절묘하게 스토리텔링해서 만들어진 수작으로... 지금봐도 전혀 촌스럽지도 어색하지도 않은 작품이죠~ 지금 a-ha 보컬도 나이들었어도 옛날 미남그대로 입니다. 이미 미국이 80년도때 이런 뛰어난 작품을 만들었다는게...ㅎㄷㄷ 대단하기만 합니다.
I can tell she really loves the song by how she was vibing eyes closed and everything, pretty much same as how we did it in the 80’s. Love you both ❤️❤️❤️
I'm loving all these videos. I'm 51, smack dab in the middle of the GenX/MTV generation. I totally grew up with this video. I'm a professional illustrator so this video, in particular, holds a special place in my heart.. hand-drawn animation. I think it's funny how Amber reacts to the good-looking guys, like this dude and young Elvis. I mean, that's part of why they were successful in the industry (although Elvis is of course on another level). Great reaction, guys.
It blows my mind that everytime I watch it it's like a "flip fast book" playing out on screen, but so much more complex than I could ever begin to imagine.
This is a-ha's greatest hit ever. The video for this song was one of the first if not the first to mix live and animated action, which made it an instant classic. About 2 yrs later, they made another video for the James Bond movie "The Living Daylights" that mixed live action with special visual animation. A-ha's 🎶 style was pop. Take on Me was their biggest hit in the American hemisphere. They're more famous and had bigger recognition in Europe ( they're from Norway).
This song sounded in every nightclub in the whole world in the 80s. A-Ha have other hits, but Take On Me is by far their greatest hit. Greetings from Mexico.
Un groupe norvégien tout simplement EXTRAORDINAIRE.tous ceux comme moi qui ont connu les années 80 ( et même 70 !!!!!!!!!!!) se souviennent de cet extraordinaire groupe formé de 3 musiciens.quand a ce clip il est HISTORIQUE et de mon point de vue est un candidat très sérieux au titre de plus grand clip de l'histoire tout simplement !!!!!!!!!!! D'une originalité renversante il a redéfini les critères du clip d'allieurs je crois de mémoire qu' il a obtenu le GRAMMY AWARDS du meilleur clip cette année là ( amplement mérité tant cette vidéo géniale était en avance sur son temps) quand au morceau personne ne l'a oublié bien évidemment !!!!!!!!!!!!!! GENIALISSIME ET HISTORIQUE TOUT SIMPLEMENT !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! GUY
A-Ha did a nice re-make of Crying In The Rain. They were a popular Norwegian group. Just a bit of info, All 3 members of A-ha have been appointed ‘Knights of the 1st Class of the Royal Norwegian Order of St. Olav’ for their contribution to Norwegian music.
This is one of my favorite songs from when I was a kid. Never really listened to the lyrics until a few years ago-so good! Edit: I saw this band on a TV show recently-the lead singer can still hit that note crystal clear 😂
I went to see them in a concert last month in México City and the whole band is pure gold, Morten PERFECT Harket sings way better than many in his generation
The band still must be living on royalties from this song as much attention as it still gets . I never liked it all that much at the time it was released. But it’s a fun blast from the past every time I hear it . And the video is badass ! Love y’all’s reaction ❤
Just rediscovered Ah-ha by accicentally finding their MTV unplugged version of this. Then learned that they've never stopped writing and touring. They have 11 studio albums!
The band is from Norway ❤ The video is iconic, 37 years old now. This would probably be categorised as Euro Pop at the time. Another song they sang was "Hunting high and low", beautiful with a Scandinavian vibe.
I believe this video garnered some MTV award because it was way ahead of its times. As you correctly said, compared to today’s computer graphics/editing technology, the technology available in the 80’s had less capabilities. It was ultra creative to have put together something this video back then. And as you watch it today, the video effects are still impressive. Also, it was a song with a great story. For a duration of approximately 4 minutes, the video packed a very compelling, alluring, cohesive, and comprehensive story in such short duration. Fantastically synchronized with the music. Last, the musicality and the lyrics of the song are amazing.
Hey J and Amber, This video was a great break thru in the 80's. The video was inspired by the transformation scene in the 1980 sci-fi film . Every scene was shot live then projected onto paper and traced. He broke thru the Altered State for love...I call it a pop/alternative genre...Thanks guys, Blessings
I hope you guys realize this is one of the most iconic music videos in history. The highly imaginative video drove the song to global success. The Reflex, Rio, Wild Boys, and Hungry Like the Wolf by Duran Duran are prime examples as well - it's worth giving these songs a try...
My now ex-husband and I considered this as "our song". When we first started dating my English was already ok, but not good enough to understand what "Take on Me" meant (didn't have access to videos at the time to help me figure it out either), so when he used this song as a love declaration of sort, it didn't quite have the romantic impact he thought it would have, because he ended up having to explain the lyrics. 😆 But after that it became "our song".
As a child of the 80s, I grew up watching so many great music videos on MTV, and this one is definitely on my list of favorites. I highly recommend The Go-Go's, who are the best all-female band of the 80s. They will be inducted in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame this year. Check out 2 of their best songs: We Got the Beat + Our Lips are Sealed.
This was so innovative back in 1985, we saw this video on MTV and we were floored by. Think about the limited technology of the day. As far as the style of music I would say *soft new wave.* Alphaville has a inspiring song called *Forever Young* which a lot of people and acts covered. So for the video trivia; the style of animation the artist are using a technique called *rotoscoping*, where they use tracing animation over live-action footage. The other odd things about the video the one that you're watching and everyone who seen it when it came out was a unfinished final cut that aired to world in1985. Also this version ( the most famous version) is its fourth release. Love Peace and Happiness Y'all !!
Y’all just don’t even know how big this song and video was in the mid-80s. The video was really groundbreaking for its time, and still seems fresh. Others I can think of offhand I would highly recommend if you haven’t seen are Land Of Confusion by Genesis and Money For Nothing by Dire Straits. Both were huge singles with groundbreaking videos... back when MTV actually played videos. My daughter and I have always enjoyed watching old music videos together, and she loved the Land Of Confusion video and song from the time she was five, but she wanted to know who everyone in the video was, so I had to go into global politics in the 80s with my five year old. (She’s 14 now.)
