"Foot of the Mountain" is the first single from the A-ha

A-ha

A-ha were a Norwegian pop band formed in Oslo in 1982. The band was founded by Morten Harket , Magne Furuholmen , and Pål Waaktaar...

 album of the same name

Foot of the Mountain

Foot of the Mountain is the ninth and final studio album by the Norwegian pop band A-ha. It was released on 19 June 2009 and reached #1 on the German Album Chart and #2 on the Norwegian Album Chart...

. It was used as the official anthem of the 2009 World Championships in Athletics

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 Gate....

 held in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

. The single reached #3 in Germany

Germany

Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...

, and is the highest charting single of the band in that country since Take On Me

Take on Me

"Take on Me" is a song by the Norwegian pop band A-ha. Written by the band members, the song was produced by Alan Tarney for the group's first studio album Hunting High and Low, released in 1985...

 in 1985.

Release

"Foot of the Mountain", was released exclusively as a download single in selected territories of Mainland Europe. In Germany, a physical 2-track CD Single was released. In the UK, a so called digital bundle was released.

Promotion

May 2009 saw the band performing the song on the show Germany's Next Top Model

Germany's Next Top Model

Germany's Next Topmodel is a German reality television show, based on a concept that was introduced by Tyra Banks with America's Next Top Model. The competition is hosted by Heidi Klum, who also serves as the lead judge and executive producer of the show.-Show format:Each yearly search of Germany's...

hosted by Heidi Klum

Heidi Klum

Heidi Samuel , better known by her birth name Heidi Klum, is a German model, actress, television host, businesswoman, fashion designer, television producer, and occasional singer. In 2008 she became an American citizen while maintaining her native German citizenship...

 and on The Dome

The Dome

The Dome commonly refers to:*Millennium Dome, a former Millennium exhibition venue in London, England, now redeveloped as The O2 entertainment venue*Louisiana Superdome, home of the New Orleans Saints american football team*Hubert H...

(dubbed "Europe's biggest music show") together with fellow Norwegian Alexander Rybak

Alexander Rybak

Alexander Igoryevich Rybak or in Belarusian Alyaksandr Igaravich Rybak , born 13 May 1986 in Byelorussian SSR is a Norwegian singer-composer, violinist, pianist, writer, and actor...

. On 11 June 2009 at 8:13 CEST the music video premiered simultaneously on four major German networks, namely ProSieben, Sat.1

Sat.1

Sat.1 is a privately owned German television broadcasting station. Sat.1 was the first privately owned television broadcasting station in Germany, having started one day before RTL Television....

, kabel eins and N24

N24

N24, N-24 or N.24, may refer to:* N24 , a television channel* N24 , a television channel* N24 Nomad, a twin engine aeroplane built in Australia* the former name of E24 Näringsliv, a Swedish online business newspaper...

. It was also made available for streaming on the major German website Myvideo.de, a page with 228 million monthly hits.

Track listings

German 2-track physical single

1. "Foot of the Mountain" (Radio Edit) - 3:44
2. "Foot of the Mountain" (Album Version) - 3:57

UK Digital Bundle

1. "Foot of the Mountain" (Radio Edit)
2. "Foot of the Mountain" (Album Edit)
3. "Foot of the Mountain" (Bohème7 Remix)
4. "Foot of the Mountain" (Erik Ljunggren Remix)
5. "Foot of the Mountain" (Video)

Chart positions

• #3 (Germany)
• #8 (Norway)
• #16 (Lithuania)
• #28 (Austria)
• #33 (Switzerland)
• #66 (UK)

Year-End Charts (2009)

Country	Position
Germany	40

Single performance on Norwegian radio 2009

A-ha's "Foot of the Mountain" was the most played song on Norwegian radio in 2009, with 122:32:39 of playing time ( Hours, minutes, seconds ), beating Donkeyboy

Donkeyboy

Donkeyboy are a pop band from Drammen, Norway, formed in 2005. The band consists of Cato Sundberg , Kent Sundberg , Peter Michelsen , Thomas Drabløs , and Alexander Garborg Ågedal .-Biography:Donkeyboy were signed to Warner Music after an employee came across their music on MySpace...

 «Ambitions», 122:02:18, Beyonce Knowles

Beyoncé Knowles

Beyoncé Giselle Knowles , often known simply as Beyoncé, is an American singer, songwriter, record producer, and actress. Born and raised in Houston, Texas, she enrolled in various performing arts schools and was first exposed to singing and dancing competitions as a child...

 «Halo», 118:03:28, Taylor Swift

Taylor Swift

Taylor Alison Swift is an American country pop singer-songwriter, musician and actress.In 2006, she released her debut single "Tim McGraw", then her self-titled debut album, which was subsequently certified multi-platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America...

 «Love Story», 115:23:19,
Röyksopp

Röyksopp

Röyksopp is a Norwegian electronic music duo from Tromsø, formed in 1998. Since their inception, the band's line-up has included Svein Berge and Torbjørn Brundtland....

 «The Girl And The Robot», 113:26:57, The Killers «Human», 112:45:13, Katy Perry

Katy Perry

Katy Perry is an American singer, songwriter and actress. Born in Santa Barbara, California, and raised by Christian pastor parents, Perry grew up listening to only gospel music and sang in her local church as a child. After earning a GED during her first year of high school, she began to pursue a...

 «Hot ?n? Cold», 111:32:53, Eric Hutchinson

Eric Hutchinson

Eric Hutchinson is an American singer-songwriter. He signed with Madonna's Maverick Records, but the label shut down before his album was released. Hutchinson recorded and released the album Sounds Like This on his own...

 «Rock & Roll», 110:12:42, Paperboys

Paperboys

Paperboys is a Norwegian hip hop-duo consisting of rapper Øyvind «Vinni» Sauvik and DJ Ole Aleksander «Pope Dawg» Halstensgård. The duo has released four albums and their debut included Barcelona, a collaboration with Madcon which was a hit in Norway...

 «Lonesome Traveller», 109:48:39 and Lady Gaga

Lady GaGa

Stefani Joanne Angelina Germanotta , better known by her stage name Lady Gaga, is an American singer and songwriter. Born and raised in New York City, she primarily studied at the Convent of the Sacred Heart and briefly attended New York University's Tisch School of the Arts before withdrawing to...

 «Poker Face», 109:27:11. First time a Norwegian artist has been on top of the list.

Music video

The music video for the track, co-directed by Olaf Heine and Mik Rahner, was shot in Berlin

Berlin

Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...

, Hamburg

Hamburg

-History:The first historic name for the city was, according to Claudius Ptolemy's reports, Treva.But the city takes its modern name, Hamburg, from the first permanent building on the site, a castle whose construction was ordered by the Emperor Charlemagne in AD 808...

 and along the Baltic coast of Pomerania

Pomerania

Pomerania is a historical region on the south shore of the Baltic Sea. Divided between Germany and Poland, it stretches roughly from the Recknitz River near Stralsund in the West, via the Oder River delta near Szczecin, to the mouth of the Vistula River near Gdańsk in the East...

. The video concentrates on singer Morten Harket

Morten Harket

Morten Harket is a Norwegian musician, best known as the lead singer of the Norwegian synthpop/rock band A-ha, which released nine studio albums and topped the charts in several countries after their breakthrough hit "Take on Me" in 1985. A-ha disbanded in 2010. Harket has also released four solo...

 with only small cameos being made by Paul Waaktaar-Savoy

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy

Paul Waaktaar-Savoy is a Norwegian musician and songwriter. He is best known for his work as guitarist in the Norwegian pop band A-ha...

 and Magne Furuholmen

Magne Furuholmen

Magne 'Mags' Furuholmen is a Norwegian musician. He is best known as the guitarist and keyboardist of the pop band A-ha.-A-ha:Furuholmen has been the keyboardist with A-ha since their formation in 1982, though he also plays guitar...

. In a documentary entitled 'A-ha - The Success Story', songwriter Paul 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 Magne 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

Foot of the Mountain

Foot of the Mountain is the ninth and final studio album by the Norwegian pop band A-ha. It was released on 19 June 2009 and reached #1 on the German Album Chart and #2 on the Norwegian Album Chart...

album.