"Friends" is the debut single by Norwegian singer-songwriter

Stella Getz Stella Getz (born 10 October 1976) is a Norwegian singer. Born in Nigeria, she grew up in Trondheim. Her single, the Eurodance song " Friends" from 1993 became a big hit in Norway and other countries in Europe. The music video was often shown on ...

. Co-written by her with producers Lars E. Ludvigsen and

Mikkel S. Eriksen Mikkel is a Danish and Norwegian masculine given name. It may refer to: * Mikkel Ødelien (1893–1984), Norwegian soil researcher * Mikkel Aaland (born 1952), award-winning American photographer * Mikkel Andersen (disambiguation) *Mikkel Bødker ...

, it was released in November 1993 by

Mega Records Mega Records was a Nashville, Tennessee-based music label founded in 1970 by former RCA Records executive Brad McCuen along with Harry E. Pratt. Its most successful recording artist was Sammi Smith who also recorded the label's very first single.< ...

as the first single from the singer's debut album, ''Forbidden Dreams'' (1994). The song was successful in several countries, peaking at number-one in both Hungary and Israel. In Scandinavia, "Friends" was a top 10 hit, peaking at number five in Norway and number nine in Denmark. Its music video was directed by

Matt Broadley Matt Broadley is a Swedish director. He has made music videos for several songs that went #1 on the charts, like "All That She Wants" and "Mr. Vain". Career Broadley has directed many TV commercials and music videos. His clients include: * Al ...

, who had previously directed videos for group's like Ace of Base.

Background and release

Getz was discovered after entering a DMC contest at the age of 16. After having cut just a few demos, she soon got herself a deal with

and went into studio with producers Lars E. Ludvigsen and

to work on her first single, "Friends". It has been described as a fusion of loud but subtle

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

guitars with a

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

foundation, highlighted by a remarkable melody and Getz' fog horn-strength vocals. She made her first public appearance on Norwegian Television performing the song in the popular TV-show ''Casino''. "Friends" was successful on the charts in several countries, including peaking at number-one in both Hungary and Israel. It also reached the top 5 in

Norway Norway, officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a Nordic country in Northern Europe, the mainland territory of which comprises the western and northernmost portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula. The remote Arctic island of Jan Mayen and t ...

, and the top 10 in

Denmark ) , song = ( en, "King Christian stood by the lofty mast") , song_type = National and royal anthem , image_map = EU-Denmark.svg , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Danish Realm, Kingdom of Denmark ...

. In Germany, it peaked at number 32, with a total of 16 weeks on the charts. The single also peaked at number 81 on the

Eurochart Hot 100 The European Hot 100 Singles was compiled by '' Billboard'' and ''Music & Media'' magazine from March 1984 until December 2010. The chart was based on national singles sales charts in 17 European countries: Austria, Belgium (two charts separately ...

in February 1994.

Critical reception

Pan-European magazine ''

Music & Media ''Music & Media'' was a pan-European magazine for radio, music and entertainment. It was published for the first time in 1984 as ''Eurotipsheet'', but in 1986 it changed name to ''Music & Media''. It was originally based in Amsterdam, but later ...

'' wrote, "The instant appeal of the single is clear, and so is the 17-year old singer with African blood in her veins. A stunning synth riff like on

Stevie Wonder Stevland Hardaway Morris ( Judkins; May 13, 1950), known professionally as Stevie Wonder, is an American singer-songwriter, who is credited as a pioneer and influence by musicians across a range of genres that include rhythm and blues, Pop musi ...

's '

Superstitious A superstition is any belief or practice considered by non-practitioners to be irrational or supernatural, attributed to fate or magic, perceived supernatural influence, or fear of that which is unknown. It is commonly applied to beliefs and pr ...

' are the wheels on which this song rides. Miss Getz raps and

scats The Sydney Coordinated Adaptive Traffic System, abbreviated SCATS, is an intelligent transportation system that manages the dynamic (on-line, real-time) timing of signal phases at traffic signals, meaning that it tries to find the best phasing (i ...

—what else with such a jazzy surname?—on top of that. The sing-along chorus is the finishing touch of the song, easily holding its own in the

Euro dance Euro-Dance (sometimes referred to as Euro-NRG, Euro-electronica or Euro) is a genre of electronic dance music that originated in the late 1980s in Europe. It combines many elements of hip hop, techno, Hi-NRG, house music, and Euro-Disco. Thi ...

field which is suffering already too much from conventions, making it almost impossible to say who's who. With the Winter Olympics in Lillehammer ahead, one gold medal should go to Norway at least. For originality."

Music video

A music video directed by Swedish-based director

was produced by

to promote the single. It shows the singer in a big yellow-painted room. Through a

telescope A telescope is a device used to observe distant objects by their emission, absorption, or reflection of electromagnetic radiation. Originally meaning only an optical instrument using lenses, curved mirrors, or a combination of both to observe ...

she sees a crowd of "friends" arriving and then starts singing. The "friends" are coming through the door, although Getz tries to keep them outside. Wearing white masks, they're taking over the place, breaking LP-records, dancing on them and eating all the food in the fridge. They are also tagging down the walls with

graffiti Graffiti (plural; singular ''graffiti'' or ''graffito'', the latter rarely used except in archeology) is art that is written, painted or drawn on a wall or other surface, usually without permission and within public view. Graffiti ranges from s ...

spray, and in the end, the "friends" are dancing around Getz, who has been tied with a rope to a tall lamp. The video was A-listed on Germany's

VIVA Viva may refer to: Companies and organisations * Viva (network operator), a Dominican mobile network operator * Viva Air, a Spanish airline taken over by flag carrier Iberia * Viva Air Dominicana * VIVA Bahrain, a telecommunication company * ...

in March 1994 and was later made available on Mega Records's official

YouTube YouTube is a global online video platform, online video sharing and social media, social media platform headquartered in San Bruno, California. It was launched on February 14, 2005, by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim. It is owned by ...

channel in 2011. As of December 2022, it had generated more than 485,000 views.

Track listing

* CD maxi #"Friends" (7") — 3:12 #"Friends" (12") — 7:14 #"Friends" (Late Nite Mix) — 4:38 #"Friends" (U.S. Remix) — 2:55 * CD maxi (Remix) #"Friends" (MEGA-Dance Remix) — 5:34 #"Friends" (Cyber-Town Remix) — 5:06 #"Friends" (Tango Remix) — 2:52 #"Friends" (Hi-Rate Remix) — 6:18

Charts

References

External links

Stella Getz - Friends (Tango Remix - Scratchy Version) (Music video)Stella Getz - Behind the Scenes (Forbidden Dreams EPK) [Part 1 of 2]
{{authority control 1993 songs 1993 debut singles Stella Getz songs English-language Norwegian songs Mega Records singles Music videos directed by Matt Broadley Number-one singles in Hungary Number-one singles in Israel Songs about friendship Songs written by Mikkel Storleer Eriksen