The Final Countdown (song)

"The Final Countdown"
Song
B-side	"On Broken Wings"

For other meanings, see The Final Countdown.

"The Final Countdown" is a 1986 single released by the Swedish hard rock 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 keyboard riff to rally the home crowd; it has also become a staple of high school and college pep bands for this same purpose.

Personnel

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

Chart performance

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

Country	Peak position
France	1
Germany	1
Italy	1
The Netherlands	1
Switzerland	1
United Kingdom	1
United States	8

The Final Countdown 2000

"The Final Countdown"
Song
B-side	"The Final Countdown" (Original Radio Edit)

In 1999 the dance remix "The Final Countdown 2000" was released. It was produced by Brian Rawling, who had previously had success with "Believe" by Cher. The single release caused minor controversy as the first pressing had a misprint that left out the first "o" in "Countdown". The story was confirmed by Tempest during an interview with the American rock radio show The Tour Bus.

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, The Delegates, and the Latvian cello band Melo-M. 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.

• In the video game Mega Man X6 , one of the stage's theme song "Infinity Mijinion" seems to be a tribute to The Final Countdown. The style is similar to the song such as the prominent keyboard intro and a fast-paced guitar solo.

• It is also used in the video game Buzz! The Mega Quiz; in the final round 'The Final Countdown' the song can be heard playing.

• 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. At times when the character's cell phone rings, it is apparent that he uses a midi version of the same song as his ringtone.

• The song is the current theme song of professional wrestler Bryan Danielson and the former theme of female wrestler Sara Del Rey

• 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.

• 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 Pyar Kiya.

• It was played during one of the television commercials to advertise the video game, Mario and Sonic at the Olympic Games.

• It is used during the player introductions of the Detroit Pistons basketball team.

• The pep band at Syracuse University frequently plays the song at basketball games, and four Syracuse undergrads did an air band cover of the song available on You Tube.

• A short variation is used as a lead-in to the final segment of the TV show The Singing Bee.

• In the Dancing with the Stars (video game) Stacy Keibler and Tony Dovolani dance their Paso Doble to it.
• When the 6 Doctor in Doctor Who is regenerated into the 7th the song is playing in the background.

• Rapper Charles Sweeting samples "The Final Countdown" in his 2008 song "She Bout It".