"Foot of the Mountain" is a song by Norwegian band
A-ha
A-ha (usually stylised as ''a-''h''a''; ) is a Norwegian synth-pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. Founded by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (guitars and vocals), Magne Furuholmen (keyboards, guitars and vocals), and Morten Harket (lead vocals), the band ...
, released as the lead single from their
ninth studio album of the same name (2009). It was used as the official anthem of the
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics () were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg ...
held in Berlin.
[Videos , The Official Website of A-ha]
The single reached number three in Germany, the band's highest-charting single in that country since "
Take On Me
"Take On Me" is a song by the Norwegian synth-pop band A-ha. The original version, recorded in 1984 and released in October of that same year, was produced by Tony Mansfield and remixed by John Ratcliff. The 1985 international hit version was p ...
" in 1985.
[Morten harket - - Det har vært helt fantastisk! - SEHER.NO : Norske]
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"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.
Release
"Foot of the Mountain", was released exclusively as a download single
A music download (commonly referred to as a digital download) is the digital transfer of music via the Internet into a device capable of decoding and playing it, such as a personal computer, portable media player, MP3 player or smartphone. Thi ...
in select territories of Mainland Europe
Continental Europe or mainland Europe is the contiguous continent of Europe, excluding its surrounding islands. It can also be referred to ambiguously as the European continent, – which can conversely mean the whole of Europe – and, by ...
. In Germany, a physical two-track CD single
A CD single (sometimes abbreviated to CDS) is a music single in the form of a compact disc. The standard in the Red Book for the term ''CD single'' is an 8 cm (3-inch) CD (or Mini CD). It now refers to any single recorded onto a CD of any si ...
was released. In the United Kingdom, a digital bundle was released.
Promotion
In May 2009, the band performed the song on the show ''Germany's Next Top Model
''Germany's Next Topmodel'' (often abbreviated as ''GNTM'') is a German reality television series, based on a concept introduced by Tyra Banks with ''America's Next Top Model''. The competition is hosted by Heidi Klum who also serves as the le ...
'' hosted by Heidi Klum
Heidi Klum (; born 1 June 1973) is a German-American model, television host, producer, and businesswoman. She appeared on the cover of the ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' in 1998 and was the first German model to become a Victoria's Secre ...
and on '' The Dome'' alongside fellow Norwegian Alexander Rybak
Alexander Igorevich Rybak (russian: Александр Игоревич Рыбак) or Alyaxandr Iharavich Rybak ( be, Аляксандр Ігаравіч Рыбак; born 13 May 1986) is a Belarusian-Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pian ...
. On 11 June 2009 at 8:13 CEST the music video premiered simultaneously on four major German networks, namely ProSieben
ProSieben (, ''sieben'' is German for "seven"; often stylized as Pro7) is a German free-to-air television network owned by ProSiebenSat.1 Media.
It was launched on 1 January 1989. It is Germany's second-largest privately owned television company ...
, Sat.1, kabel eins and N24. It was also made available for streaming on the major German website Myvideo.de.
Music video
The music video for the track, co-directed by Olaf Heine and Mik Rahner, was shot in Berlin, Hamburg
(male), (female) en, Hamburger(s),
Hamburgian(s)
, timezone1 = Central (CET)
, utc_offset1 = +1
, timezone1_DST = Central (CEST)
, utc_offset1_DST = +2
, postal ...
and along the Baltic coast
The Baltic Sea is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean that is enclosed by Denmark, Estonia, Finland, Germany, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland, Russia, Sweden and the North and Central European Plain.
The sea stretches from 53°N to 66°N latitude and from 10 ...
of Pomerania
Pomerania ( pl, Pomorze; german: Pommern; Kashubian: ''Pòmòrskô''; sv, Pommern) is a historical region on the southern shore of the Baltic Sea in Central Europe, split between Poland and Germany. The western part of Pomerania belongs to ...
. The video centers on singer Morten Harket
Morten Harket () (born September 14, 1959) is a Norwegian vocalist and songwriter, who is the lead singer of the synthpop/rock band A-ha.
A-ha has released 10 studio albums to date, and topped the charts internationally after their breakthrough ...
, with brief cameo appearances by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Paul Waaktaar-Savoy (born Pål Gamst, 6 September 1961) is a Norwegian musician and songwriter. Waaktaar-Savoy is best known for his work as the main songwriter and guitarist in the Norwegian pop band A-ha, which has sold more than 50 million alb ...
and Magne Furuholmen
Magne Furuholmen (born 1 November 1962) is a Norwegian musician and visual artist. He was named Knight First Class of the Order of St. Olav by King Harald for his services to Norwegian music and his international success. Furuholmen, better kno ...
. In the documentary ''A-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". 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 the ''Foot of the Mountain'' album.
Track listings
*German 2-track CD single
#"Foot of the Mountain" (Radio Edit) – 3:44
#"Foot of the Mountain" (Album Version) – 3:57
Charts
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
{{authority control
2009 singles
2009 songs
A-ha songs
Songs written by Magne Furuholmen
Songs written by Martin Terefe
Songs written by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy
Universal Music Group singles