| "Foot of the Mountain" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single byA-ha | ||||
| from the albumFoot of the Mountain | ||||
| Released | 5 May 2009 | |||
| Recorded | May 2009 | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 3:57 | |||
| Label |
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| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | Roland Spremberg | |||
| A-ha singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Foot of the Mountain" onYouTube | ||||
"Foot of the Mountain" is a song by Norwegian bandA-ha, released as the lead single from theirninth studio album of the same name (2009). It was used as the official anthem of the2009 World Championships in Athletics held in Berlin.[1] The single reached number three in Germany, the band's highest-charting single in that country since "Take On Me" in 1985.[2]
"Foot of the Mountain" was the most played song on Norwegian radio in 2009, with 122 hours, 32 minutes and 39 seconds of playing time, marking the first time a Norwegian artist has topped the list.[3]
"Foot of the Mountain", was released exclusively as adownload single in select territories ofmainland Europe.[4] In Germany, a physical two-trackCD single was released. In the United Kingdom, a digital bundle was released.
In May 2009, the band performed the song on the showGermany's Next Top Model[5] hosted byHeidi Klum and onThe Dome alongside fellow NorwegianAlexander Rybak. On 11 June 2009 at 8:13 CEST the music video premiered simultaneously on four major German networks, namelyProSieben,Sat.1,kabel eins, andN24. It was also made available for streaming on the major German websiteMyvideo.de.[2]
The music video for the track, co-directed by Olaf Heine and Mik Rahner, was shot in Berlin,Hamburg and along theBaltic coast ofPomerania. The video centers on singerMorten Harket, with brief cameo appearances byPaul Waaktaar-Savoy andMagne Furuholmen. In the documentaryA-ha: The Success Story, songwriter Waaktaar-Savoy stated that although he loved living in New York, he "often wondered whether I would be happier out in the open, by the foot of the mountain", when asked about the song's chorus. In the same interview, co-writer Furuholmen said his contribution to the song, the verses, were about "urban clutter".[6] In the video, these angles are made a point of as Harket moves from a claustrophobic Berlin to the open landscapes of Pomerania. The video was made commercially available in Germany on a special edition of theFoot of the Mountain album.[1]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
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| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| Germany (BVMI)[14] | Gold | 150,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
In 2017, A-ha appeared on the television seriesMTV Unplugged and played and recordedacoustic versions of many of their popular songs for the albumMTV Unplugged – Summer Solstice inGiske, Norway, including "Foot of the Mountain".[15]
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