The Final Countdown (Lied)

For other meanings, see The Final Countdown.

"The Final Countdown" is a 1986 hit single released by the Swedish glam metal band Europe. It was the first single released internationally from the album The Final Countdown, and was number 1 in 26 countries, selling more than 8 million copies worldwide.

History

The song is based on an old keyboard riff that vocalist Joey Tempest composed as early as around 1981–82, on a Korg Polysix keyboard that he borrowed from keyboardist Mic Michaeli. The synth riff used in the recording was performed on a Roland JX-8P. The lyrics were inspired by David Bowie's song "Space Oddity". Originally the band had never planned to release the song as a single, and some band members wanted "Rock the Night" to be the first single off the album. "The Final Countdown" was written to be an opening song for concerts; they never thought about it being a hit but when their record company Epic Records suggested that it should be the first single, the band decided to release it.

The song has been a regular in Europe concerts ever since its live debut on the premiere of their Final Countdown Tour in April 1986. One of the most memorable performances of the song took place in Stockholm, Sweden on December 31, 1999, as part of the Millennium celebrations.

The song enjoys notable popularity in many sports arenas and stadiums; public address booths have often played the opening synth riff to rally the home crowd.

It was a huge success in the UK, going top of the singles charts in late November 1986 and remaining there for 2 weeks.

Personnel

• Joey Tempest - Vocals
• John Norum - Guitar
• John Levén - Bass guitar
• Mic Michaeli - Keyboards
• Ian Haugland - Drums

Cover versions/musical derivatives

The song has been covered by various artists, both local and famous; including Dannii Minogue, Gigatron, Geoff Downes, Laibach, Norther, Dispatched, the Toy Dolls, Immolation, Furillo, Vision Divine and The Delegates. Contrary to popular belief, the melodic death metal band Children of Bodom has never done a cover version of the song - the wrongly credited versions are usually those by Norther and Dispatched. [1]

• In the videogame Mega Man X6 , one of the stage's theme song "Infinity Mijinion" seems to be a tribute to The Final Countdown.

• G.O.B. Bluth, a character from the sitcom Arrested Development, uses this song at the beginning of his magic acts in multiple episodes. It accompanies him as he dances dramatically onto the stage with magic props, and later evolved into the character's personal theme song (i.e. During a scene in which a character discovers that Gob is his father, the melody from the song is played dramatically on an organ in the background.)

• In 2005, comedian Mike Ward recorded a version as a goof for "Le Mike Ward Show". The song reached #1 on the MusiquePlus "Top 5 anglo" countdown, and was inducted into the "Ultime Combat des Clips" (Combat Zone) hall of fame, after 16 victories against artists such as Eminem, Sean Paul, Gwen Stefani, Beyoncé, and Madonna.

• Indie pop group Of Montreal used the song as the introduction to their hit song "Wraith Pinned to the Mist and Other Games" during their Winter 2006 US Tour. Third-Wave Ska band Five Iron Frenzy used the main riff from the song as an introduction to their song "One Girl Army" on their live album, Proof That the Youth Are Revolting.

• Italian house DJ Gigi D'Agostino also did an electro cover of this song on his 2006 compilation album Some Experiments.

• In the same year, Crazy Frog also did his version in his album Crazy Frog Presents More Crazy Hits.

• Argentinian singer Benigno Scarante did a strong cover version in the 90s in the "Si lo sabe cante" (If you know it, sing it!) show.

• The song has also been played in the ending block of Queen + Paul Rodgers concerts.

• Greek comedian Tzimis Panousis has also made a parody of this song with the title "Greece on Coal".

• The Japanese techno artist Dj Sharpnel has released a remix of "The Final Countdown".

• Chamillionaire samples "The Final Countdown" in his song "Industry Groupie" on his 2007 album Ultimate Victory.

• Three 6 Mafia samples "The Final Countdown" in their song "Champions".

• On October 19, 2007, also known as Grey Friday, Jay Mann developed a popular remix of the song called "The Final Meltdown". Words were modified to reflect the spiral downward in Equity markets and corresponding widening of Credit Derivative spreads.

• The music of this song was used in the Hindi song "Mere Rang Mein" from the movie Maine Pyaar Kiya.